Matthew 5:45, "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (New King James) There are certain phrases unheard until something bad has taken place. Whether it is, "God is in control" or "everything happens for a reason," we can rest assured most people will not bring God into the picture unless something negative has transpired. Another common phrase uttered in difficult times is "God makes it to rain on the just and the unjust." However, as you read the words of Matthew 5:45 seen above, you may have noticed there is more to this commonly quoted portion of scripture than you may have known based upon what people say. In fact, I have not heard anyone say, "God makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust." How can this be? Personally, I believe it is due to the fact that blaming God gives us an easy out when it comes to accepting responsibility for the struggles we face in life. Each problem we face in life comes via one of two avenues. The first is based solely upon our personal choices. There are times when we made a bad choice out of a lack of knowledge and paid the price for doing so. That price may have been light, but at other times, it may have been hefty. At other times, we may have known exactly what we were doing, ignoring all warnings and moving forward with a poor choice contrary to a lack of peace and additional red flags. Please understand, I do not say this in order to bring condemnation upon anyone, but to simply make a point, which is the fact that our choices are of utmost importance. On the other hand, there are times when the choices of other people will have an impact on our lives. We cannot control what others do and do not do, but we can always control how we react to anything we deal with in life. We can react in anger and fear, which will most certainly not cause us to focus on the Lord or we can react calmly, stepping back and allowing God to show us how to proceed according to His direction. One way or another, we must conclude that God is not the author of any problem we face in life. The simplest way I can make this point is by saying we cannot look to God as being the source of our problems and then turn around and look to Him as being the solution to the same problems. This may seem like a radical concept. However, if you are a person who has found yourself dealing with one struggle after another and receiving advice from others, ultimately pointing to God as being the source of your struggles, I have great news for you He is not the one who is allowing or causing your problems If you are interested in being set free from the hamster wheel of struggles, please turn to the first page of chapter one