Is Life Always Going to Be a Challenge?

I hate to burst your bubble, but yes, life is always going to be a challenge.  But there’s good news:  some days will be better than others!

Why does life have to be so tough?  People are imperfect (with sin) and basically selfish and proud, and seek to serve themselves rather than God. 

I had this misguided idea that once I acknowledged Christ as the leader of my life (also referred to as “Becoming a Christian” or “Being saved”) my life in the land of milk and honey would be trouble free.   Well, I was wrong.  Being a Christian isn’t a guarantee of a trouble free and perfect life. 

But it is life full of promises, one of the greatest being that I will never be alone.  God promised both in the Old Testament (Joshua 1:5) and the New Testament (Hebrews 13:5) that He would never leave us or forsake us.

As a matter of fact, God also directly addresses this issue of a challenging life. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus states, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  There you have it, even Jesus Christ acknowledged that each day will have enough trouble of its own, acknowledging there is trouble and that is simply a fact of life.

This got easier for me to accept when I really started believing God was available to me 24/7, that He wouldn’t leave me or forsake me.  And that my communication with Him wasn’t just one way, (either the perception that He was telling me what to do, or that I could go to Him with nothing but favors) but I could go to Him in dynamic communication which includes questions, misgivings, rantings and ravings in addition to praise and thanks.

So, yes, life in this imperfect world with imperfect people will always be a challenge, but as long as I remember I don’t have to mutter and complain to myself but I can talk directly to God those challenges are a little bit easier to swallow.