Navigating Your Spiritual Struggle
By Dean Collins
We all have a struggle. So, who are you struggling with lately?
I suspect that, in general, we tend to think about the people in our lives as the ones we are sometimes fighting with or against. But I wonder if the bigger struggle is with ourselves and with God – and the struggle with self might very well be connected to our struggle with God.
There are several passages of Scripture that refer to God knowing us since before we were in the womb, and others that describe God as the potter and us as the clay. Isaiah warns about striving or fighting against what God has created us to be and how we are to be used for his glory. The apostle Paul said something similar in Romans.
As a former therapist, I have spent hours in the office listening to people wrestle with their thoughts, their decisions, their situations, and their inner demons. Often, those struggles have to do with understanding who they were created to be and their constant fight to be something different. The battle with self is intimately connected to the battle to accept that we were created to be the image bearers of God’s glory.
Jeremiah heard from God that before he was even in the womb, God had consecrated and called him to his role as a prophet. Jeremiah, like David and like Paul, felt and understood that God had unique things for hjm to do in his kingdom. So, what if God’s design and his plans were not relegated to just the big-name Bible characters we read about, admire and learn from? Scripture indicates that God has plans for all of us. Our job is to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding.
So maybe today is a day to not fight against what is going on inside of you or your understanding of the future. Maybe the best thing to do today is to simply slow down and meditate on the beauty of God’s love and rest in the reality that his plans are better than yours. In the quiet moment of breathing in God’s love and grace, you might just discover your next step.
Father, thank you for your master design for all of creation. Thank you for creating us to be your image bearers. Forgive us for our struggle against your plans for us. Today we chose to surrender all to you. Be glorified in us. Now fill us with your peace that passes all understanding. In Jesus's name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Isaiah 45:9-13, 18-19, 22-25; Romans 9:19-24; Jeremiah 1:5-9 ESV
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
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