Life is full of challenges.....how we face them DOES determine whether we will either sink or swim, be defeated or victorious, be miserable or joyful, be hopeless or hopeful. Every day, sometimes multiple times a day, we face challenges. Some are like rolling meadows (filled with prickles), others are look like impossible mountains..... your mind screams "where do I start?"
I am thinking today about some of the people I know or know of who are facing various difficulties and/or challenges. Some of them are undergoing what they hope will be life-saving therapy for disease, another faces a change in life circumstances which brings the challenge of living on a greatly reduced income; others are facing imminent departure from this life, another is facing the challenge of being harassed by an 'ex' and all that it could entail.
On a wider stage there are many refugees facing the fear of having nowhere to go as the Manus Island Detention Centre is closed down in PNG and the people are basically abandoned in a strange and possibly unsafe country where they have been virtual prisoners. I heard too, through an international aid organisation, who have been providing one thousand meals a day in an African country and the money has run out so the programme will stop. United Nations too are running out of money for their aid programmes. Governments face these issues which we are so often ignorant of.
When we face such situations it is easy to feel helpless, hopeless, abandoned, fearful. But we actually do have a choice about what we do with our feelings and how we handle these challenges.
What many people don't know is that they don't have to face them alone. You have probably heard the saying "a burden shared is a burden halved" and it is helpful to share with a trusted friend, but most times they cannot really help us apart from being a listening ear and caring heart.
My first 'go to' trusted friend is Jesus because I have learned that his love and care for me is far above anything I could imagine. He knows what it's like to face challenges head on. He willingly suffered for you and for me because he loves us. He is able to help us as we look to him. He can give us comfort, hope and peace, and he has the power to intervene and change our circumstances. One of my favourite life verses comes from Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
Some of these people I mentioned are facing their challenge with God, others are trying to do it alone. Jesus loves you dearly, knows what we are facing and he wants us to turn to him and ask for his help. He would love to 'do life' with you and give you a hope for eternity with him.
"Since (Jesus) himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested." Hebrews 2:18
Jesus, thank you for loving me and dying for my sins, please forgive me for trying to face life in my own strength. Come into my life today and teach me how to do life with you. Amen
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