It Will Be Hard

I often forget how hard life can be. I mean, I realize it and live in it, then I get comfortable and complacent and get surprised by it.

Friendship is hard.

Marriage is hard.

Integrity is hard.

Parenting is hard.

Leading is hard.

Family dynamics are hard.

At different times through out the year, I will look back on journal entries from the same month the previous year. Last year at this time I was talking to God about my identity. I had just found out after 36 years, that my dad wasn’t my biological father. This news came two months after my parents divorced. It was a tough year.

What God brought to my mind today is who ever said it would be easy? God never promised easy, He promised His presence. God never promised comfort, He promised to be comforting.

Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Life is hard.

It is hard to tell the truth, when the easier thing to do is lie.

It is hard to stay when it’s easier to pack up and leave.

It is hard to be vulnerable when it’s easier to be fake.

It is hard to say your sorry when it’s easier to wait for an apology.

It is hard to serve when you feel you deserve to be served.

It is hard to give in when it’s easier to demand your own way.

It is hard to forgive when holding a grudge is justified.

It is hard to trust when trust has been broken.

It is hard to have faith, when faith has been lost. It is hard to have hope when despair is your companion. It is hard to persevere when giving up seems so much easier.

It will be hard. Your marriage will be hard. Your friendships will be hard. Your family dynamics will be hard. Your work relationships will be hard.Your faith in God will be tested.

So if you find yourself surprised and maybe even discouraged at how hard life is right now…

…take heart, He has overcome the world.

Is there a particular area of your life that is hard right now?