Did you ever feel that life is not fair? No matter what you do, say, or pray about, you always seem to be impaired; you walk through life as if you had a limp. Many of us feel that way when we really take time to sit and analyze our present situation. We question “why is this happening to me”; “what did I deserve to be on the wrong side of God”; “why is it, the more I try, the more I seem to regress backwards.
God never wanted us to walk with a limp; that is not how He designed us to live out our lives. Even when we’re committed to God and we’re doing what’s right, we will experience pain, injustice, and hardship. Some times it’s because of our Christian faith that we suffer. The world isn’t very user friend as a Christian. At times some of us can develop a negative attitude; we get angry with God or turn away from Him altogether. To them it all seems so unfair. God seems far away and His blessings seem unreachable. Yet others persevere through these hard times maintaining a positive attitude and trust in God. It is those who survive to play another day; to work through the situation by looking at it through God’s eyes.
Beth Moore suggests -- “We are to walk as people who have encountered God, and some of the most transforming encounters are wrestling matches. The lost do not wrestle with God nearly as much as we who belong to Him. The profane and ungodly don’t care enough to wrestle. We, who are His, often wrestle with Him most, and at times we also seem to hurt the most.
You probably know this. But we need to say it anyway: life isn’t easy. Most of us must struggle through life, believing that God’s blessings are but a prize to work for. Like Jacob of old, we expect to wrestle with God in the dark and to keep struggling until you prevail if you want to take a hold of the blessings you need. Our faith will be tested; for this there is no doubt. To grow in Him, we need to take risks. We have to think and act and relate in ways that are unappealing and unpopular for most to truly find what and how God wants us to live. Like Jacob we may end up walking with a limp, because we receive God’s blessings best when we’re wounded. (Genesis 32:22-32).
Is it worth it? For many it’s not. What some want most out of life are things like health, wealth, success, popularity, and pleasures. But the true blessings of God are all matters of the soul - emotional well-being, loving relationships, godly character, and, most of all, God Himself. These blessings bring eternal joy and meaning.
So we may feel we walk with a limp, but that may not be all that bad. He makes us strong through our weakness; we depend on Him more during times of struggle; during times that we can’t see clear sky ahead. It is at those times we question Him, but only through our questions can we receive answers that grow us stronger. A word of caution…there are times when the answer does come. It isn’t that He does care, it is that we need to learn something first before He can grant us the desires of our heart. We may have to limp a little while to run the race according to how He views our life.
