Good and Easy

I had a conversation this week with a friend who has had a lot of new in his life lately. New city, new job, new home, new church, new community ... you get the picture.  

He crossed the county line full of zeal and expectation that all the “new” in his life would equal instant “wonderful” ... and well, that hasn’t been the case. It’s been painfully hard to find his rhythm and he’s finding himself stuck in the same cycles he left at his former address. Now, to those of you who have done a major move like this - I’m sure you can empathize. The first 6-12 months in a new anything is awkward. You feel inadequate because you’re not an expert at your own life. Nothing is familiar and your once strong and steady confidence in what you knew to be true of you and your surroundings is gone. In short, it’s uncomfortable and no one likes to feel uncomfortable.

I’ve had this friend in my life for almost a decade and one thing he’s figuring out is when things get hard for him, he bails. Now, hear me out. This guy has great qualities - generous, loyal, encouraging, and a gentleman. But, when it comes to this one area of his life of staying in the game, he struggles ... for a few reasons.

First, he believes the lie that if God is good and we are in His will then life should not be hard. 

Second, he struggles with being idealistic. If a job, relationship, or project doesn’t work out, he is devastated and it takes him awhile to recover. 

Third, he is a dreamer and struggles to take small action steps to build those dreams in his present day. 

Add all of the above ingredients together and that recipe makes what I call “stuck."

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” - James 1:2-4

I don’t think my friend is alone in his struggles. I think most of us have chosen to pitch a tent at the base of the mountain of our dreams because it just seemed too big and hard to climb. The thing is, the bible says when we are tested, it actually exposes what is going on inside of us. Ouch. Sometimes, I think it’s the grace of God that tests us and exposes us before we begin the climb. He knows what we really need in our backpacks and what we don’t. For my friend, the lie that life is supposed to be easy if you are a Christian has to go. He’ll be the first to tell you, it has kept him cooking “stuck” at his campfire for years.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” - James 1:5-8

I love that God follows up the hard truth of versus 2-4 with the gentle assurance of versus 5-8. It’s like He is saying, “Hey listen, this is going to be hard and just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It just means you’re building a muscle called discipline. As you do, you’re gaining maturity, getting whole, and when you get to the top you will not lack anything!” What a promise! Then, He follows it up with, “You’re going to need to ask for my help (wisdom). And here is the deal - if you start flirting with doubt and unbelief, well, I can’t be a part of that. If you’re in, then I’m in - but I can’t partner with faithlessness. It’s beneath the both of us."

So, if you’re at a base of a mountain in your life and you’re waiting for discipline, drive, and courage to walk up to your campsite and inspire you to pack up and start climbing I have bad news … that’s never going to happen. You get those things as you climb. You get those things as you move forward. And, here’s the beautiful crescendo to all of this, He promises to walk with you ... but He does not promise it will be easy.   

So, let’s break up with the lie that for it to be good and God, it must be easy. It does not. Good equals worth it, it does not equal easy.