Obedience in the Midst of Struggles
Where do we turn when the fire burns out? Our friend shares her journey.
Many testimonies are reflections of things that have already happened and seeing in hindsight how God has answered the prayers we’ve lifted up with the end goal of us as people and sinners having more faith. I’d like to share my testimony while I’m amidst the struggles I’m dealing with this very moment and also share my attitude in hopes that it will encourage you to remain faithful in the Lord in your times of hardship.
Let’s back up to January 1, 2011. For some reason, I really felt like God gave me a fresh new start this year in my walk with Him.
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My heart was completely changed and I totally experienced a spiritual transformation. I was so on fire for the Lord: witnessing to people (which was not really characteristic of me as a person), increasing prayer time with heightened faith, persistently serving in the community, soaking myself in the Word like never before and securing my identity in the Lord. I can’t really explain it.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been hit in all parts of my life: work, personal life, school, family. Ok, listen, I’m a human just like you. I’m flawed and yes, I’ve been discouraged with these things I’m going through. At one point (and it was actually just last week), I wanted to give up on what I’ve been working on in my spiritual life for the last year and wanted to let go of the different communities I committed myself to.
It’s funny because as I’ve just started to read Job in the Bible, I feel like I’m going through a Job-like stage right now. It’s so easy to read about people in the Bible and have difficulty really applying what was learned in the past to our own personal experiences. So, as you may or may not know, Job was a servant and who was faithful in the Lord with everything that he faced. In the book of Job, he complained a lot and I feel like I’ve complained these same complaints in different times of hardship. Satan sent down all kinds of afflictions on Job (killing his servants, children, sheep and camels, painful sores from his head to his feet), thinking that Job would turn away from his faith. Even when Job’s wife told him to curse God, Job’s response was this: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Listen, I’m not trying to be all holier-than-thou, but I’m just thinking, isn’t this so true? As people, we all wish that our lives be “easier”, but aren’t these difficulties what God uses to build our character? When I read about Job’s complaining, I thought, ‘Won’t you shut up, Job? Stop complaining man. You’re ridiculous!’ But in essence, I’m saying these words to myself and the silence following my echo brings me back to my quiet time with God.
When Jonah refused to do what God told him to do because he was a prideful man, he ran away and was swallowed by a whale. Even when God saved him and the whale spat him out on dry land, Jonah was just as prideful as before and wanted to give up, stating that it would’ve been better for him to die than to live.
Often times, it’s so easy for us to give up, but what would we learn by giving up? Even in the struggles I’m faced with, I’ve been guilty of being tempted to give up, but what keeps me going is the faith that God will reward me with something even bigger at the end of it all than if I were to give up now. Every time I overcome a time of hardship, not only am I strengthened in the Lord, but my faith increases tremendously.
I know that in the midst of my struggles, I’ve been just as prideful has Jonah, fickle in my faith just like Job’s wife and an incessant complainer like Job, but if life was just as simple as giving up every time we were going through hardships, why are we here on earth? God has a bigger plan for us and He has called us to fulfill the Great Commission. I don’t know about you, but regardless of the difficulties I face, I’m going to be obedient in God’s calling. What do you say?
