I do not know if you are aware of this, but the Word of God is full of patterns. For example, many times, just before God of a promise, will put a condition on that promise.

Fear Jehovah, and turn away from evil. For it will be medicine to your body, and refreshing for your bones (Proverbs 3: 7-8).
Give, and it will be given to you; Measure Good, tight, shaken and overflowing will give in your lap; because with the same measure you measure, they will measure you again. (Luke 6:38)
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

The pattern in all cases is simple: "If you do this, I will do this." I love it. I love knowing that if I apply God's pattern to my life, it will work every time. It has never failed me. Every time I choose to obey or concentrate on Him instead of my problem, it has brought me rest from my anxiety, bitterness, and inability to forgive.

CONDITIONAL PROMISES

The problem is that many times we are ready to claim the promise, but we do not want to accept the condition. We say, "Oh, Lord, I want this part of the verse, but I do not want the other part." Conditional promises do not work that way. You must be willing to do your part if you want God to do his part.

Sometimes, however, you are willing to do your part, but you do not know how. You have proposed that you want to live a life that pleases God, but you do not know how to do it in a practical way. Here, again, God gives us an organized pattern that can help you obey.

Let's say, for example, that you are worried about something in your life. Maybe you're being persecuted by a family member or a neighbor or co-worker. No matter how much you try, you can not stop thinking about the situation. Even Satan is bothering you by constantly bringing it to your mind, and you can not stop thinking about it. So you go to your Bible-always the best you can do-and go to Psalm 37 where God says, "Do not be impatient because of the evil ones."

If you stop reading up there, you can stop worrying, but not for long. It's because you have not replaced your worries with good thoughts. But God knows we must do both. And that's why he gives us that pattern in His word: "Do not see your problem-come to Me."

TAKE OUT THE TRASH

The work of Satan is always in darkness. He likes to blind us about us, because if we do not recognize the truth he has not got caught. And Satan likes to deceive us about our sin, because he knows that he will be upon us like a black cloud and will obstruct our prayers.

But who among us does not sin? How sad it is to see someone walking like a super saint with his fake and plastic smile on his face, while inside there is darkness of sin. Remember that Jesus called the Pharisees, whitewashed tombs, because on the outside they did everything right, but internally they were full of garbage.

If you are not aware of your sin, ask God to search your heart and reveal the truth to you.

THE DULZURE OF GOD

We must be brutally honest with ourselves. We must ask God to search our hearts and put His finger on any sin that we must get rid of. But afterwards, we must recognize the enabling power of God. You can behave like you should. You should not walk in hatred, bitterness, or malice - it does not matter what anyone does to you. God will enable you with His mercy to walk in a way that He will grade.