Struggle

Struggles are a part of life and if you aren’t struggling with something, praise the Lord.  Some people are struggling with fears and others with stress.  Some are struggling with sin and some struggle with their inability to cope with situations and circumstances they find themselves in.  Some struggle with guilt and insecurities and also with their self-image.  Some struggle with diseases and sickness, many are overweight and struggle with sensitivity about the way they look.  The list could go on and on, that is why I said that struggling is part of life.

Have you ever seen someone struggling with something and you wanted to help so badly but no matter what you did or said, seemed to help the person?  Have you ever seen people struggle with addictions and no matter how hard they try they can’t seem to overcome them?  I believe there are some struggles man cannot overcome unless the Lord intervenes in their life.  

I remember when I went through twelve or fourteen years of heavy depression as a believer and no matter what anyone said or did it never seemed to help deliver me from that situation.  In fact I thought I was like Cain, Abel’s brother in God’s Word in Genesis, who had a mark on his forehead, and I would live that way, separated from God forever.  

Did you ever do something you thought was so horrible that you thought there was no hope for you?  Many people struggle with things and think there is no hope for them and many end up committing suicide.  I think people commit suicide because of irrational thinking and because of the over powering thought of not having any hope.  

Thinking about this subject two people come to mind in God’s Word, one is Peter and the other is Judas Iscariot.  Peter denied the Lord on three occasions and Judas betrayed the Lord.  I believe both of them felt overwhelmed because of their decisions and they both probably felt like there was no hope, but the responses to their sin were different; Peter repented and wept bitterly over his denials, I think Judas was sorry also but instead of seeking forgiveness he went out and hung himself.  Because of Peter’s choice he found forgiveness and restoration.  At the time they probably both felt hopeless but their response to their hopelessness made all the difference.  

For a believer there is always hope and that hope comes in the person of Jesus Christ who has come to earth to give us hope.  I know what it feels like to feel there is no hope; I lived that way for many years.  But just like Peter, I found that hope to be a reality in Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord.  I can understand the unbeliever living in total despair without any hope because they reject the only One that can give them hope.  The reason why the suicide rate is so high is because people live with hopelessness, believing the lie that there was no Creator.  Thinking about this I think of the time when we all existed without hope because of the sin nature we were born with.  But at the right time, Jesus Christ died for us bringing hope to all who believe in Him.  

If you are a believer and struggling with guilt and condemnation, thinking that you failed the Lord so badly that there is no hope, even after confessing and repenting of your sins, read Romans 8:1-17:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Now you can walk away encouraged, praise the Lord, if you are an unbeliever without hope, there is also hope for you.  Repent of your sins, which means to turn away from your sins and tell the Lord you are sorry and ask Him to forgive you and to reveal Himself to you in a special way.  I believe if you are truly sincere, Jesus will forgive you and be your Lord and Savior, but don’t be in a hurry, take your time and let the Lord fill you with His perfect peace, love and joy and then thank and praise Him for saving you and giving you the hope that you were lacking before your encounter with the Lord.  Then pray and ask the Lord to help you find a church where the gospel is preached and taught and where you can grow in the Lord.  Something to think about!  May you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!