2 Timothy 2:3 You therefore must endure hardships as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
I used to think that life would be better, if it was just easier. Yet if we had everything that our heart could desire and we never had to face any hard situations in life, what would be the need for our faith in God? Also what kind of people would we be, if we got everything our hearts could ever desire, when we wanted it? I also used to think that when I looked at other people around me, that from my perspective back then, it seemed like everyone around me was always doing better than me in life. I always felt like I was never enough, never pretty enough, not skinny enough, not bubbly and outgoing enough. When I was younger, this was my mindset. As I was just writing this, the scripture that comes to mind is,
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
I think the reason that this scripture came to mind, is to remind me and you the reader, that Jesus has made a way for us to be brand new in Him, and that He has given us a fresh start with a new life in Him. When I used to feel so all alone in my suffering with depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety, it’s like Jesus plucked me from that situation and gave me a new kind of love upon me, so that I wouldn’t have to feel like that way anymore. I have to say though, that even though I have had Jesus in my life for the last nine years, it doesn’t mean that I was instantly given a cure for the depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. However recently, I feel like I am only just starting to learn and be reminded of what it really meant for me as an individual and follower of Jesus Christ when He died on that cross for me. It’s taken me a good few years to have my mind start to actually renew and to grow with my faith in Jesus.
Funny enough, the only way that I have come to learn to put all my trust and faith in Jesus, is that I have had to go through some pretty challenging and hard stuff. I don’t feel particularly comfortable yet with writing about it. Though I can testify though that the hard stuff, I have had to go through, has paid off because I look to Jesus, in pretty much everything that I do now. So I guess that Jesus has a way of turning things around when we are able to suffer well and if we have a teachable attitude. He has never let me down and I know that He never will. I guess this brings me to the next scripture, which beautifully connects to what I have just written:
James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
I mean who wants to be joyful, when we’re caught in and going through the thick of it in life? Yet there is something liberating about this scripture, in that when we suffer, if we are open to The Lord teaching us something and understanding that He wants to bless us in the midst of the trials, then we will be led into lacking nothing. Even though we are inevitably going to suffer in life, even though, it comes with feeling horrible, anxious and possibly fearful – we can find refuge in the loving arms of Jesus. The world and what the enemy will try to use to crush you and destroy you, Jesus will use to build you. The Lord Jesus uses what the enemy meant for evil, for our own good. What an amazing God we serve! Praise God!
Blessings
MH