I remembered when we bought our first house, I had no idea how hard it would be. We were so excited to be homeowners and so excited to move in that I don't think we really counted the cost. We didn't realize the hardships of paying for trees to be removed and cutting the lawn and killing the weeds and the pests and on and on and on.
God never promises that things will be easy. God is often upfront about how hard it will be. When Jesus called the disciples, he didn't say it would be a life of leisure. So let us be wary of anyone who promises that the Christian life is always better, day after day. Because then, when things get hard, we start to doubt if we're strong enough Christians. But that's not right -- life is hard because of the reality of sin and brokenness, but when we suffer, it's not because we're not strong enough Christians. God says life will be filled with challenges, and that's part of being human. But God leads us through the mountaintops and the valleys, and God abides with us in both.
So let us cling tightly to God, and when adversity comes, may we give thanks for a God who warns us about the challenges of discipleship but also equips us to endure it and abides with us each day.
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