Into every life, suffering will come, it's inevitable in this world. But if you are intentionally following Jesus as his apprentice, He can use this suffering to help forge a closer relationship to Him. No good father likes seeing his children in pain and God is a good father, if you open up and share the pain with God he will help you carry that burden, drawing closer to you bringing comfort and help. He did not design illness and death, they came into the world with sin. In the crucible of suffering you need not be alone, as Daniel's 3 young friends found out when thrown into the fiery furnace - always have an angel (or Jesus) there when your thrown into a furnace.

To gain this we need to counter the world's influences and the internal forces of our own hearts. The key - something is going to form us....Jesus would rather it was Him. But it requires a commitment to organize our days around intentionally following Him, which can lead to a deep joy as we fellowship with Him.

#1 - If our habits are forming us (like scrolling on social media, checking the news multiple times a day, shopping for things we don't need) and are making us more lustful, envious, anxious or greedy, then one of the first steps we must take as followers of Jesus is to become more intentional about our habits. We need to learn and follow Jesus habits. These will calm and slow down our busy lives and help us connect more to Jesus and each other. They are designed to give God the space to come in and transform our lives from the inside out. Practices like, Sabbath, prayer, fasting, solitude, etc. Through these you set your whole life before God and open deeper layers of yourself to his loving presence and power. Then as we do what we can do, He does what we cannot do, He forms us into people full of the fruits of the spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23

#2 - If our relationships with family, peer groups and others influence us more toward the world, then we need to balance them with relationships within the community and family of God, at the very least 1 or 2 people you can share with and pray with, upholding each other in prayer. It is not always easy, all relationships take work but it will strengthen you and help grow your faith.

#3 - If the stories we believe are forming us, are coming from the cultural narrative of Hollywood, social media or even the educational system and academia, rather than from Jesus and Scripture, how do we become more intentional about the stories we believe?

• Fill your mind with truth, especially truth coming from Scripture.
• Trust but verify! While goodwill toward men and trust is a good thing, you should always do your due diligence to check the facts. Especially stuff or news you hear on social media or Mainstream Media News channels - always verify before accepting as fact and believing it. Christian news sources are a far better source, because to them "Truth Matters".

We need to live in tune with God's will and His mind. You want to live life with Jesus thoughts and Will taking precedence, rather than your own, and that takes spending time in His presence so his indwelling spirit is there throughout the day. It takes practice to shut out the noise of the modern world and practice to quickly turn to prayer and seek that still small voice which will grant you the knowledge you need to do the next right thing.