No, that doesn’t mean an ever-elusive and meaningless pursuit of a “utopian” earthly life will get us there. Yes, God does want us to be happy in the end. The most believable lies have some truth mixed into them. The slow gravitation towards unbelief is subtle and that’s what makes it so lethal. The "if God loves me, why isn’t my life easy" question is a common one for God’s children, but taking it too far can become dangerous. In light of a perfect Father who doesn’t always allow things to go as we’d hoped, let’s explore the flawed thinking we’ve all struggled with before going any further. Why Suffering as a Christian, Humanly Speaking, Can Feel Disillusioningīy faith, we eventually recognize God still loves us despite the storms coming our way (although this view rarely comes without a significant struggle first). Our Heavenly Father can start to feel more like a wounder of his children than healer as Job wrestled with. But someone in a saving relationship with God? Even though the scriptures warn us that the Christian life won’t be easy, the depth of difficulty we experience can sometimes be shocking and disillusioning even for the closest God followers. To many, it’s understandable why someone who hates God may struggle through life (although they sometimes fare far better this side of eternity as Job, Asaph and others in scripture vividly pointed out). Thankfully, the Bible provides some solid answers as we wade through the hardships of life. Why must God’s children struggle so much in life? Why must they suffer? Doesn’t God care? These are questions people have wrestled with since the beginning of time. Through the eye of faith, we recognize that fact and choose a different path than the majority. In the long run, being a God follower involves infinitely less pain and struggle than rejecting God. The truth, however, is there will be pain regardless of the path we choose. They’re not out there trying to add more hardship to their lives-it just goes with the territory. God followers are still human and not exactly stoked about going through trials and pain. To be Christian isn’t synonymous with being masochistic. Obviously, no one wants to go out of their way to experience hardship. Along that path, however, there would be ongoing problems for God’s adopted kids without exception. The world would not triumph over God’s children in the end. It’s not that it could’ve been left undone but that God isn’t restricted to time as we are. Even before He died on the cross and rose from the grave as our sin substitute, in a profoundly real sense, his saving work was already finished. He reminded the disciples (and us) that He’d already overcome the world. The world and its corrupt, sin-filled system sought to destroy our very souls but Jesus had great news. In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. All of God’s children can expect the same thing: Jesus made it clear in the Gospel of John that his disciples would have trouble in this life. But from a faith-centered viewpoint, making life about easy living amounts to missing God’s will for your time on earth. Yes, from a human perspective, comfort and security at all costs make sense. It’s the conflicting notion that you can, all at once, do what God wants and live life on your own terms. That false type of gospel is peddled around the globe on a daily basis but it has more to do with Satanic influence than it does being spirit led. “ Just come to Jesus and your life will become easy with no discernable problems.” Sounds great, doesn’t it? It sounds great except that it’s a gross misrepresentation of what it means to be a follower of God.
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