Have you ever heard Christians say that trusting Jesus means all your problems will go away and you’ll just breeze through life? Maybe you think the Christian life should be easy—being part of His family is what God wants for us after all.

But if an easy life is God’s plan for Christians, what’s Paul’s problem? After he met Jesus for himself, he trusted Him and then lived a really difficult life (ACTS 9). Even though he was fully committed to God, he had loads of problems. He told everyone he met about Jesus—but what did he get for his efforts? Beaten up, arrested, shipwrecked and chased out of cities, to name just a few things.

Look in the Bible at the stories of Joseph, Job, Jeremiah or Peter, for example. All of them loved God, yet they all went through terrible things.

So why do we still struggle when we become Christians? Why doesn’t God wave a magic wand and just make everything better? Somehow, in God’s way of making everything work, our problems help Him complete His plans on earth (ROM. 8:28; PHIL. 1:12). If we can still trust God and show love to the people around us, even during our struggles, we’ll give the world around us a brilliant glimpse of just how good God is.

By: Dave Branon

To Pray About . . .

Lord, I don't want the easy way out, I just want You. If going through hardships is how I can meet You, then I'll choose to be still in this moment of struggle, in the hope that I can experience more of You.