1 Peter 4:8
...They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
Sometimes we make our own lives hard. We choose to learn the hard way when we really don’t have to. Sometimes we go through things and it’s our own fault because we didn’t want to listen. We have to touch fire to see that it burns, we have to bump our heads to see that it hurts. That’s what my mom used to tell us growing up, after us not listening time and time again she would say, “okay, I see you like to learn the hard way. Go ahead and touch the fire, you’ll see that it burns.” I’m not sure why it is, but we often think that the hard way is the right way, when it’s not. We think that life isn’t worth loving if it’s not hard. No, that’s not true, why would we want to live a life that is a struggle every moment? Stop telling yourself that. The hard way means that we’ve chosen to be disobedient and not listen and made it hard on ourselves. I’m not overlooking the fact that sometimes our path is going to get hard, but often times we do not choose the hard times in our lives, they just happen. It’s part of life. But what about the times when we opt to take every path but the right one, when we choose to make life hard. Sometimes we do it because it make for a better story, we’ll have a longer and more captivating testimony when we talk about how we had to bump our head fifty times before we actually go it. However the most captivating stories are the ones like Paul, a man who decided to obey the word of God and at that moment his life changed. God didn’t have to call him ten times before he listened, God got his attention and he went. When Jesus called the disciples, they dropped everything and went. Moses even though he was afraid that he wasn’t good enough, he went. We have a great example of what happens when we try to disobey God from Jonah. He tried to run but at the end of the day ended up doing exactly what God wanted, he just made his life hard when it didn’t have to be.
In the scripture above it’s telling us plainly, we stumble because we don’t obey God’s word, We are falling because we refuse to obey, therefore we will have accept the fate of that. We get what we give, If we want to continue to live a disobedient life then we will have to deal with the consequences of that. However there is something called grace and we can thank God for that. We are so blessed to serve a gracious God, that even in the midst of us not doing what we are supposed to do, He still loves and delivers us.
All this to say, life isn’t as hard as it seems. It shouldn’t be as hard as we make it out to be, there are hard times, but not every moment of our lives is hard. We make our lives hard, when we decide to live our own way and disobey God. There are some things we do not have to experience to know that it’s wrong, because the word of God tells us so. This ties into knowing and trusting the word of God. When we trust in the word of God, we believe every word in that sixty six book love letter. God isn’t telling us to abstain from a certain way of living because he doesn’t want us to “live” or be happy. In fact it is quite the opposite, meaning He loves us enough to warn us against a certain way of living and even try to protect us from it because He knows the outcome. He is showing us a way of life that is free from bondage. He knows what true living is, and He is showing us what it is through His word and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior. He won’t guide us down a road that is dark. He will not tell us to live a depressed and unfruitful life. We have to learn to trust that the way He has shown us is the way to truly fruitful living. It is the way to true happiness.
It all falls back on His word; knowing and trusting in Him and his word.
Reflection
- Can you agree that we make our lives hard sometimes?
- Are you the type that has to take the hard way to learn?
- If answered yes to the above question, explain why.
- Do you trust in God and His word?
- How’s your day going?
Prayer Time
Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Have a conversation with God about what we discussed today. Talk to him about whatever is on your heart.
I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 250!
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