Hardships

Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom on God," they said. ~Acts 14:22

In my personal life, I'm currently walking through a fire and it hurts, immensely. It's during times like this that I find it easiest to question my faith. To wonder why I believe in the God I believe in. To ask myself will all the struggle be worth it in the end. I start to indulge my flesh by thinking things like, if I weren't walking with God, my life would probably be easier...easier because my moral compass wouldn't be pointed north all the time...no morals, no guilt or conviction. Easier because if I come across a road block, I'd be more willing to take shortcuts. Easier because I could satisfy my fleshly desires without consequences I'd be willing to acknowledge. During my Bible study tonight, Acts 14:22 provided a rebuttal to all of my waivering, all of my doubt.

I choose to believe in God. I choose to walk by faith. I choose to seek the perfect will of God. Not once does the Word of God tell us that the journey we take in this life will be easy. Every great man and woman we read about in the Bible experienced some hurt, some pain, some hardship. While He walked this earth in the form of man, Jesus experienced hurt, betrayal, persecution, hardship. If Jesus, the Son of God, himself experienced hardship, what makes me think I won't have hardships too?

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God..." While the journey to heaven may not be easy, God's Word guarantees it will be worth it. So, while I walk through this trial, I can remind myself that this struggle brings me that much closer to reaching the kingdom of God. So, I won't look for shortcuts around this road I'm traveling. Instead, with God leading the way, and walking beside me, and guarding behind me, I will walk every inch of this journey and come out on the other side, stronger, wiser, and closer to my final destination...the kingdom of God. When I get there, I can imagine looking back at my journey here on earth and exclaiming, "YES! Every hurt, every tear, every hardship was absolutly worth it. For now I reside in my Father's house, where I belong, where there's no hurt, no tears, no pain, no suffering."

Hardships are hard. They hurt. They're uncomfortable. But think like this~no pain, no gain. I want to gain entry into God's kingdom. If that means on my way there I have to endure some struggle, then bring it on, because in the end the reward will surely be greater than the trials.