Hope is calling

"Satan does not care when Christians pursue their own visions and their own plans, but when the Spirit of God is in operation, putting the pieces together for a strategic conquest of souls for God’s glory, Satan is worried and all kinds of problems and troubles break out." This quote came from a message given by someone I trust , and it got me to thinking about a few things.  1) This is not how I thought for many years. I and other Christians would often talk as if struggle and trouble was a sign that we might not be in God's will, but if everything was going smoothly, then God was blessing and we were where we were supposed to be.  2) But I'm realizing that what I used to think (#1) isn't scriptural. The Bible is full of examples where God purposefully led people right into struggles and troubles. He led the Israelites directly to the place where they were cornered by the Red Sea and the Egyptian army! Joseph went through tons of difficulty and he later testifie