2023 has been tough. It’s challenged me in ways I never expected. It’s gotten me thinking. We often blame God for bad circumstances and praise Him when things go right. I think there are 3 things we often forget easily: 1. God gives and takes everything with a bigger purpose in mind. Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 2. Trials are promised, not something we’re exempt from as Christians. James 1:2 Testing of Your Faith Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3. Jesus does understand His death was the most painful kind possible in His time and He was tempted just as we are. Matthew 4:1 The Temptation of Jesus “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” That doesn’t mean that trials are fun to go through. It means we need a mindset shift. Instead of being surprised by them we should expect them. Instead of looking