Many years ago, a wealthy man went duck hunting with a hired hand named Sam. They took a horse and carriage, and along the way a rim came off one of the wheels. As Sam hammered it back on, he accidentally hit his finger. Instantly he let go with some bad words. He quickly fell to his knees, asking God’s forgiveness. “Lord, it’s difficult at times to live the Christian life”, he prayed. When he finished his prayer, the wealthy man asked Sam, “Sam, I know you’re a Christian, but tell me why you struggle so, I’m an atheist, and I don’t have to deal with such insignificant problems as that.” Sam didn’t know what to say. About that time, two ducks flew overhead. The wealthy man raised his gun and fired two shots. “Leave the dead one and go after that wounded bird!” he shouted. Sam pointed at the duck that was fluttering desperately to escape and said, “I’ve got an answer for you now, Boss. You said my Christianity isn’t any good because I have to struggle so. Well, I’m like the wounded duck and I struggle to get away from the devil. But you’re like the dead duck! Remember,” he said. “Dead ducks don’t flutter.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—“ The Greek meaning of verse 8 gives us the understanding that we are Hemmed In, yet we are not baffled, we are bewildered and we are persecuted and we are distressed – but, we are not forsaken, we are not cast down and we are not destroyed. Here are three very important things to remember about struggles:
1. Life is full of struggles. Life goes on, with all of its struggles! Struggle is one evidence that God is at work in our lives! When we don’t struggle, it is a good sign that the devil is leaving us alone because he has us right where he wants us! When you live, you mess up. But, the good news is that forgiveness for our sin is always available, so don’t despair. Just ask God to forgive you…then get up off the ground, dust off your kneecaps and get back to living! I don’t know about you, but I struggle with a great many things in my life! When I was a child, my self-esteem was very close to nonexistent. I had no confidence in myself at all. Later, as a young Christian and a teenager, I really wasn’t sure God could do anything with me either. When you grow up being told over and over that you are worthless, you begin to believe it. As a teenager in high school, I still had no confidence whatsoever and I lived in fear that I would never measure up to what my Mother expected of me. I remember this bully, this guy who wanted to make a name for himself, kept shoving me while we were in front of the other boys during PE class. He continually told me he’d give me a whipping (using more “colorful language”). One day after school, he hid behind the gym to meet me; knowing that I walked that direction in order to cut across the field on my way to my part time job at the cotton mill. He jumped out and proceeded to hit me. Then, he jumped on my back. I was much stronger than he, so I threw him off and ran off, shouting, “I won’t fight you!” Interestingly enough, he never bothered me again, even though I had been tagged with a new nickname. “Chicken.”
2. Identify your struggles. What do you struggle with right now – today? Perhaps a disaster has happened during the Covid-19 lockdown and you just can’t understand it? I know three people whose businesses that were strong and thriving before are now closing because of the massive losses they incurred during and because of the quarantine. Many of us have experienced the death of someone very close to us – a parent, a spouse, a child….or some other person we loved very deeply. Maybe a house fire? We had one of those!! Whatever you struggle with today, remember this. God knows about it. He didn’t say, “oops, didn’t see that coming!” He is by your side. You are never alone in your struggles! Plus, if you will CHOOSE to trust Christ during your struggles, He will get the glory as His strength shows forth in OUR WEAKNESS!
3. Give God your struggles. The bottom line is that, we are struggling with….many thing in life! Life itself is a struggle! But, as our story helped us to understand, struggle is a sign of life! It means the devil is after us, but he HAS NOT caught us! In times of struggle and weakness, take heart! It is during those times that GOD WILL CARRY YOU!… What does God say about times of weakness? “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” If God said that through the Apostle Paul to the Church at Corinth so many centuries ago, don’t you think He still means it today? So, sing the Psalms! I say, along with Psalm 68:1 “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” God is on the throne! He sees your struggles! And like the great song written by our good friend, Gordon Jensen, “When grief has left you low, it causes tears to flow. When things have not turned out the way that you had planned. But God won’t forget you, His promises are true. Tears are a language God understands. “ Always remember that you are loved with An Everlasting LOVE! And, we love you, too!
Conclusion: Don’t quit, just because of our weakness and struggles! Don’t quit, just because the world is a cruel place. Don’t quit, just because it seems the evil in the world is overcoming us. Don’t quit, just because an evil person in the world has hurt you.
