What is Your Struggle Saying To You?
Don’t Give Up: Let Hardship Speak Before You Respond
What makes you want to quit?
Is it a harsh word, a disapproving glance, a persistent struggle, or just plain exhaustion? Most of us can point to something—or someone—that drains our energy or chips away at our purpose.
You’re not alone. Every one of us encounters moments when continuing feels like too much.
In those moments, we often default to one of two responses: we collapse under the weight or try to push through with sheer force. But there’s a third way—one that invites us to pause and listen.
What if your hardship is speaking a message that needs interpretation?
Before you act—before you fight, flee, or fold—consider this: your struggle might be trying to tell you something. When we stop to interpret the meaning, we’re better able to respond with wisdom and faith.
Here are some questions to help you listen:
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Where is this hardship coming from?
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Is it simply the difficulty of the task itself?
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Is it internal—em
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Standing Through
We tend to do whatever we can to get out of the way of adversity. We may try to think our way out of the mess, to look for help from others or to pray that God will get us out or make it stop. We also receive continual input and advertising that offer us products that will stop our troubles and give us access to the good life to which we are all entitled. If your difficulty is weight, muscle tone, sickness, finance, loneliness, depression or erectile dysfunction – “We have a product that will take care of that for you.”
However, God’s ways are often very different from ours. He uses the hurdles and stubborn obstacles of life to deepen us and produce lasting fruit in our lives. Wisdom and character are grown through adversity, not through escape. There is no product that you can buy that will give you the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) or understanding of the ways of God. These are only forged through a mixture of God’s truth and the kinds of adversity from which we usually seek...
What Do You Want and How Much Do You Want It?
How can you tell how badly someone wants something? There seem to be two primary indicators. First, how hard are they trying to get what they want? Second, how long are they willing to keep trying?  How much someone wants something is often a function of both factors – intensity and perseverance.
Once, when I arrived at Logan airport late for my flight, the passion with which I pleaded for mercy and help from the airline administrator indicated that I wanted very badly to be placed on that plane immediately. Passion, intensity and the exertion of energy often indicate deep desire. Sometimes, however, shear hard work is not enough to get what you want; it requires sustained effort over a long period of time.  Lincoln demonstrated, through his unwillingness to give up after repeated political losses and failures, that he really wanted to become president of the United States. From time to time a wall must be struck repeatedly, over a long period of time, before it finally gives way.
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