He always wins...

"...or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
-2 Corinthians 12:7-10

So many thorns...

 "Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?"
-Isaiah 2:22

reminders of failings... 

"Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

'Come now, let us settle the matter,'
says the Lord.
'Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.'
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken"
-Isaiah 1:17-20

But I know my God works all things out for my good.

 ^"But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. "

-Genesis 50:19-21

The story of Joseph is near to my heart.  A man who was loved, faced many trials and then God used Joseph's road of trials to lead him to becoming second in command of all Egypt.  From favorite son,  to slave, to prisoner, to the second most powerful man in his nation... WOW, can anyone say big leap?!  While there, filled with God's wisdom and blessing, Joseph saved many lives from a famine.  Including his own family who originally betrayed him.

"In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by The Spirit of judgment and The Spirit of fire. Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain."
-Isaiah 4:2-6

We do not always know why we face pain, or why we are so blessed and others so broken.
He knows...

I struggle with trying to determine God's will for my life forgetting, all I need is to live a life getting to know Him better and He will direct my life.  I do not need to worry about figuring it out because He will open the doors that need to be opened, when they need to be, and close the ones that need to be, when they need to be...
As long as I am seeking Him. 
Praying.

It is hard to remember and see, but I know, my earthly failures and struggles are only to help bring Him glory.  They remind me to lean on Him, trust in Him. I may not understand today, but I can not wait until I look back at my life with Him and understand the beauty of His glorious plan that He is allowing me to be a part of.

 I wrote this in the midst of a tough day, afterwards I found hope.

"When loneliness takes me, and hopelessness prevails.
I raise my eyes to heaven, to the One who took the nails.
Hope in what He has assured, 
from what is written in His Word.
I trust in what He has completed, 
by grace I too will be seated.

Seeing in our valleys He makes rivers, where understanding rolls.
To a lake that bolsters other dry and weary souls."

 What has God given you as an outlet to get away from your sorrows?
For me it is cooking, photography, writing, singing..
I encourage you to use your gifts. 

Then thank Him for them :)

 "This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:

'Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.'
Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
I will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion."
-Isaiah 8:11-18

I will wait in anticipation because...
He always wins :)