As I was logging on to my workstation this past week, I noticed a coffee mug, belonging to one of my co-workers, etched with the following inscription: ‘The Struggle Is Real’. I began to acknowledge that the struggle to get up each morning can be real without the help of her favorite brew. But my focus quickly shifted to ponder the real struggle that millions of quarantined individuals who are battling corona-related anxiety and depression. Neither your cup of joe nor a word from Pastor Joe will bring comfort.
To be sure, the Scriptures confirm that the struggles we encounter in life are real and it doesn’t minimize our pain. Yet we are also introduced to an arch enemy, the darkness of evil, an unseen foe to the naked eye (Eph. 6:12). From my viewpoint, the most daunting enemy is not the one we can see but the one we don’t even perceive to be a possible threat. When faced with anxiety, my greatest threat is not the threat over things I can’t control, but not actually relinquishing control to the One on whom I may cast all my anxiety (1 Peter 5:7). I’d like to share three lessons I’ve learned through viewing the trials and threats of life through a gospel-colored lens.
- BE REAL ABOUT THE STRUGGLE. When you are experiencing a difficult stretch of life, please reach out to a network of friends and community of believers who you trust. Let them know exactly how they can support you. Be specific. Jesus did this very thing when he was anguished in his soul on the brink of a difficult decision (Matt. 26:36-39).
- SOMETIMES, BEING WHERE YOU ARE IS EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE. Here I would be cautious about rushing (or being rushed) into a place where everything feels ‘normal and safe’ during tough times. Opportunities for growth where we are can be undermined by a desire to escape the uncomfortable posture of the moment. Let that moment be Ok with you. Again, Jesus is such an artful master in extending grace and space for us to wrestle with where life lands us. He meets us where we are and doesn’t demand we be at a place where we’ve not arrived (Matt 12:20).
- EVISION THE POST-STRUGGLE POSSIBILITIES. Someone once toldx me, ‘the greater the struggle, the deeper the healing awaiting on the other side’. I was greatly encouraged by this sentiment. A satisfying upside often lies beyond the downside of an intense inner struggle, exacerbated by circumstances and pressures like COVID-19. I cannot help to highlight the example our Jesus, “who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame…” (Heb. 12:3).
Because of the fall, we encounter the pressure of living in a fallen world and unfortunately that world falls on us at times. But remember that Jesus sets a clear example how each of us can play a role in carrying one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). It is my prayer that you have a few friends you can count on in those broken spaces and places of your life and can help you develop a vision of hope to sustain you through it all.
