Occasionally when I am surfing on Facebook I will stumble across a former student that was in youth group. Over the last 30 years there has been thousands of students that have come through. I wish I could tell you that all of them love Jesus. I wish all of them were walking out their faith but that is simply not the case. One former student of mine now resides in the West Coast. He is very successful by all accounts that I see of him on Facebook. He is an engineer, has a beautiful family and all the toys that go along with success. His life looks like a beer commercial and he will usually have one in his hand in each picture and Facebook post. His posts would make you believe that he is an atheist, even though he has not stated so. There is no recognition of how God has truly blessed him, just recognition to himself. Between all of the posts of his success and happiness he will share what is making him miserable. He is miserable with our President and uses Facebook to trash him.  Now, before you think I am trying to make a political point here, I am not. I am not judging whether you have a D or and R on your voting card. I am only trying to point out what God says in His Holy Word about our elected officials. After one particular ugly rant on Facebook about his dislike for our President, I simply left a comment with only the scripture Romans 13:1 and 2. Romans 13:1 and 2 says “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” There was no response from my friend which was unusual. When someone comments on one of his posts he is usually quick to defend his positon. I wondered if he had even saw my comment but then a few days later he responded. His response was tongue in cheek, he said “I am sure those Christians enjoyed being under the authority of the Romans.” I didn’t respond back, not wanting to fuel the fire more than I already had. But my response in my mind to his comment is no. No, I don’t believe those Christians enjoyed being under the authority of the Romans. This is my reason for today’s post. To point out enjoyment is not always what God intends for us…because He loves us! God will often use circumstances that make us uncomfortable to get our attention. He will often use pain, to point us to Him. When we run from Him, He will chase us down like a child that has run in the street. Look simply at the life of Jonah. Yes, I believe the story of Jonah because Jesus himself recognizes the story in Matthew 12:38-42. Jonah was running from God. The ship he took was literally the one that was going the furthest distance of where God wanted him to be. Then he went through a violent storm on the sea and was thrown overboard by the shipmates. He was swallowed by a great fish where he resided for 3 days. Did Jonah enjoy being inside that great fish for 3 days? I am pretty sure that great fish did not floss and use mouthwash. I am sure those 3 days were miserable! Why would God do this to Jonah? Because He loved Him! I think the same can be said of the current situation the world is dealing with in COVID 19. This disease is horrible and even those who are not infected are miserable. This is a painful experience that we are all dealing with. So why would a loving God allow this to happen? Because He loves us. Because He is desperately trying to get our attention. He is trying to help us make course corrections all in an effort to save us. Yes, the desperate lengths that God will go through to save us is amazing! So use this uncomfortable and miserable period of time to see if God is trying to get your attention. And remember, He is allowing this to happen because He loves us!