A HARD KNOCKS LIFE FOR US

Have you ever wished life was easy? Only through opposition is life possible. That you push against the restraints that seek to hold you back is proof that you are alive. Yielding to the difficulties that oppose you is a sign of weakness and death.

Think about a seed lying on the ground. The forces of nature work against the seed. If life is not within the seed then it will rot and become part of the soil. But if life is within the seed then it will push back against that which would otherwise destroy it and begin to grow. The mighty oak tree stands strong because it was strengthened by the winds that sought to topple it. The very nature of life is to overcome adversity being strengthened by that which resists it.

• 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
  2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)

We grow in grace the same way a tree grows in space. We overcome that which stands against us. How does the believer grow in holiness, righteousness and self-control? The life of the Holy Spirit within us empowers us to resist temptation and sin.

Once we were dead in our sins and transgressions. No life was found in our soul, thus death was at work in us. We could not help but to be overcome by sin. We were alone in the world without hope. Our destruction was imminent because we had no life within us by which to overcome.

Yet now we are alive in Christ! That which once had the power to destroy us has no power over us. What once left us defeated now makes us stronger because the life of Christ is in us. When the soul is dead, our life only decays. But when the soul is alive that which once destroyed it, now develops and strengthens it. Growth and maturity comes only by overcoming that which wars against you.

The force of life is greater than that of death. Difficulty and hardship may abound around us. We may be opposed on every side, but nothing can crush us. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

So let’s stop asking God to make our lives easy. Death is at work in those who are comfortable. Instead let’s understand that the greater the problem we face the greater the life that is within us. Nothing can overcome us. What do you think?