I Thought It Would Be Easier
Have you ever met someone so filled with life and joy that you wanted to ravenously drink in all that this person could offer? That is the way that I felt the first time that I met Carrie Kittinger … I wanted her life to splash all over mine! Carrie is an uncommon Christian and her faith is contagious. Her thoughts are deep and her joy is genuine. I love her so dearly that I just wanted to share her with you all this week. And so, before you even read her blog, let me just say, “You’re welcome!”
I’ve caught myself thinking many times over the years, “I thought it would be easier.”
Surely I’m not alone in this.
No matter the stage of life we’re in, it can be tempting to focus in on the current struggle and miss out on the joy and sacredness of the moment.
Battles and blessings co-exist in our lives. We can bring the blessings into the battles or allow the battles to overtake the blessings.
I am so grateful for the pages of Scripture overflowing with examples of ordinary people who encountered difficulty with the help of the Lord. No two people have the same set of circumstances, but each are faced with the choice to trust the Lord or not.
A few decades ago I responded to a tug on my heart to dive into the truth of God’s Word in a fresh and powerful way. This was the beginning of a daily habit that continues to be life changing for me!
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
Reading and studying the truth of Scripture sharpens us, encourages us and fuels our hope.
Stories of our heroes of the faith stir up endurance within us, while fixating on life’s difficulties shuts us down and tempts us to throw in the towel.
I ran a 15K years ago and most likely would have stopped short had I not experienced the adrenaline that came with seeing others all around me stay the course. Some younger, some older. Some in better shape, some in worse shape. Each of us had to keep moving if we wanted to experience the joy of crossing the finish line!
I desire to be known as a woman of faith, but at times I find myself prone to doubt and prone to complain, prone to fear and prone to give up when the going gets tough.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
To lose heart means to give in to trouble, to become exasperated by difficulty, to be defeated in spirit, discouraged, faint hearted, to despair (New Testament Lexical Aids).
So how do we keep from losing heart? We fix our eyes on what is eternal! It’s from this vantage point that we are able to see the heaviness of glory outweigh the heaviness of trouble.
This is how Stephen could see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father instead of only the stones that were coming his way (Acts 7:55).
Caleb and Joshua saw through the eyes of the Spirit and brought back a good report after spying out the promised land. The other 10 Israelite leaders spread a bad report that stirred up an atmosphere of fear and unbelief. The giants in the land became the focus rather than the promise of God (Numbers 13).
Paul and Silas were able to pray and sing hymns within an inner cell after they were stripped, beaten, severely flogged, and shackled for proclaiming the good news of Jesus (Acts 16:25).
Jesus certainly had eternity in mind when He set joy before Him as He endured the cross, scorned shame and conquered death (Hebrews 12:2).
Sarah mockingly laughed at the Lord’s promise of a child in her old age and was challenged with the question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)
Mary chose to believe the angel of the Lord when he said, “nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) And blessing ensued as she chose to take the Lord at His word.
After being persecuted and kicked out of town the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52)!
Paul and Barnabas encouraged the disciples to remain true to their faith and told of the many hardships that would be ahead to enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
What will be said about you and me?
Will we give up or stay in the race? Will we remain true to the faith? Will we fix our eyes on the unseen? Will we still pray and praise when the going gets rough?
Instead of looking at life and declaring: “I thought this would be easier,” let’s look difficulty in the face with this declaration: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Perspective lifts in prayer. Thoughts and attitudes change as we allow God’s word to penetrate.
Eternal blessing is the reward. We have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. Jesus is interceding on our behalf to the Father. The Holy Spirit is our helper every step of the way.
NOTHING is too difficult for our God!
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:26