I started this writing at first with the title I DO STRUGGLE, but then I thought, no, WE ALL STRUGGLE, even if we don’t want to admit it.
No matter how someone’s life looks on the outside, everyone has something — financial, health, family dysfunction, depression, dissatisfaction with life, insecurity, unmet expectations, and relational conflicts.
Just what is a STRUGGLE-
• forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint or resist attack
• make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction.
Paul says in Ephesians:
Ephesians 6:12 New International Version (NIV)
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
I once read a book, Spirit of Python, that compared Satan to a python. I have referenced this book before. The author compares Satan to a snake that wraps itself around you to choke the breath out of you, just like the definition of struggle. We are under the attack of Satan, and we are trying to get free from the restraint and constriction. He is choking the breath out of us.
Everyone has struggles, and no one is immune to battles of the flesh. Many times, we struggle because we expect a lot out of ourselves and others. We try to do it all or to be perfect. Sometimes, we question God and ask if this is what I am to do. Is this my purpose? This mission is complex, stressful, and tiring.
We are trying to be perfect in an imperfect world, and we want to say yes when the best yes is a no.
It is when we are struggling, when we are tired when we are obedient, and when we are serving that is when Satan digs his heels in and is the driving force behind the struggle. It is a wake-up call for Satan, and he is trying to constrict you and choke you from doing your purpose. He is the one that makes you question – Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing? There is nothing more Satan loves than you questioning God.
When I am under attack, I feel two different ways, and my emotions sway in two ways.
I either feel like I am about to explode or like I am drowning. I’m not sure which is worse or better; neither.
The inner feeling of explosion occurs when you reach a point in your life where everything is moving fast forward around you, and you can’t keep up. It is like you are running and running, becoming weak and tired, out of breath, and thinking to yourself, “I can’t do this anymore.” The seasons for life are when all the cars around you move full speed ahead and pass you. You want the world to stop.
Then there are those days that you feel the whole world is on top of you. You are walking into the water, and you are drowning. You are way over your head.
Both situations have me questioning, “God, is this really what you want me to do?”
Everyone has struggles, and no one is immune to battles of the flesh. Many times, we struggle because we expect a lot out of ourselves and others. We try to do it all or to be perfect. Sometimes, we question God and ask if this is what I am to do. Is this my purpose? This mission is complex, stressful, and tiring.
We are trying to be perfect in an imperfect world, and we want to say yes when the best yes is a no.
God knows our struggles. We serve a God who is with us always, who knows pain and suffering, who brings purpose to the battle, and who is faithful.
There is only one remedy when your feet hit the floor every morning: PRAISE GOD.
I love the song Highlands by Hillsong, which is a SONG OF ASCENT. The Songs of Ascent are a select group comprising Psalms 120-134. They are called pilgrim songs because it was when the Jews traveled uphill to Jerusalem. They traveled three-year-long distances for festivals (Deuteronomy 16:16). In the bible, these songs were sung wherever they would find themselves, in the valley in the shadows; they are committed to acknowledging God even when faced with the most dreaded circumstances. Each song of ascent encourages those who seek to worship God. The festivals were a time of joy when they met with the Lord.
The Psalms recognize the journey, see God as our helper, speak of joy, pray for peace, recount how God saved people, remind us that apart from him, we can do nothing, give basic truths, victory over enemies, hope in God, peace and hope as we wait on the Lord, and whenever there is strife and division, it is not God’s plan for us.
Hillsong song of Ascent explains to us that God’s mercies remain the same, that we should keep our focus on God wherever we are, and that our faith shouldn’t waver.
Highlands (Song of Ascent)
Hillsong UNITED
O how high would I climb mountains
If the mountains were where You hide
O how far I’d scale the valleys
If You graced the other side
O, how long have I chased rivers
From lowly seas to where they rise
Against the rush of grace descending
From the source of its supply
cause in the highlands and the heartache
You’re neither more or less inclined
I would search and stop at nothing
You’re just not that hard to find
I will praise You on the mountain
And I will praise You when the mountains in my way
You’re the summit where my feet are
So I will praise You in the valleys all the same
No less God within the shadows
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
You’re the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same
O, how far beneath Your glory
Does Your kindness extend the path
From where Your feet rest on the sunrise
To where You sweep the sinner’s past
And O, how fast would You come running
If just to shadow me through the night
Trace my steps through all my failure
And walk me out the other side
For who could dare ascend that mountain
That valleyed hill called Calvary
But for the One I call Good Shepherd
Who like a lamb was slain for me
I will praise You on the mountain
And I will praise You when the mountains in my way
You’re the summit where my feet are
So I will praise You in the valleys all the same
No less God within the shadows
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
You’re the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same
Whatever I walk through
Wherever I am
Your Name can move mountains
Wherever I stand
And if ever I walk through
The valley of death
I’ll sing through the shadows
My song of ascent
Whatever I walk through
Wherever I am
Your Name can move mountains
Wherever I stand
And if ever I walk through
The valley of death
I’ll sing through the shadows
My song of ascent
My song of ascent
My song of ascent
From the gravest of all valleys
Come the pastures we call grace
A mighty river flowing upwards
From a deep but empty grave
So I will praise You on the mountain
And I will praise You when the mountains in my way
You’re the summit where my feet are
So I will praise You in the valleys all the same
No less God within the shadows
No less faithful when the night leads me astray
You’re the heaven where my heart is
In the highlands and the heartache all the same
- CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK:
- • Keep your daily appointment with God
- • Dive deep into His word
- • Praise God no matter what struggle you encounter
- • Fill your cup with Christ so you can fill other cups
EXTRA READS:
https://theblazingcenter.com/2018/12/god-not-despise-struggle.html
https://downlineministries.com/catoe-struggle-is-real/
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