The Struggle

Am I the only one who seems to struggle with saying yes to God and following through on what I’ve said? I can’t be. Yes, I’m unique but I’m not that different. You might think that there is something or a lot wrong or negative about struggling but the truth is that if you are struggling you haven’t given up or given in. That thing is still on your mind and you know what to do. You just haven’t committed to the doing, come hell or high water as the saying goes. You haven’t said my life depends upon me doing or not doing this. You not serious because the outcome of your struggle hasn’t really become a reality that you are unwilling to live with or without. You may appear to be one thing on the outside but God sees the real you on the inside that’s calling the shots.

So many of us are good at going from this life event to the next without skipping a beat. We live our lives as though all is well and we should. The truth is we struggle. I don’t think it matters if you’re born again or not your life has been touched by struggle. As a believer in Jesus I’m not without hope and neither are you. Much of the time we don’t go to God with our struggles. It appears to be so much easier to just live life according to the status quo, blending in with the culture that we live in. The same routine day in and day out. You probably look like you’re doing okay, and life is good. Do you wonder if there’s more to life? I know that there’s more to my life than how I seem to be on the outside. There’s the person that you see everyday and then there’s the other me. The private me that is more comfortable hanging out in my head, no visitors wanted. Living in your head may seem to be a safe place. You’re entitled to think how you want and no one can tell you or me that we are wrong. The problem is a life lived alone in your head is a lonely life. No one can challenge your ideas or thoughts or offer a better idea. Do you get it?

Can I talk to the person on the inside, the real you? Yes, the inside person that you talk with from the time you get up until the time that you go to sleep. Maybe you do a good job at keeping them silent but the messages are still trying to get through. Are you constantly praying or staying busy and distracted trying to drown out that voice that reminds you of what you want you are trying to ignore. Yes, there are voices in our head and we’re not crazy. We should know who the voices in our head belong to and we’ll do well to not entertain negative thoughts all day long. What about the thoughts from your own mind? Do you know you can tell those thoughts to shut up. You can actually encourage yourself to do the right thing. Go read a book or better yet read the bible. Pick up the phone and talk to someone. Cry for help if you need to. Convince yourself that you need some rest, real rest because your flesh is worn out and you just can’t get the direction you need.

Struggling is hard work and it will tire you out. Do I do the things I just told you to do? Not nearly enough. I tend to ignore all of the things that I could do that would help when I’m in a real serious struggle. I rarely ask people for help. I pray and believe that somehow things will come together and work out. Does that make me a hypocrite? No it makes me accountable to everyone who is reading this right now. I need change just like you. What’s the answer God has for me? There’s a plan even if it’s not the plan that I had in mind. The key to living out God’s plan and destiny for me is after I’m finished struggling to control things in my life just surrender. I have to surrender my ideas, thoughts and plans. I need to discover and embrace His plan for me.

Surrender, it can be such a negative word. When I think of surrender I think about becoming subservient. Yielding my will, losing my rights or say in the matter. I can imaging being held at gunpoint with arms in the air afraid that I’m going to lose my life. When I looked up the definition of surrender in the dictionary it says “to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress; to give up; to yield or resign; to give oneself up. So many of those things are true about surrender and our life in Christ. At first I said “who would want to do that?” Without Christ in my life I wouldn’t.

I remember singing as a child, “not my will but yours be done” What’s that but surrender. If you’ve been to any church where they are not afraid of outward expressions of love to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ you will see hands lifted in the air. Those same hands lifted in the air can represent surrender and yet they can also represent, Father please take me into your arms I need you right now. Sometimes it’s important to just yield. Stop trying because we don’t have the answers and our efforts may be keeping us from a much better life that’s a part of God’s perfect plan for us.

A better life, a life where we feel as if we are winning. A life filled with victory. What does that look like? I’m not talking about all of the christian cliches. What does it mean to have victory in your life? A victorious life can mean something different for each of us. It may mean something different everyday. Some days having victory means you didn’t spend that money or eat that dessert, or it could be you just keep your mouth shut when you want to say more. The definition of victory is “a success or triumph over an enemy in a battle or war.” Let’s stop right there. In life we have enemies. If you are a believer in Jesus, a Christ follower, you probably believe that you have an enemy and he’s a fallen angel with a score to settle. If you don’t believe in God or Jesus you probably think that any person who doesn’t believe like you do is your enemy and victory would be for your views to triumph over theirs. Most Christ followers think that at the end of day we win and the enemy loses the battle. I believe that too, but right now I just want to focus on the victories you need on a daily basis.

Everyday we are struggling and fighting even if we don’t acknowledge it. I hope to dispel the myth that outer appearances tell the whole story. They don’t and we all know that. Although sometimes what you see is what you get, many times it’s not. I hope that we’ll get to a point where our smile represents what it means to have real peace, joy and contentment within. I encourage you to take your journey one day at a time. Don’t get tripped up by outer appearances. Allow God to work on your inner man just like He’s working on mine or the person who really gets on your last nerve. God really, really knows you and loves you so much. He’s got such good things in store for you but you’ve got to trust Him with your entire life. Yes, it comes back to struggling and surrender. Ultimately there’s victory for us all. There’s victory not just in heaven but here on earth. We’re not meant to live life alone so don’t try. There’s probably someone who feels just like you do. If you can relate to these words they were written just for you. Be encouraged. Take the courage it took for me to share these words with you. It’s my gift freely given. Keep it for now or later and move forward. Life’s waiting for you.

From my heart to yours,