LIFE IS NOT EASY

(We have been studying on "Exposing the Lies that Can Ruin Life" on Sunday morning. This past week we looked at lies that soceity tells us. One of those myths is that "Life should be easy". )

Roberto Flores is one of our missionaries from Cuba. I will never forget the first time he and his wife came to Ohio. It was Blanca’s first trip to the US. The expression on her face when we walked into Wal Mart looked like a kid who just walked into Disney World for the first time. “This is a wonderland”, she exclaimed. “Look at all the lights! This place has everything you could ever dream of”.

As Americans we do take things for granted. We really do have it made. We have remote controls, garage door openers, and cable TV. We enjoy power steering, air conditioning and cell phones. Over all life is easy when compared to the rest of the world. Now there is nothing wrong with making life easier, in fact that makes good sense. But the danger comes when we fall into the trap of believing that life should be easy. Because we believe this lie we become upset if the cable goes out or the internet doesn’t connect or we get caught at the traffic light.

Christians can be especially tricked into believing this lie. Many think because I am a Christian life should be easier, and if I trust God he will bless me with a problem free life. Nothing is further from the truth.

In fact, Jesus teaches just the opposite. He says, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33). God never promises no problems for the Christian but he does promise that we will find purposes in our problems (Romans 8:28). In problems we can discover God’s faithfulness, in trials our faith is strengthened, in difficulties we see God’s grace more clearly and discover his power. Through problems we become more like Jesus and find new ways to glorify God. To the Christian experiencing problems in life take on eternal significance.

No one is saying that we should go out and look for and create problems. However, the person who believes the myth that life should be easy will soon find themselves burdened with bitterness toward God and others. But when that person recognizes that life is made up of problems, he/she can look to God for help and realize that in trials he/she can become a better person not a bitter one when seeking God’s purpose even in problems.