When the struggle is real

*This is a article I wrote for the PURSUE magazine. If you share this please also include a link to the magazine as well - http://pursuemagazine.net/


I hope that this will be a blessing to you!

 

I’m sure many, if not all, of you have heard the familiar phrase, “The struggle is real.” Many of us say this almost in a joking manner while texting our friends about a small struggle we are facing. In reality, though, many of us our facing real-life, serious struggles. Many of us have something in our lives that we are having trouble overcoming. Many of us are suffering from broken hearts, bitterness, anxiety,  or maybe some of us are just struggling to keep up with the flow of life. Many of us are hurting, and most of us are dealing with “real” struggles.

    In a world struggling for success, love, support, and wealth there is still something that is much bigger than all our hurts, troubles, and struggles. Your struggle may be real...but so is God. He alone is able to conquer all of our struggles in life. 1 John 4:4- Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. We need to give our struggles to God because He alone is the One who can deliver us. Don’t tell God how big your struggles are, but tell your struggles how big your God is. Once we look at all our struggles as something God can control they don’t seem as big as they once were. In the Bible, we read about people who faced struggles much bigger than you and I. People of God, such as Paul and John, were tormented and beaten and eventually killed for the cause of Christ. Mary and Martha’s brother died. Job lost all his children. Sarah prayed for a child for over 40 years before having one. Joseph was sold as a slave. You see, many people in the past have had struggles just like you. They were real. They were big. But all of their struggles were overcome because they put their faith in God and they gave their struggles to God instead of trying to handle it themselves.

    There are other people in the Bible who had big struggles too. Samson lost his strength, Solomon lost his wisdom, Cain hated his brother, Lot’s wife had to move from her city. Pharaoh's land was full of plagues and his firstborn son was killed. These people had struggles, too. But they never overcame their struggles. Instead, their struggles overcame them. Why? You might wonder why all of these people and their struggles were never resolved like the ones I had mentioned before. It’s because they handled their struggles the wrong way. We all have struggles, but how we choose to handle our struggles makes all the difference. Real struggles placed in the hands of a real God bring forth real solutions.

God is the only one who can overcome your struggles. Even when we are weak and discouraged by the world around us God is still strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Are your struggles in life overwhelming you? God can overcome these struggles through you. It’s all about how you respond. If you turn to God and have faith in Him then you’ll be triumphant like Job. But if you rely on your own strength and you don’t put your confidence in God you will be like Samson or Lot’s wife. You’ll let those struggles overcome you and eventually destroy you. Put your struggles into God’s hands! He is strong enough to overcome them.  

Keep shining bright

~Brittney