You give and take away.

I think it's easy to think of God as a glorious man in the clouds who is forgiving, merciful and full of grace; but we tend to forget that that same man is righteous, asking, and above all: a choice. No one said you must follow Christ. It's an option, a suggestion even. If you want a fulfilling life with a great eternity than be as Christ was and in the process you will be overflowing with joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, love, self-control, and–I'm sure there's one I'm missing–things will go the best way possible, maybe not in your eyes, but they're all apart of a greater plan anyways.
God is viewed too much as a fairy god-mother: if you're really real than tomorrow I'll ace my algebra test. Then we're upset when we don't get what we want. God isn't going to hand you good grades, the perfect companion, or you dream job without you giving your all to Him, too.
I'm young, being 17 is probably one of the biggest things that holds me back from living up to God's standard. I know it sounds lame but there's just so much more intriguing things for me to do, so many more things cloud my thoughts. But then I look at my peers; I'm no one to judge but the ones who claim to be as Christ is aren't always acting as such; some more visible than others but it's all the same. I know God is a merciful god but he is also righteous, you can't keep messing up and expect Him to be cool with it.
Like any team or sport you have to try out to be officially on the team, if you're not good enough for basketball, what happens? You get cut. If you suck at dodgeball you're going to be the last one picked. Now, luckily God has already chosen us, and as his starters we must endure, for if we don't there's a million other bench warmers that are ready to take center stage that much more willing to step up and fulfill God's will. 1 Corinthians 9:27 says, "therefore I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached I will not be disqualified for the prize." If we lose sight of what we're going after we can get cut! Very few and far between but God has done it before, and He can do it again. Nothing on earth is worth losing that. Even through those rough spots or dumb decision making moments, move on and come back from that injury, for it you sit out too long you might forget how to play.

I apologize for my scattered mind.