Why Christians Struggle in Life
Despite the victory that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ bought believers, many Christians still live defeated lives all through their time on earth. Many Christians are still poor, sick and depressed despite being free from the oppression of Satan and the bondage of sin.
The Christian life is not void of troubles, don't get me wrong. Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33b NIV
There are trials that we will have to face in order for the life of Christ to be perfected in us. However, there are troubles we bring upon ourselves and these are the types we should make every effort to avoid. "People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?" - Proverbs 19:3 MSG
Here are three things I have discovered that can hinder a believing Christian from living a successful purposeful life.
If you are struggling in life, you might want to check that one of these three does not exist in your life.
1. Ignorance
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 KJV
Many Christians pray and hope for God to give them ideas for success, but do not actively seek knowledge. We are in an era of enlightenment. There is knowledge everywhere. They are in books, blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. Literally, "wisdom calls out on the streets..." Proverbs 1:20 NET
Daniel was full of wisdom. His wisdom was not only supernatural. God gave him understanding of books. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom" Daniel 1:17a NKJV
Rather than waiting on inspiration to re-invent the wheel, we should be diligent in going after existing truth, wisdom and knowledge both from the Bible and other literature.
2. Laziness
Some people know what to do but are just too lazy to do it.
They may either not bother doing it, do it inconsistently, or do it not long enough.
"His master replied, 'You wicked lazy servant!..." Matthew 25:26 NIV
This servant in the parable of the talents did not bother going to work with his talent. He hid it. So the Master called him lazy.
"The slothful will not roast his game; but the diligent man will get precious wealth." Proverbs 12:27 KJV
So this man went out and did some work in catching a game, but did not see it through to completion. He did not roast it. How many unfinished projects do we have? I am guilty myself, with so many unpublished blog posts (started but never completed).
3. Cowardice
Some people know what to do, are able to give it their best but do not do so because of fear.
- Fear of failure. They might have failed in previous projects. Once beaten, twice shy.
- Fear of their idea being taken from them. So they fail to develop their ideas.
- Fear of the initial sacrifices they may have to make to see the idea through. So they remain in their comfort zone.
"I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look here is your money back." Matthew 25:25 NLT
That lazy servant in the parable of the talent said his excuse was fear of losing the money. Has fear of losing money prevented you from making a wise investment?
"But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Rev 21:8 NLT
It is quite alarming to see that cowards are among those going to hell, named first even before murderers and the immoral. So we should fight off fear with the same zeal we fight off sin.
In conclusion, a non-believer would have these 3 enemies as well as the devil and sin to battle with. But somehow non believers are even more aggressive against these 3. Since they do not rely on God, they go after knowledge with all their might and work hard because they have only themselves to trust.
But believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are at a more advantageous position. The devil has been defeated and sin has no dominion over us. We have been set up for success already. We should not then shoot ourselves in the foot by allowing ignorance, laziness and cowardice rob us of our blessings.
I am still having to deal with number 2. Which one is it for you?
If this blog post has blessed you, please leave a comment below.
Shalom.
Radiant ~ September 2022
13 comments:
Very good. Quite instructive. Thanks for sharing.
Hmmmm nice one. May God help me.
Thanks for sharing.
Very true. I think there should be a 4th…., BUSY. It is the strategy of the enemy to keep us distracted so we don’t focus on what matters like Martha whom Jesus cautioned. We know these things you have mentioned but there is a lot of distraction in our generation. We need to realize this and do more to fight it.
Ethel
I too am still having to deal with number 2.
This was enlightening.
Thanks for sharing.
God bless you.
These are incontrovertible truths. Great nuggets. Remain blessed & lifted ma!
@Aunty Ethel very true. When we are distracted by getting busy on the wrong things. E.g chasing money instead of chasing purpose. Even religious activities can be a distraction.
Very insightful. I can relate to these.
Lota
So true. Thanks for sharing
Very thoughtful write up. God have mercy!
Wow that's so true..
So true.
Thanks for sharing
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