No Struggles

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 11, 2017

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.   Psalm 73:4-5

Having no struggles at all will never happen in this lifetime. A no-struggle existence is not possible until you graduate to heaven’s struggleless environment with your Savior. The nice and the naughty alike struggle, though outwardly they may seem void of vexation. The righteous and the wicked both struggle to varying degrees. No one is exempt from struggles. Yes, there may be seasons of minimal conflict but struggles are on the way. You are either struggling, about to struggle, or have just finished struggling. Indeed, everyone from monks to mafiosi struggle. Therefore, don’t spend your life trying to insulate yourself from struggles.

You will stress out more from trying to avoid struggles than you will from accepting their reality. This is not to say God would have us solicit struggles into our life. But He does understand that struggles are meant to send us to Him. Struggles look for a Savior, and Jesus is our friend in our fight against struggles.

Envy can erode your eternal perspective by giving you a false impression of others who seem to live lives without struggles. This is inaccurate and ill-conceived. No amount of money or power can completely drive struggles from someone’s life. In fact, it may compound struggles because of the complexity of choices that are created. Someone’s large amount of discretionary time may, on the surface, give the appearance that they are without struggles. Not true. There are still the internal struggles of sin and self against God’s best. And there are the external struggles created by other people’s choices and circumstances that are out of one’s control. You can join in another’s struggle through prayer.

Paul requested this when he wrote, “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30).

Struggles are meant to grow you in Him, not drive you away from Him. Use struggles to your advantage, rather than to your disadvantage. Struggles do not mean you are less spiritual. It may be that just the opposite is true. Because of your sensitivity to obeying God, you may struggle. You may struggle over the misunderstanding others have over your love for Christ. You may struggle because of the mistreatment by those convicted by your lifestyle. You may struggle to forgive because of the unforgiveness that is extended back to you.

Struggles come in all shapes and sizes. Some things you can control—what you eat, for example—and some you can’t control—like your height. So go quickly to your Savior, Jesus, with your struggles. Use them as an asset rather than a liability in your relationship with God. Lean on prayer to persevere through this time of struggle, because struggles are about survival of the faithful. You are not alone in your struggle against sin, self, and Satan. Therefore, stay true to the task of disciplined devotion to Christ and be with those who survived their struggles by the grace of God. His grace is sufficient no matter what the struggle. Don’t seek to be struggle free. Rather, accept struggles in stride, with His greater purpose in mind. God uses your struggles for His glory.

The Bible teaches, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

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