One thing I have learned over and over again; it is impossible for me to live an obedient life to God without absolute surrender to Him.
My natural inclination to resist the Lord is always lurking, ready to pounce on any opportunity it can find to retain what it thinks is its right to reject any form of adversity. The combative attitudes that surface immediately rob me of the peace and joy I experience when I am yielding myself to Him.
The only option I have to recover is to immediately abandon my desire to escape the suffering and embrace the cross. In that moment, His peace and joy return in abundance.
God’s ways are so much higher than my ways but they become mine when I surrender my will to Him.