Have you ever wondered, “Why is life so difficult”? Maybe I should ask, “When was the last time you wondered, Why is life so difficult?”. Every day, every hour and possibly every minute someone, somewhere struggles with a temptation. Some are small temptations, so small they seem insignificant, easily overlooked and forgotten; like using the Lord’s name in vain, or to ogle the swim suit model with a lustful eye. Others have larger temptations they deal with…Lying for personal gain, gluttony, alcoholism, hate, lust, adultery, homosexuality, the list seems endless. We all have our own temptations to contend with based on the choices we make and what we choose to think, privately, in the realm of our conscience. If you know a little about the Bible, you might remember the Apostle Paul described it as “The thorn in his side”. We never learn what it was for Paul, only that he had an internal struggle. We all have one.
There is no one who enters this world without certain challenges and difficulties to overcome. These are not “thorns” or temptations which come about because of our choices and thoughts, but these are difficulties we do not necessarily have the luxury of choosing. For some it starts at birth. For others the struggle comes along when least expected. Some have physical challenges, others mental. Still, others have financial struggles and some have difficulty with their Faith in God, or Spiritual struggles. This life is not meant to be easy. We like to think that at some point, life becomes easy. Maybe after we retire, or after a certain amount of wealth is accumulated or maybe after a certain social status is acquired. But it will never be easy. There will always be a difficulty to deal with; the loss of a loved one, disease, and illness or poverty or maybe simply for today it was that guy that cut you off this morning on your way to work. There will perpetually be a struggle, a challenge to overcome, a weakness to win power over, and once it is overcome, will release the true hidden power within our very existence.
Every time we overcome a challenge, when we pass one of the tests of life, we can count on a new lesson to soon be presented and a new test administered for our Spiritual growth. If we do not learn the lesson, it is taught to us over and over until we finally “get it”. Many people do not understand, or refuse to believe that we are Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience; Not Humans having a Spiritual Experience. God doesn’t make it easy to overcome, but he also doesn’t make it impossible.
We have “Free Will”. We get to choose how we react to the circumstances played out in our lives. Do we choose to get angry and deny God the opportunity to work through us, or do we accept the circumstances thankfully that our situation isn’t worse. Do we control our every thought and stay focused on our goal, or do we allow trite activities and negative emotions to drive our existence further from our Creator? What happens in our minds has more to with our success than any schooling, than any social position, or any amount of money can buy.
Begin today to remove the thorn from your side by controlling what you allow yourself to think. Stay focused on God, allow him to heal your wounds, and give you the strength to pull out the thorn. Overcome your life challenges by praying to God often throughout the day. If you keep your mind on God, you will soon learn that the mountains of problems in your mind, are truly molehills. I read somewhere once that you become what you think about the most. Our minds have the power to create our preferred existence. God said “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened.” But don’t take my word for it. Try it for yourself.
