I do not know who wrote this, but I personally find it to be a very good reminder, especially as we prepare for retirement and the prospect of no longer depending on the security of military life.

 

Did you ever realize that whatever concerns you
concerns Me too? For what concerns you concerns
the apple of My eye. You are dear in My sight, of
great value, and you are My beloved; therefore,
bringing you up is a task close to My heart.
When trials confront you, if the enemy is
approaching like a river, I want you to know that
THIS CAME FROM ME, so that your frailty would be
in need of My strength and that your security
would be confined to your giving Me the possibility to fight for you.
Do you find yourself in difficult circumstances
among people who don’t understand you, who have
no consideration for what you like and don't
like, who push you aside? THIS CAME FROM ME. I am
God, and I have arranged your circumstances. You
didn’t find yourself by chance in your present
situation: this is the situation I predetermined
for you. Didn’t you ask Me to teach you humility?
I’ve immediately put you in that school where
such a course is taught. Your surroundings and
those living with you are fulfilling My will.
Do you find yourself in financial difficulties?
Is it hard to make ends meet? THIS CAME FROM ME.
I outfitted your purse. I want you to run to Me
and be dependent on Me. My riches are
inexhaustible; I want you to be certain of My
faithfulness and My promises­so that you would
not be able to say to yourself when in need, “You
didn’t trust the Lord your God.”
Are you undergoing a night of sorrowing? THIS
CAME FROM ME. I am the Man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. I allowed this so that you would turn
to Me and could find everlasting comfort.
Were you let down by a friend to whom you had
opened your heart about something? THIS CAME FROM
ME. I arranged this disappointment for you so you
would get to know that your best friend is the
Lord. I want you to bring everything to Me and to trust Me.
Did someone slander you? Leave this matter to Me
and cling more tightly to Me, your refuge. I will
bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday.
Were your plans wrecked? Are you wilted and tired
in your soul? THIS CAME FROM ME. You put together
your plans and brought them to Me to be blessed
by Me. But I want you to leave it to Me to
arrange your circumstances, and then the
responsibility for everything will lie with
me...for this is a little too much for you: you
can’t fix everything yourself; you are an instrument, not the main character.
Have you dreamt of doing something special for Me
and, instead of that, found yourself lying in bed
sick and weak? THIS CAME FROM ME. When you were
buried in your work I couldn’t attract your
thought to me, and I want you to be taught My
deepest thoughts and your work to be about Me. I
want you to learn to acknowledge that you are
nothing. Some of My best coworkers are those who
were cut off from outer activity in order for
them to learn to be masters of unceasing prayer.
Have you been called upon to occupy a difficult
and responsible position? Come, relying on Me. I
entrust this difficulty to you. For this the Lord
God blesses you in all your doings, in everything
done by the labor of your hands. On that day I
will give into your hands that vessel of holy
Oil­My blessings: use it freely, My child. Let
every difficulty that comes up, every insulting
word, every obstacle in your work that might give
rise to feelings of disappointment in you, every
revelation of your own impotence and incapability
be anointed with that Oil. Remember that every
obstacle is a Divine exhortation. Every sting
becomes weak if you have been taught to see Me in
everything that concerns you. Therefore, store up
in your heart every word that I have made known
to you today. I am not giving you something empty: this is your life!