Too Many Times I Fail to Thank God

It's very easy for any Christian to talk God for granted for a certain period of time until they're chastised out of it. Christians no matter how saved they are and no matter how much they grow in grace, no matter how much they can't live like the rest of the world do still have certain sins to take care of. When I wake up in the morning I even ask myself did I ever forget to thank the LORD for something that He did for me?! The answer is yes. It's very easy for me to grumble when trials come. I fail to think about Romans 8:28 that says that God allows pain and affliction to the believer for a purpose.

What's very easy to forget is that God doesn't allow Satan to harm any Christian without His divine permission. Remember that Job was under God's protection. But one day, God decided to allow Satan to harm Job. The only thing God didn't allow Satan to do was to kill Job. Satan could harm but he couldn't kill Job because God allowed it. If anything bad happened to me then God has a reason. I would say it's because there's still some unconfessed sins in my life or that I need cleaning every now and then. The assurance is that God doesn't allow anything to happen to me without any reason. Satan's a defeated foe that must get God's permission first before he can harm any of the Elect. 

There's one thing that God always do best: He always trims the branches so they bear more fruit. John 15:1-8 talks about the relationship between Jesus and the branches. The Father trims the branches of whatever prevents them from bearing more fruit. The false branches are thrown away but the true branches receive constant pruning. God sees this immature but true faith. While real gold is real gold but there's still dross. True faith is real faith but it doesn't mean there isn't any dross that the Father wants to remove. He knows it's real faith so He subjects it to the furnace of affliction like real gold must be tested and tried. It's very easy to grumble but one realizes that God is in control.

I can always say that in every moment I'm ungrateful, I couldn't help but feel sorrow towards it because it dishonored God for me to murmur. I never came to Christ to be freed from trouble but to be free from the power of sin. He never promised me an easy life. Instead, He promised that following Him means trouble and more trouble in the long run. Who am I to argue against it? Do I know better than God? I'm no one and I have zero rights to argue with God.