There may be struggles in doing what God wants us to do

 

     Many times we think if God is really into what we are doing it will be easy and fruit will manifest instantly. We live in a world of instant everything. Fast food restaurants with food available instantly, shops where we can buy things right away if we have the money or the credit. There are few things in life that we have to wait for.  When we watch TV or movies we see people instantly fall in love and get married in a very short time. This sometimes happens in the Christian life but is rare.

 

     Jesus who said that we will have abundant life, also said that if we are to have fruit in our life we may also have struggles. In 2 Corinthians 11:23 - 28, Paul lists a bunch of problems that he had. His life was not easy and smooth. It definitely was not instant. He could hardly walk into some towns without someone trying to kill him. There were times he was hungry, fasting because he had no choice but to fast, in danger, no home, even at the point of death at times if not dead and raised back to life when people prayed for him. He also had many other problems in his life that are listed in this passage. Now this is about the life of a man who by his ministry and letters has been one of the most influential in shaping the church from his writings.

 

     Many times in the Church in richer parts of the world we have this instant mentality. If we have a few problems thrown at us it seems that our whole world falls apart. Many times we feel like God should have an instant fix to our problems. If Paul walked into many churches in these countries they would have him going through counseling, encouraging him to give more so he would be rich, and trying to figure out why he is always having so many problems. I've even heard people say that if Paul would live the way God wanted him to he would not have the problems that he had. But in 1 Corinthians 4:16 and 11:1 he said we were to imitate him which means that he knew that he was a person that we could learn from and to live our life like him. 

 

     The struggles Paul had probably had nothing to do with sin in his life. Most of the time it was warfare because he was advancing the "Kingdom of God" and invading the kingdom of darkness. Many times even when we are serious about growing in God we will start to experience warfare and problems. If we press into God when these things happen we will grow in the Lord. It seems to be part of the maturing process  (1 Peter 1:6-7; James 1:2-4).  Then at some point God will lead people into a ministry of some kind and many times there is warfare that we go through just from doing what God wants us to do.  Then when we are fruitful in that ministry there are seasons when problems keep coming all the time. By saying this I'm not saying to go out and look for problems. You don't need to expect something that God may not want you to go through.

     If we are not living the way that God wants us to live then we can also expect problems. These are not warfare for living a Godly life but God allowing problems so we will get our eyes on Him. If we are wanting to live the way that God wants us to, these kind of problems can either push us to God or literally suck the life out of us. Hebrews 5:8 tells us that even Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered. It is also true in our life that God will use problems to push us to Himself and to use problems in our life to help us to live for Him.


     Sometimes we can also develop what is called a "victim mentality" and expect bad stuff to happen to the point that it happens just because we expect it to happen. I have known people that every time they get a new job the same bad things happen to them. These people have been very gifted and know their jobs well but always seem to have personality conflicts with coworkers. After having a few jobs where the same conflicts happen they start living in a victim mentality and soon lose their job. To break out of this Christians need to trust God to help them change their life and know that He wants the best for us. For some, they have had people say things to them that become a curse in their life. If they pray to break these off and can seek God to help them change and trust Him to change their situation there are times when they and their situation will change.

     Sometimes we have sin in our lives that causes us to have problems in our life. I have prayed with some people because they were sowing lies, unforgiveness, judgements, gossip and even curses by the words they spoke.  When we sow crap into the lives of others by the things we say about them or what we do to them it will definitely have an effect on our lives.  Most of the time it affects us more than the people we were speaking about.
 

     The main reason I wanted to write this is that I hear of people that have problems and they think that it is because God has it in for them. I know that I felt that way when I first became a Christian. As I grew in the Lord and God changed me I realized that some of the problems that happened in my life were from things that I was doing and not from God wanting to abuse me. I want to reassure people that if they are wanting to live Godly in Christ Jesus that there are times that difficult things happen but that does not mean you are not loved by God. I want to guarantee you that God loves you and because He is love, everything that He does in your life is because He loves you. But there are spiritual laws and if we break them, there are consequences, and bad stuff can happen in our lives.

    Now I have mentioned two different types of problems. Those that come from living a Godly life and those that come from not living the way that a Christian should. Some people have asked me how can you tell the difference between the two. I think that the best way to know is by what is in your heart and what comes out of your mouth. If you are sowing crap it will definitely be coming back at you. If you are sowing good God has your back and He will take care of you. If you are doing what God wants you to do and bad things happen, God always shows up and takes care of the problems even when it looks like nothing will work out. If you feel that you are living the way God wants you to live but nothing good ever seems to happen in your life then there may be some past sowing and reaping that is happening in your life. Keep living the way that God wants you to and there will be a time when your sowing good will reap a harvest. If you are doing things that aren't Godly pray that God will help you to stop doing those things. Sometimes you may even need to find someone to pray or even mentor you to get out of the problems.

     Keep up the good fight and don't give up. If you are going through problems it is important to pray so that you will know what God wants you to do about them.  I'm not writing this so that people will go into shame and blame but to understand why they may be going through problems. I'm sure there are other reasons for people to go through problems since mankind no longer lives in the Garden of Eden, so keep looking to Jesus to get your answers.

We are His Workmanship Created for Good Works in Christ

Ephesians 2:10 WEB For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.

 

     I love this verse. There are many Christians that feel like after they have done their duty of going to church that there is nothing more for them to do. The rest of the week they are trying to be good people, do a good job at work, be a good husband or wife, or be a good parent.

     The Bible says that there is much more to the Christian life. Each one of us has been made by God for His purpose, not our own plans. Last week I listened to a man that said that 98% of people just fall into a job and do it all their life, most of the time without liking what they are doing. These people just exist and if they are Christians not sure what the life of Christ living in them means. The other 2% find life exciting and fulfilling because they are doing what they were meant to do in life.

     God can make even a boring job exciting. I had a job soon after I got married working for a print shop. I wanted to share the gospel with people but was scared to speak up. Even though I was scared I spoke up anyway. Soon some people that worked there started bringing their Bibles to work and asking me questions about the Bible. I was able to answer their questions and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. This made that job worth my time.
     It is important that what ever we do in life and especially in our jobs that we let people know that we are Christians and love people to Christ. Many people see us condemning unsaved sinners more than they see us loving people the way that Jesus has called us to do. We need to find out what those good works are that we were created for and do them with a loving heart. Many times we miss the abundant life that the Bible says we will have because we don't walk into those good works.

Feel free to leave me some feedback.

Bruce Isom