Complainer or ready to face anything He puts in our path?

From May 15 My Upmost for His Highest:

Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10 ). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must "work out your own salvation" which God has worked in you already ( Philippians 2:12 ). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it "out"? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—"By my God I can leap over a wall" ( Psalm 18:29 ). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12 says, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . ." Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.

May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.

Don't you just love the way God does things? First He saves you. Then He asks more of you than you can give. Then He reveals things to you from His Word. Then the test comes. He puts those things in our lives to "prove" us or to show us what we're made of. Will we complain or be ready to face whatever challenge that comes our way? The good news is that all His tests are open book tests. We have the Word of God to stand on and hold on to in difficult times. In the heat of the battle, our test score depends upon whether we will seek God first in the troubled times or whether we'll stomp our feet in retreat from Him and go our own way. Will we let the enemy chase us away from the cross or will we humbly submit to Him and sit at the cross and seek Him and submit to His will?

The Christian life is challenging and plain difficult sometimes. But the alternative is going back to Egypt and our "old life." Which is more painful? Submit to Him today or live with the pain of tomorrow back in Egypt?