Struggling? … The Next Best Move

… PRAY.

Take it to God … Talk to Him about it … Give it to God.

Consider starting by telling God exactly that … then ask Him to teach, enable, and tell you what and how to PRAY.

I do NOT like struggles. That said, over the last year my aversion to it has significantly reduced solely because of the

God already knows …

Sometime early this year, in a moment of prayer, I struggled with words – I felt like my words to God that morning were not well-put-together, they seemed disjointed.

Before I became distracted by this, the Holy Spirit helped me understand that the eloquence or correctness of my words in prayer is not the criteria, God already knows. He knows what I’d say even before the thought of praying crosses my mind. He is not unaware.

This revelation (that God already knows) is peace-giving on at least two accounts:

COME … Expose it to the Light.

For a VERY long time I struggled with being a Christian – I didn’t know how. Also, I couldn’t meet all the externally prescribed and internally imposed criteria on How-To-Be-a-Christian. With every attempt made, I failed. This (at some point) led me to feeling like I must not love God … it was a painfully awful experience!

In His love and mercy, God stepped in. In addition to helping me see that I am the clay and that He is The Potter (the Author, Writer, Sculptor, and Perfecter of my faith), He helped me see (understand) what my next best move would (and should) always be: bring it to Him (whatever it is, including me).

In other words, God was saying to me:

Let God do it for you … the do-it-yourself approach is futile.

Not too long ago, I struggled with being weak. I felt tired and was weary of being needy … of being in a place where I needed God’s help or saving always.

I should be strong enough to handle this.

With all that the Holy Spirit had taught, told, and shown me, I expected myself to be strong enough to (at least) take on the “small things” on my own and not have to go to God to do everything for me – including coming to Him!

Going to God to ask for or get help involves acknowledging that I’m weak. In that chapter of my walk with God, I most definitely was feeling a type of way about this seemingly constant reminder of my weakness and inability to help myself.

In His response to me, God revealed that I will never be strong enough. He reminded me that I will always be the need for Who He IS. I was created to be the demand for Who He IS – I’m the demand, He is the Supply (and Supplier).

In other words, it can NOT truly be done unless God does it.

In addition to it being a sin (Romans 14:23), “doing” it on my own is futile.

Letting God do (fix) it is the only way it truly gets done (fixed). Let Him do it.

It is an opportunity to experience God …

I struggle with anger – I’m quick to frustration, offense, and (if not checked) ultimately anger. This is my natural response to being treated unjustly …

… Yes, I am aware of James 1:20, Proverbs 14:29, and Ecclesiastes 7:9 – all very good reasons to want to nip this temperament or natural inclination in the bud. I want to but honestly some days, it kicks my butt. One of such times, with the help of the HolySpirit, I took it to God. His response to me was:

… move forward toward the sea. Before I elaborate more on this, let me quickly point out that in His response to me (as well as to the Israelites in Exodus 14:13-15), God indicated:

All we have to do is be still (believe God) and experience (know) Him. Hence, ‘move forward toward the sea’.

The sea, as with all struggles and obstacles that we face, is not meant to drown or overcome us; they serve a purpose and present us with the priceless, life-giving opportunity to experience God.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with what ensued after Exodus 14:13-15, God parted the sea and the Israelites walked right through it … on dry land! 💖 The Egyptians who followed after them? Well … Ehmmm … not so much!

Looking at the sea (obstacle) before us, we can be tempted to try to do something about it in our own strength. In the story of the Israelites in Exodus 14, this would look like trying to build boats to help sail across – a seemingly natural and reasonable thing to do yet, doing so would have been futile! They did not need boats; they ended up walking as opposed to sailing.

Another similar story is that of Paul in2 Corinthians 12:8-10.

Here, we see Paul telling God about his struggle …

… and God responded back to him, saying: “My Grace is sufficient for you”.

Prior to the understanding I now have on what God was saying to Paul in the above verse, I found God’s response to be seemingly unrelated and somewhat dismissive.

Paul wasn’t questioning the validity of God’s Grace. That he called on God and went to Him with his struggles is indication that he trusted God’s Grace. So why would God’s response be something seemingly unrelated to the matter at hand?

Well, it wasn’t unrelated. On the contrary, it was an intentional, very relevant, and insightful response. In truth, God was saying to Paul:

The same end result – to know and experience God – is what we see in Job’s story. Having endured all that he did, Job’s response to God was (Job 42:5):

Struggles (afflictions) serve a function in our walk with God – they set the stage for the display of the Glory of God. They present us with the opportunity to know and experience God – to know God is eternal Life (John 17:3), real Life (1 John 5:20), abundant Life (John 10:10B).

The opportunity to know and experience God is what drastically reduced my aversion to struggles/affliction. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I’ve come to learn that like fish in water, my habitat is any where I see and experience God … this includes the place of struggle (or affliction).

I still do NOT like them and would rather avoid them BUT, I would much rather know God – I would much rather experience Him personally, progressively, and fully.

While struggles/afflictions are NOT fun, they serve a rewarding purpose and are points along the best pathway to the expected end – to know God (our greatest reward and the essence of Life itself) … our faith perfected.

Faith = the Knowledge of God. It is how I please God – the very purpose for which I was created (Revelation 4:11).

Soooo, all things considered …

… struggles are inevitable. Nevertheless, they are not intended to (and in truth will not) harm us – Jeremiah 29:11. They are instrumental to the refining and perfecting of our faith.

We all struggle. What one might consider seemingly small is, (by experience) to another, an overwhelming giant. That said, no matter the gravity and impact of the struggle, God is infinitely bigger. Like He was with the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), He is here with us even now.

God is with us in the midst of the storm. The storm isn’t the only thing happening; God (LOVE) is happening too. Look for God in the struggle – He is there. Let’s not let our hearts be troubled when we hear the roar of the raging tempest; instead let’s be still (believe God) … The LORD our God in the midst of us is mighty to save – Zephaniah 3:17A.

Struggles and afflictions suck! God is very aware … He says: Come

God says: Let Me carry it for you …

He can take it … He is Almighty! Let’s give it (and keep giving it) to Him.

Struggling? Afflicted? PRAY – this is the next best (and ONLY life-giving) move.

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Abba, thank You for the privilege to come to You. Thank You for working all things together for my good AND Your glory. #The2-in-1Combo 💖

You bear my burdens and carry me day by day; You are my Salvation –Psalm 68:19

Who else can I call? Who has strength to truly save? ONLY You are mighty to save!