The biggest misconception about following God is that it will be easy. We want to believe that, if we are doing the right thing, then things will go smoothly for us. Maybe we will avoid some of the hardships others must face. If you have walked this faith journey for any length of time, however, you know that “easy” is not usually one of the stops on the way.
The thing is, Christ doesn’t even pretend that it will be easy.
In this world, you will have troubles… – John 16:33
Troubles…that is what we are promised. And, yet, aren’t we so surprised when something in our lives goes awry?
We have a real enemy who walks among us. Satan roams around seeking to steal, kill and destroy. And, let’s be honest, sometimes he gets some pretty good licks in. Jobs are lost. Relationships are broken. Dreams are destroyed. This broken, fallen earth? It’s Satan’s playground for sure.
But Christ did not leave us with you will have troubles…
In this world, you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – John 16:33
Christ is bigger than the problems of this world…even the really big ones. We have to take off the rose-colored glasses, however, when we follow Him. If we confuse the Christian walk with a life of ease, then we are too easily shaken when the storms of life show up.
Instead, when facing struggles of any kind, we can say to ourselves…Christ has overcome. Christ has overcome.
And, because we know He has overcome, we can follow Him through the fire.
Often, Christ leads us down the rocky road…not the smoothly paved path. It’s just His way. And His way is good…not safe or easy…but good.
John 16:33 was one of the first verses I memorized as a new believer 10 years ago and it still encourages me…thanks for your blog post!
Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you have a great day!
“And, because we know He has overcome, we can follow Him through the fire.”
beautiful reminder, Stacy!
Stopping by from thought-provoking thursday and am so glad I did. this is a great reminder…
Reminds me of that old Ginny Owens song “If you Want me To”….I can walk through the fire if He wants me to. Because, like you said, He has overcome!
God is good….all the time.
Thank you!
All for Him,
Nikki
Thanks for stopping by, Nikki! That is one of my very favorite songs!
The hardest distinction to make is that between obstacles in your way that you need to overcome to follow God, and obstacles put in your way by God to tell you that you don’t need to be doing something. I am still struggling with how to tell which is which. Your post was very thought-provoking. Thank you.
Nancy
http://www.workingmomadventures.com
I agree, Nancy. That is not always an easy distinction to make. I hope you have a fabulous Friday!
I love this post and the reminder that God is bigger…than everything. It is hard to see when we are in the midst of a struggle. If we learn to focus on him instead of the problem, then we’d see an opportunity.
“If we learn to focus on Him…then we’d see an opportunity.” I love that! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂