Daily life comes with its ups and downs, tugs and pulls. We grapple with diet and weight, finances, addictions, and illness. We strain to finish a day’s work. Entrepreneurs struggle to launch a new business. Athletes compete to enter professional sports or the Olympics. Musicians aspire to obtain a recording contract or to be selected for the symphony.
And we wrestle with bigger issues. “Is there a God?” “Why am I here?” “Why do I struggle with this?” According to the dictionary, to struggle is to make strenuous efforts to get free of restraint, to strive to achieve or attain something in the face of difficulty or resistance.
I once went through a season of struggle, on second thought, an era of struggle. At the convergence of three circumstances—a ministry rejection, the challenge of parenting teens, and my husband’s terminal cancer—came heartache and a determination to remain in God’s Word. I began to use the concordance in the back of my Bible to look up the verses containing every sad word I could think of. That led to a very long conversation with God.
The conversation started with a thirst for discovery. The discovery started with a question: What does God have to say about the word struggle?
Jesus Sees You Struggling
Let’s start with a story in the sixth chapter of Mark. Many of you know that Jesus walked on water, but how many other details do you remember about that story? The disciples had just returned from a ministry assignment and were telling Jesus all about it. They were tired and about to retreat to a quiet place, when their plan for rest was sabotaged by a large hungry crowd and the compassion of Jesus. The gathering commenced with the teachings of Jesus. The exhilarating but exhausting feeding of the five thousand followed.
Finally, the disciples were told to step into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while the Son of God went up on a mountain to pray. “[Jesus] saw the disciples struggling. They were trying to row forward, but the wind was blowing against them (Mark 6:48).” That’s when Jesus walked out to them on the water. Friends, this is what I want you to remember. On those long days when everything seems against you, Jesus sees you straining at the oars.
Jacob Struggled
We are a people who struggle with God, men, sin, and Satan. In Genesis, Jacob was told, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won (Genesis 32:28).” Jacob struggled with two men in particular—with his brother Esau to obtain his father’s blessing and with his Uncle Laban, who tried to swindle him in the areas of work, wealth, and wife. Eventually, Jacob realized it was God he must “wrestle” with. God controlled Jacob’s destiny and the blessings he received.
Our Internal Battle
Paul describes our struggle with sin. The “desire to do good is inside of me, but I can’t do it. I don’t do the good that I want to do, but I do the evil that I don’t want to do (Romans 7:18b-19).” It’s frustrating to keep repeating the same mistakes. Turns out there is a little tension between dying to sin and living for righteousness, a butting of the heads between our will and God’s will.
Bible teacher and author Sharon Jaynes helps explain this internal battle. What we want to do is live for righteousness. When that happens, we are led by the Spirit and new thought patterns and actions prevail. We rely on God and seek to please God. But sometimes the flesh, or old self, returns to default mode, sending us back to our old thought patterns and actions, and what we used to do to get our needs met apart from Christ. We go back to doing things in our own way and in our own strength. There’s a natural tendency to conform to the pattern of this world. It takes effort and intentionality to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Saturating ourselves with the truth of God’s Word and then yielding to the Spirit to live out that truth is an ongoing process.
Jesus Struggled
Even heroes of the Bible, such as Moses and David, were imperfect. The Bible tells us that Jesus also was tempted and struggled with sin. But unlike anyone else, Jesus never sinned. Paul acknowledges struggle, but also encourages us. “In your struggle against sin, you haven’t resisted yet to the point of shedding blood (Hebrews 12:4).” The heroes of the faith suffered and we suffer, but not as Jesus suffered.
Our Struggle with The Enemy
As we struggle with others and with ourselves, we often fail to see the real enemy. Paul says, “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens (Ephesians 6:10-12).”
Our Struggle and God’s Strength
In Paul’s ministry, he taps into God’s strength and mighty power. “I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully (Colossians 1:29).” Did you catch that? Paul doesn’t say, “I reach for this goal with my energy.” He says, “I work hard with God’s energy.” When we struggle God is with us, and we can be with others—through our presence and our prayers—when they struggle. “Brothers and sisters, I urge you, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggles in your prayers to God for me (Romans 15:30).”
In conclusion, studying the Bible with a group is beneficial, but don’t rob yourself of the rewards of reading the Bible for yourself. You will experience the joy of discovery and deepen your intimacy with God as you dig for truth. God wants a relationship with you and relationships require communication. What word will you use to spark a conversation with God?
TIP: Instead of the concordance in the back of your Bible, you could use the online search tool at Bible Gateway.
All Scripture references refer to Common English Version (CEV)
Photo by Damon Z (FLickr)
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