10-25-30 Hard is a Promise
Quote: “Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard. Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard. Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard. Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard. Choose your hard. Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely.”
WOW…
This quote was such a truthbomb in my life this past week. I have been thinking about it so much!
Life is hard.
The Bible does not sugar coat this fact at all. It actually does the opposite. I read through the Bible this summer, cover to cover in 3 months. It never once promises that when we become a Christian and live our faith out that everything will all of a sudden become easier. Or that all of our problems will disappear. That is not true. The Bible is full of story after story, of everyday people like you and me, that struggled. Jonah ran from God. Sarah was impatient. Gideon was insecure. Peter had a temper. Noah was made fun of. Moses was abandoned. Job lost all of his family. I love that the Bible isn’t full of perfect people because I can’t relate to perfect. My life is hard. I love reading about the people in the Bible because I can learn from their experiences of living hard lives. They inspire me and give me wisdom and make me realize that Bible times are no different than today. They had it hard then and we have it hard now.
One of the most fitting verses about the hard life is in John 16:33. Jesus is speaking and he says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus didn’t say you may have trouble or could have trouble – no he said you will. That’s a promise. And we win at the end – good does trump evil!
But we get to pick our hard!
Marriage or divorce? Obesity or being fit? Being in debt or being financially responsible? Communicating or not communicating? They are all hard. But we get to choose the hard and how we handle the hard. We make our hard choices and then surround ourselves with Christians who will keep us accountable and lovingly check in on us. Our family hangs out with families where husbands and wives treat each other with respect and model that for Mark and I so we can make our marriage stronger. I have a Christian friend that kept me accountable daily this summer to help me make my health a priority again. Our family ministry has a board that keeps us accountable by helping us make decisions for how we spend our money. Our little family of 5 has a family meeting every Sunday night to look over the week ahead and discuss issues we are each struggling with. All of these things I just mentioned are hard – they take time and we must be intentional about them. But we do it with other Christians because we weren’t meant to do hard alone.
Most of life is hard. But it was meant to be that way. If life was easy, we wouldn’t need God. We would handle all the hard stuff on our own, with our own strength, and give ourselves the glory when we made it through the hard times. No, that wasn’t God’s intention! He wanted us not to just live life but to live life with him. So rather than look for a 3rd option that isn’t so hard, just be okay with knowing you were made to do the hard stuff. God wants you to realize you can do it, but you’re going to need his help. When you do life with him, life is still hard but it’s manageable because you know he’s got your back and he is right there, right by your side. I guarantee you’ll surprise yourself. You’re way tougher than you think you are.
But there’s good news!
Becoming a Christian does promise you that a part of your life WILL be smooth, problem free, and tear free – but that part doesn’t come until we leave this Earth. Eternal life is the reward for living a hard life on earth. It is our prize. And that is what gets Christians through the hard stuff. Heaven is promised to those that call themself a Christian and who have dedicated their life to helping others commit their life to God.
There is an end to the hard stuff. I will be in Heaven when I die – will you be there with me? I hope that you and I can someday celebrate together and yell at the top of our lungs, “Hey, we did it! We made it!”
