Is everything that happens God's will? The answer is 'no!' if we mean God causes all bad things to happen. (Certainly God permits everything, otherwise he would not be omnipotent). Who rained all those calamities down on Job? Did God? No.

The Bible is very specific about that: it was Satan who did all that. So when you get boils, don't blame God! Who drove the thorn into Paul's side? Did God? No, again. This was Satan's messenger to Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Perhaps you are resentful about your job. The TV tells you the world is an exciting place, but you're stuck there.

Well, Jesus has overcome the world of the commonplace. Remember he lived in a village for 30 years, and worked in what many would consider a boring job, by a carpenter's bench. He may have had to support a widowed mother and the family. And so, with the messianic urgency growing within him, he had to exist in 'cramped' surroundings for 90% of his life!

The answer to calamity and resentment: Rejoice always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. As the beautiful book Gratefulness by David Steindl-Rast suggests, live a life of thankfulness: it is the heart of all true prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ, you have overcome the world the resentment, so I don't want to nurture my resentments any more. Amen.