Le Struggle

QiBee and Te[a]

Ok…pop quiz! Before you read any further, you need to answer both questions correctly.

Is the struggle real?

• Yup!
• Has it ever not been?

Do you have said struggle?

• Yup!
• Ha, I was born with it

Now that we’ve established that the struggle is real and that everyone has it, we can continue.

Define your struggle. Is it waking up everyday and going to a job that you absolutely hate? Is it going through the motions trying to find purpose in life? Is it feeling like a failure? Perhaps you’re pretending to be something that you’re not. Or can’t fully commit to walking the straight and narrow. Longing for discipline in different areas of your life. Define your struggle.

Our struggles have so much impact on how we live and what we think of ourselves. Sometimes, our struggles feel impossible to defeat. We forget that we already have the victory. So we compromise and give in. This is the way it will and always be and there’s nothing we can do about it. Life will forever be miserable and the struggle will always be real. Cue the dramatics and violin.

Last questions of the pop quiz:

Is God real? I mean do you truly believe that? Is He real enough for your struggle?

God is bigger and better than anything and everything that you face. What’s the point of in serving a God who created the heavens and the earth, who formed you in your mother’s womb, who gave His Son has a sacrifice for us and declares His love for us everyday with grace and mercy if even in our struggles, we can’t turn to Him? I have a Dear God journal. I can write out my thoughts and emotions a lot easier than I can say them. There are so many entries where I begin with, “Dear God, I’m struggling…” He sees my struggle and helps me through it.

One of my favorites things about God is that He doesn’t just give us what we ask for. He gives us the opportunity to grow in order to achieve what we ask for. For example, have you ever prayed that dreadful prayer for patience? God doesn’t say yes by instantly giving you patience. He says yes by providing opportunities for you to strengthen your patience by relying on Him.

In the same way, God will not just remove your struggle immediately. He wants to give you the opportunity to see that He is still God in the midst of your struggle. This is life. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. But one thing is constant…the realness of God.

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

So what can you do?

Don’t stop trusting. Don’t stop believing that God is in control. Don’t think for a second that He no longer hears your cries or sees your struggle. He promises to never leave or forsake you. He promises that He is enough. He promises that His joy will be our strength. He promises all of Himself to us. I love to read verses that remind me of the promises that God has laid in His Word. God cannot lie and if He said it, He will do it.

Want this tea?

One of my besties got me this cool mug from JCLU Forever.