Faith

Thriving Amidst Difficulty

Many people like me have at several points in their lives asked the question: “Why me, God?” In fact growing up, I used to cry a lot thinking it was my sins that made God allow bad things to happen to me.

So for instance, when I was in primary school. If I don’t come between 1st and 3rd by the time its third term, I’d attribute that ‘bad thing'(It was a bad thing in my African home, lol) to all the people I fought with… I was very wrong.

For a lot of us, that question – ‘Why me, God?’ stems from the fact that a lot of us think that the Jesus-life is a no-problem life. So, any sign of difficulty must either be a punishment or God showing Himself. Coupled with the way some people talk about God… We just by default expect a rosy life. I recall so many times when things didn’t go so well with me, I felt as though God had abandoned me.

But nothing is farther from the truth.

God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the faith life we have been called to live is not for possessions or the comfort of this life. Click To Tweet

It is a higher calling – God Himself is our portion (Psalms 16:5), hence we should not judge our walk with God or the person/nature of God based on these things.

Isaiah 43:2 says..”When you go through deep waters, I will be with you, when you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you(NLT)…”

Now, notice it says ‘when’ not ‘if’… So God is taking into account the fact that in this life, we shall have many difficulties and He is assuring us of His presence.

in John 16:33b, Jesus speaking to His disciples and us by extension said – “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Now we see that the faith life isn’t a life that is void of difficulties but we have the assurance that even in those difficulties, God is more than able to see you through.

I particularly love the story of the three Hebrew boys… See enh, the main gist for me wasn’t that God delivered them. Don’t get me wrong o. Does God deliver? surely! Does God work miracles? Most definitely! As a sister of mine likes to call Him, Jehovah Overdo!!!
But what got me in the story of those guys is this verse… Daniel 3:17-18 – But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 
Did you read that?! Those guys said even if God doesn’t come through for them, they’d still not compromise, they’d still trust God. This only tells of the fact that beyond the comfort of this world and things working for them, there was something they had, knew of God that would not allow them to let go.

It doesn’t speak well of a believer when he/she believes the difficulty in life is a sign of God ‘showing himself’ or abandoning us. Noooooo… God has said to us and we believe that He’d never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5)…

So we go through life with this consciousness. When the difficulty of life comes like they always would come, we don’t live or respond like those without hope.

I once heard of a young lady who killed herself because she discovered her relationship which she much invested in was a farce. Now, that’s because she held that as her world. My heart was deeply moved and I thought to myself if only she knew there is more to life than a relationship, money or a successful career. Some people lose money and just faint or lose their minds. My brethren, that shouldn’t be heard amongst us. Not to say that we can’t be emotional and cry or express pain (which indeed is felt) but we don’t stay there, we get back up, our eyes and focus remaining on Jesus.

Nothing should ever hold us down. We should always be thankful and joyful.

Joy, joy is a fruit of our very inside - the Spirit of God (Gal 5:22). That's our nature whether things are good or things are bad, we rejoice because that's who we are - it's in our DNA. Click To Tweet

Living would this mindset would help us go beyond just surviving during times of difficulties to thriving.

I’ll close this with this scripture: Col 3:2 – “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth…”

Let your hope be with God and in HIM alone. Allow that consciousness define your reality. So we know that while on this earth, when we pass through difficulty, God is with us. And one day, He is coming again and then there shall no more be pain or tears. Glorrrrryyyy! We go through this world with the focus on Jesus. Knowing we are as passengers in this world and one day we will go home.

Don’t forget to comment and share!

Much love guys!

If you loved this article, check these out:

So we go through life with this consciousness. When the difficulty of life comes like they always would come, we don't live or respond like those without hope. Click To Tweet
 3 Benefits of Pains and Trials
Dear Son: On Pain and Disappointment (You Better Read This!!!)
Good Lessons from Bad Girls

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