The Wisdom in the Struggle

Gò0dNews for Family

The Wisdom in the Struggle

by John Garrod

“May the Lord answer you in the day of struggle…” (Psalm 20:1). I was born with a bit of a silver spoon in my mouth. My wife might describe it a little differently; the word spoiled might come into play. As the youngest of 4 children, by the time I was a teenager and my siblings had moved out—either married or in college—our father’s engineering business was thriving, and money was flowing rather steadily. We had a nice beach house. I had a car to drive and a dune buggy to take me to trouble—a mere $4 filled its gas tank! We were not wealthy by America’s standards, but we were…comfortable. At the least, I never remember seeing my parents’ struggle.

We would all like a life with no struggles, at least not major ones. We would like to struggle with deciding between taking the BMW or the

Mercedes. For most of us, those aren’t the struggles we face. We struggle between new clothes for the kids or whether we can afford ground beef for dinner. We may struggle between keeping the electric on or making a car payment. We may struggle between buying new tires for the car or getting a few months out of a couple of used tires. We try to shield our kids from these struggles, we don’t want them to worry. But life as an adult is full of struggles. Struggles, real struggles, aren’t any fun. Although, struggles are the place where God teaches us to trust Him. It is not that God is inflicting us with struggles for

His enjoyment—rain falls on the just and the unjust, Jesus declares to us in Matthew. Sometimes those struggles don’t feel just like rain, they loom over us and our outlook like tsunamis—imminent destruction about to wash us away.

It is here that fear—desolate, desperate, lonely fear—may sweep over our faith. “Where is my God?” we cry out.

He is right there with you. He may not part that tidal wave, even though He could. He may not make the struggle disappear, although He could. No, He may not do any of that, but what He also will never do is leave you nor forsake you. Psalm 20 tells us that He is with us in our distress. We may read that twice, ten times, or a thousand times, but until we have experienced that distress—and seen His steadfast faithfulness in our lives—we may harbor

cracks in our faith. As we endure the struggles, holding fast to this promise, we build our faith.

We should take care to share these lessons with our kids. One day, they will be out there, sailing around among troubled waters and rising waves. They need to know He is with us through all of it. They need to know that He uses those struggles to develop our faith. Protect them, but don’t build so big a shield that they can’t see the deliverance, or the hand that delivers it.

About The Author John Garrod is a father of six, husband of one. He is a graduate of Lee University (c/o ’19), a discipleship teacher at South Cleveland Church of God, and a U.S. Army veteran.