Skip to main content

The Struggles of this Life


Wow, you have been through quite a bit over the last several months, haven’t you? Astonished that I know that? Well it is because we all go through struggles in our lives. I don’t have the answers as to why we have to go through all of these things in life, but I do know that we go through them – and so does God. I have heard many people say (myself included) that it is all part of this journey we are on in life and that it serves to make us stronger. I don’t necessarily buy into that answer any longer though. I have friends who are separated from their loved ones, have parents who are entering their final days on this earth, have kids who appear to be going down the wrong road, and those whose marriage is crumbling right before their eyes. How are these things supposed to make us stronger?

I think we have gotten it wrong, at least wrong in the sense that we have to toughen up and stop acting like a child, because that is essentially what the advice is. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!” I disagree! We should act like a child! In fact, we have a Heavenly Father who wants us to come to him with this life’s struggles. Did you know that we can go to our God as his child and crawl into his arms? Did you know that he wants the pain to go away, just like we would want our own child’s pain to subside? Did you know that while God is commanding the cosmos, he is also very interested in what is going on with your life?

I say that we get rid of that “what doesn’t kill you…” saying. The struggles we go through give us, as the children of God, an opportunity to draw closer to our Father. We can confidently approach the throne of the King, and we can also run to our Daddy and just ask him to hold us for a while. My friend, it is certain that these struggles will not end in this life for me or for you, but we can use these struggles as an opportunity to draw closer to God – he is very capable and willing to shoulder the weight of these burdens for us. Now, that is what makes us stronger.

In Christ,

Jon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jimmy Kimmel's Response to Vegas

I found this quote while listening to Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional and controversial response to the Las Vegas shooting through teary eyes: “I want this to be a comedy show, I hate talking about stuff like this. I just want to, you know, laugh about things every night, but that seems to be becoming increasingly difficult lately. It feels like someone has opened a window into Hell…” I don’t agree with Kimmel’s political views on gun control (though I am not an impassioned gun enthusiast either), but I am in full agreement with the emotion behind his speech. I also think he might be on to something when suggesting a window has opened to Hell. Day after day, I think of ways that will convince a dying world of it’s need for the salvation offered in Christ alone. Perhaps, if the world is beginning to recognize that a window has been opened, it is time to be a little more straight forward about who Jesus is. It is a little ironic that we refer to Hell as a place where evil comes f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your Name - Your Decision

The magnitude of the crucifixion of Jesus has never hit me quite like it has in the last few days. Don’t get me wrong, I know the magnitude of the gift that we have received, but I just didn’t think about it to the fullest. Jesus was arrested the night prior to his execution and that is when his suffering began. People judged him for doing nothing wrong and our punishment was placed on him because he was and still is the only one who lived completely without sin. This has caused me to try to live my life free of sin and live Christ-like. While I still stumble, I know that I am a completely different man than I was or would have been without Christ in my life. Still, I always thought of Jesus dying for everyone at once, and while I knew he died for my sins I didn’t think of him on the cross thinking of me specifically. All that I have done wrong in the eyes of God were in the mind of Jesus when he was on the cross. Imagine Jesus thinking in his head… “Jonathan, you’ve done wrong and now...
Post a Comment
Read more

To Live is Christ

Paul said: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 I’ve always looked at that as such an encouragement. I’ve thought: “Man, I can’t wait until that day that I am ushered into the Kingdom. What a reward that will be!” But you know… lately I have looked at this verse with such a heavy responsibility. I mean, to live is Christ? That means that I am to be like Christ to those I encounter. I knew that already, but as I am about to turn 30 in September of this year, I guess I am starting to realize how quickly this life is going. I have salvation in Jesus, I have the blessed life that many people strive for, I have way more than anything I could have ever imagined – and I am grateful – but it is time to get serious about taking what Christ has given to me and pass it on to others. I have tried to live the best example of a moral and devout life, quoting verses about being the salt of the earth and letting my light shine along the way thinking I would roll...
Post a Comment
Read more