Why Does the Christian Life Seem So Hard?Sample

Let the Struggle Take You Deeper

Most days, I wish I didn’t have to live out this struggle. Don’t you? I wish God would uproot sin in my life, draw me closer to him, or squash temptations just a bit faster. And yet, in his wisdom, he leaves us in this lifelong struggle.

I’m not sure of all the reasons God operates like this. But here’s what I do know: God uses our ongoing struggle against the flesh to deepen our appreciation for his grace. Jesus said that only those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:47). That means God uses our ongoing struggle with sin to drive us more deeply into grace, which deepens our love for Jesus—and for others.

I’m quite confident that if I didn’t struggle with persistent, ongoing sinful tendencies, my sinful heart would conclude that I was good at obeying Jesus. Be honest with yourself: You would, too.

I cannot wait to get to heaven when I can put this sinful struggle behind me. For now, God uses these sinful struggles to grow my gratefulness for his grace. My struggle humbles me, but it doesn’t leave me in despair. I know God will finish this work he started in me.

That is why the struggle of Romans 7 leads naturally into the beauty of Romans 8 rather than into a spiral of fear and self-pity. Paul knows he is weak, but he has a strong Savior.

Even better, he is filled with the Spirit of that Savior—an overwhelming power that guarantees our future victory and makes progress toward it possible. The Spirit does not remove the struggle but empowers us in the midst of it. Thanks be to God for that Spirit!

Question for Reflection:

In what area of your life do you need to lean into the reality that you have “died to the law” and been raised to “serve in the new way of the Spirit” (Romans 7:4, 6)? What would it look like to believe the gospel in this part of your life today?

For more help in the struggle of the Christian life or to learn more of the basics of the Christian faith, I’ve written a book called Essential Christianity. I pray it will help you discover the goodness, the excitement, the liberation, and the power of the Christian life.