Struggle is Good for Us

You may not like or may even disagree with my title. That’s O.K. I think I can justify it. Here is a simple response. I have never done this experiment but I have heard it was true from multiple sources When a chick is due to hatch, if you help it break out of its shell it will not survive. There is a thing called an ‘egg-tooth’ on top of its beak. The only purpose for this appendage is to allow the chick to peck around the shell and crack it. The chick then must push against the shell and break it open enough to come out. The rationale is that it is necessary for the chick to deliver itself. Another illustration can focus on this season, ‘Olympics’. We see splendidly conditioned athletes competing against one another. If an athlete does not train hard to get into excellent condition, he/she is not likely to get a medal. Certainly there is much more involved with winning than conditioning. It would include coaching, nutrition, natural ability and a lot of other things. But we should all keep in mind that strenuous regular exercise is very much a part of the process. We have looked here at physical struggle but a student that wants to compete academically also is required to study. The greater the competition, the greater the effort to study that is required. It seems if a person wants to succeed at almost anything, there is a level of struggle involved. This is also true in the spiritual life. The Apostle Paul tells us we “wrestle not against flesh and blood but….” We know life is a competition to some degree. We look forward to gaining a ‘victor’s crown’. I am certainly not proposing Heaven is earned by human work; it is the gift of God through His grace and mercy. Our portion is to accept His gift through faith. Still we should remember there is an enemy of God’s, who is our enemy because we are God’s creation. He presents us with all sorts of temptations we must overcome. We need to seek the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit in these struggles. He will often provide us with Scriptural support in these adventures. Scripture was Jesus’ support in His contest with Satan during the 40-day-fasting-trial and temptation by Satan. We, the Church may do injustice to folks when we attempt to bring them to faith. We sometimes propose that receiving Christ as a personal Savior will end your troubles. It won’t, but it will gain for us a wonderful Friend, Comforter, and so much more that it will certainly make our troubles less and lighter. He and our loved ones assist us in our struggles with intercessory prayers. Jesus prayed for us in the Garden more than 2,000 years ago. He still prays for us while at the Father’s right hand. We pray for each other frequently, in general and specifically when we know our loved ones are facing a need. We can and do assist one another in other ways as well. But there remains the personal struggle, when we must exert effort to overcome our temptations and the Tempter as well. When we struggle, we hopefully get stronger and better able and equipped in our struggles of life. An aside Scripture proposes, “Woe to them who are at ease in Zion”; perhaps meaning, ‘Look out, don’t goof off, don’t fall asleep at the wheel.’ ‘Be ready, watch and pray.’ ‘To him who overcomes, will be given the prize.’ There’s additional good advice too.