why won't you listen to Me part 1

I'm going through some things right now that really show me just how much peace I have in resting in His arms. I'd rather not discuss the specific things openly, but i do want to share just how wonderful He is. i want to be open and honest, since it is my blog, but for certain reasons i'm keeping this situation private. real faith is living the same way you would if you felt His loving arms around you that exact moment, as if you were on the mountain top even though you are walking through the valley. you have to have endurance, and i am really finding my endurance to be recharged daily in Him.

there are things and situations in life that can bring you down - deep, deep down to the bottom of the ocean if you let them. the key being IF you let them. you don't have to let things get you down. instead, you can turn your eyes back on Him and continue to trust, knowing that He was persecuted and you will be also. they hated Him, so how much more will they hate you if you follow Him with your whole heart?

i always questioned before whether or not there was real persecution for everyone who followed Him in this day and age. it may not be from armies against you, but it can feel like an army. the ones you love the most will betray you. they are not perfect, and perhaps they are hurting deep inside. hurting because things are difficult for them. because they don't know Him and His perfect love and peace yet as you do. because they want it but have no idea how to find it. it's like a small diamond stuck in a thousand pebbles by the shore. they know there is something somewhere that they're missing, but everything seems to look the same. money is fufilling - for a while. then you're not happy. and all these other things are fullfilling for a season as well, but then you find yourself stuck in the same rut you were before - bitterness and sadness overtake you because you can't seem to find that perfect thing that will never leave you nor forsake you. that "Thing" that will always be there to comfort you and lead you.

right now i have an immense sadness for the lost. for those who persecute and have no idea they need Him. who keep searching for that treasured diamond among the pebbles. i wonder if they will ever find it. i'm brokenhearted. i have the something they want. i believe that causes the persecution. i'm happy and strong in the Lord and they just see a happy person (not realizing exactly what it is that makes me so happy) and it bothers them that someone else has joy when they don't.
i want so badly to show them the Diamond, but it's hard. it's hard to show them when they won't listen once i begin speaking about It to them. it's hard because i love these people and don't want them to suffer. i so badly want them to have the Answer and never have to search again. it breaks me to the core, because i realize this is God's heart for all of us. He knows the answer and He tries so hard to show it to us, but just as soon He does we turn away. i'm going to read hosea again. perhaps i'll continue this post tomorrow. it seems unfinished, but i can't finish it right now. i need to soak myself in His word, immerse every thought in it.