Struggle, Struggle

The first Friday of the new year; what a great way to start a year! I heard this past week about the struggles of a man to bring his business back from a huge failure. Customers no longer trust him because some of them lost money in his bankruptcy. Suppliers will not advance credit on materials because they too were burned in the failure. Now, he must both pay up front for materials to complete his projects, yet wait until job completion for any money from the customers. It seems both unfair and an impossible situation. Having suffered a failure of my own, I am sympathetic but not of much help to him in the way of money. Both of us might ask why our Lord does not provide a quick and overwhelming cure from His sovereign resources. Then again, maybe God is providing in ways both small and large, but we fail to see it in the struggles of the day.

Struggle and struggle some more seem to be our lot in life. Believe in God and more struggles come our way. Trust in the Savior and the world attacks. Well, of course it does! John the Baptist declared the coming of the Lamb of God who saves the world. The powers in the world immediately sent an attack squad of legal types. "Who are you? What right do you have to do this baptising!" they demanded. Jesus began His ministry and the same groups came after our Lord. Demons, sickness, lameness, and storms all rose up in attempt to stop our Lord's ministry. And, what could be more unfair than for the sinless Lamb of God to be executed for our sin?

Yes, struggle comes when we give ourselves to Jesus. What we must do is remember what the struggles are about. Don't deny the Lord when the struggle comes, and you succeed where Peter failed. Help those struggling in Christ against the world, and we triumph where the young and zealous Paul the Pharisee waged war against our Lord. Give your last two mites and you join a certain poor widow in God's honor roll. Struggle, struggle, and struggle some more, and we live in the glory of Christ with His saints.

Praise, glory, and honor to God who loves us all!

Bucky