Anger for a wrong against you is another hard obstacle. Sometimes a person betrays, slanders and goes out of his way to humiliate and hurt you. The pure evil he displays is very hard to ignore or overlook when it is every day, non stop. And then he is promoted and you are laid off. The sheer unfairness of this can ruin your day, and is a matter of serious talk time with my Father. His answer is always the same: Forgive. That is the last thing I want to do. He says pray for your enemies. So I pray that they will get hit by a Mack truck and put in the hospital and for the first time in their lives think about God. Except it was just not one person, it was two working together in all their calumnious arrogance. Oh did I pray. It was a struggle, but I was always kind to them. One day it was all turned off. In a sudden moment they were nice to me. It was so sudden that I said, Father, what did You do? Yes, I got laid off, but God has restored it all back. And God revealed to me something about the woman who had given me grief. She told me, You know that a follower of Christ will be persecuted. I said, yes. She said, You really know this, don’t you? I nodded yes. She then said, How can you know what is true because everyone says this is true and that is true. I told her that everyone carries a big burden of guilt around with them and are not aware of it. Just put our lives on a movie screen for everyone to see and the shame would crush us. The Holy Spirit was showing her at that very moment her screen. And she asked how I knew I was forgiven. Then I shared it was by faith in God’s promise to forgive. Turns out that long time ago she used to be a worshiper of God. She is starting to read her Bible but it is off and on. You know, after traveling this road a long time, I am convinced that absolute surrender to Jesus Christ is what is needed, and is mostly ignored. Just be willing. Just say yes to God. That is all He requires, Then walk with Him. There is no escape from anxiety, worry, anger, the world, sin without giving up self ownership and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ. Surrender is the key to overcoming immorality, drugs, etc. American Christianity just does not get the job done. Live in the Word of God. Seek the Lord even when He hides himself, and stay faithful especially when He hides Himself. And you will find it is God all along working in you to grow our faith and endurance. You will also find as you keep seeking the Lord by His grace, that He is there in the dark night of the soul. Yes He is. Yes He is. He wants intimacy with us too, but there is a huge price to pay, the death of myself. So why do I walk this narrow way? Jesus. I have tasted the Lord and I am ruined for this life. That is the whole truth of the matter. The greatest thing is knowing the Lord. It took me an entire lifetime to figure that out. If it weren’t for God I would be wicked, and if it weren’t for God I would go to Hell. Praise God for the fire that burns the dross. But I never lose sight that God credited to my account His very own righteousness, and justified me by faith in Jesus Christ. But God is changing me into the image of Jesus Christ and the change is painful. And when I see how far I have yet to go, I remember to take it one day at a time until I am called home. Jesus, my Lord. What can I say? You simply are the greatest.