Life and its struggles

(1 Peter 4:1) “…for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin…”

Life is full of its struggles… and all; both the Christian and the unbeliever looks for peace in life’s storms. As certain as we have learnt that the rain will come, we see the clouds developing in the sky and we say to ourselves “today it will rain” and yet God stays his hand. But we have all learnt that there is most certainly a season when the rain will fall. So too is it with “life’s storms” they will also have their season in our lifetime. This is then a fact of life but even through this is a reality we must nevertheless be on guard against our very own hearts; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick (wicked); who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) – As our hearts often look for the easy outs as they wrestle for liberty; often at the exclusion of sound doctrine and many of our hearts respond to the name Pliable as readily as we would to our own names.

If one sets out on a journey, the only way to find ones destination with any accuracy is to have a detailed map. Guess work is never a good idea! Our hearts if left to their own devises will lead us down a road of destruction; we may even come across, Obnoxious, Rage, Self-willed and Proud streets as they are all in the same vicinity. It is only the accurate map to life, “the Word of God” that will keep us out of those dangerous hazards. Guess work is never a good idea; all that will do will certainly lead us into the “slough of despond”. So let us keep that warning in the forefront of our minds as we confront “life and it struggles”.

We have all learnt to all cope in different ways when it comes to life and its struggles and yet some never seem to overcome life’s difficulties, why? The greatest of all confusions in and through life’s storms is that meticulous question, why me? And most settle on the answer, “that is just life, it is the way the cookie crumbles”. Without understanding the deeper meaning of life how will we ever get a true grasp of the great things that are yet to come, heaven and all its benefits?

However, as for the Christian, we no longer need ask that question, WHY? We are clearly taught the reason for our struggles; “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1Peter 4:12-13) – Please take note that these trials are “fiery” and have been designed not to ruin us but to try us, to test our sincerity, strength, patience, and trust in God. The word “fiery” speaks of a smelting furnace. When metal is unearthed it goes through a smelting process in order to get rid of the dross and the more it is placed through that process the purer the metal becomes.

Just as through life we go through a series of tests to achieve; education needs testing in order to qualify the individual, so too God requires testing in the believer’s life to prove their obedience to this high call in their life. However the beauty of God’s requirement for the believer is not unreasonable, God the Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sent his only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to be the forerunner as our example, in other words He has led by example. He did a sterling job; in fact it was so perfect that it met every one of God’s requirements, this is how God proved his love and commitment, not that God has to prove anything, “HE IS THE GREAT I AM” and yet He chose a gruesome death for his Son so that some may go free; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – “Not perish but have eternal life?” Simply put the Lord Jesus, God in the flesh lived a perfect life without sin and then paid the price for our sin so that we could go free (All those who sincerely call upon him). Our very own sin will send us all to hell if we have not been covered by His blood that is what is meant by the word “perish”!

What then of these tests in our lives? I now address the Christian. They have been specially orchestrated, tailor-made by God for each of His children. Yes they vary in type from individual to individual but they all have the same goal, which is to progressively change us into the glorious image of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. “Life’s struggles” will help us put off the old nature and if appropriated properly will cause us to put off sin in our lives. Now many of us have been saved for many years and yet we struggle with the same issues in our lives, why? We have failed the test! It needs to be re-written; many are giddy from our merry-go-round experience of life. It is now time to understand and seek out God’s fructifying grace, and this wonderful aid is free for all those who believe.

The unbeliever does not have this privilege; “common grace” is theirs (the air they breathe and the like) but not “overcoming grace” that belongs to the believer. We can find joy in the most difficult of struggles but in order to “bubble over” we must seek out God’s righteousness with exactly the same technique the Lord Jesus used. We must learn to drink that cup of suffering; it is for our benefit and we must not only drink part of the cup but all of it! We all have a cup with our names on it; God’s ways are far higher than the ways of men, in fact this is how His plan unfolds; “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Corinthians 1:24-25)     

There is another gospel that propagates this message; come to Christ and all your troubles will dissipate… HERESY! That is not the true message of the gospel! This then is the assurance for the Christian; “Christ in you the hope of glory”! We look for a day when every tear will dry up, where there will be no more pain and we will be in eternal glory where God will be our Father and we will be his sons, but until then, life with its storms must and will be part of our lives.

Let us therefore no longer ask the question “WHY”, but rather vigilantly seek out God’s grace in time of need, Our God is perfect and full of love, and nothing He does is to our detriment. With that said if He is for us who then can be against us, we need only believe!

Signing off

Tyrone