Struggles

We all have struggles in our lives. Some are huge and others just small ones that nibble at us every day. Many are hard to face because they are so large while others have become habits that are hard to break. Some are recent while others have continued over many years. Some of these struggles are daily while others are intermittent, only occurring every so often. Those struggles are sometimes so difficult to deal with. We think that the battle is won, only to be disappointed when it shows up again.

Sometimes the source of the struggle is minor and other times it is major and God considers it a sin. There are times the temptation we grapple with dangles before our eyes like the bait on a hook of a fisherman, then there are those conflicts that arrive like a load of gravel in the bed of a dump truck, almost smothering us. I do know if we concentrate on the problem it will constantly grow and try to consume us. I also know that we are stronger than we believe.

Where can we go to find the tools and the strength to do battle with these urges? Where can we go to relieve the pressure of hopelessness and the feelings of discouragement? Where can strength we found? The place I find shelter is in the Word of God. It is a high tower. It is an oasis. It is a map to direct our steps. It is a light in the darkest of times. It is a place we see others have faced many of the same struggles that we do and what was the outcome. All are examples. Some of how to avoid those conflicts and others are prime examples of what not to do.

The problems may be many, but the answer is always the same…God.  Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” It can’t be any plainer than that.

Psalm 28:7-8 also says “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.”

So don’t be discouraged, Jesus, in John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In a world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”