Why does everything seem like such a struggle?
This is something that I seem to be asking myself a lot lately.
Why are my plans not working out the way I think they should?
Why does it seem like my gifts aren’t being valued the way I think they should?
I’m a Christian, doesn’t that mean things are supposed to be easy?
(Obviously, that answer to that last question is no… In case you were wondering.)
But why?
Once again, this is something I’ve personally been wrestling with quite a bit lately.
It seems that, despite my best efforts, things aren’t playing out the way I’d prefer.
So that becomes the subject of my prayers.
Asking God to help me figure things out. To take away the difficulties.
That’s not necessarily wrong… After all, the second half of James 4:2 says “You do not have because you do not ask.”
Though that’s a popular place to stop, the next verse shines a little bit of light on it:
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3, ESV).
But I think we can take this to an even deeper level…
It reminds me of the apostle Paul.
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9, ESV).
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I get this nagging feeling that this is a huge part of my problem.
I can give lip service to the fact that I fully trust in God…
But do my actions back up my words?
At a recent worship service, I was given a prophetic vision by a friend.
Long story short, it involved a big white wall that was blocking me.
I’m still not sure what it was all about, but if I’m being honest, much of what I do is aimed at me trying to maintain control over my life and circumstances.
I don’t want to act this way, but I do it all the same (Romans 7:15).
I can easily see that big white wall being my lack of trust in God’s provision.
And maybe that’s what’s causing my struggles.
Paul was given his struggle to prevent him from trusting in himself to the exclusion of God’s grace and mercy.
The last verse in the passage says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10, ESV).
Easy to say… hard to do.
I’m working on this myself, and it’s difficult and painful.
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Are there areas in your life where it seems like you just can’t catch up (much less get ahead)?
Are you struggling at home? At work? In your faith?
It’s often hard to fully understand your own situation because you’re too close to it.
Not to mention being invested in the way you’ve been doing things.
Often an outside perspective can help.
Shoot me a message and let’s talk about it.