spiritual struggles – Laura D. Sanders

This week I’d like to share a blog post from a guest, Dr. Jeff Shreve, of From His Heart Ministries. He opens by asking

“Have you ever had something very difficult, painful, and heartbreaking come into your life—and the problem seemed to last for a very long time?

1. Perhaps it was/is some illness like cancer that requires endless rounds of chemo and radiation.

2. Perhaps it was/is an ongoing drug problem with one of your children that tears at the marriage bonds and rocks the very foundation of the family.

3. Perhaps it was/is the pain of dealing with a bitter ex-spouse or controlling in-laws.

4. Perhaps it was/is the care of a dying loved one who lingers in a debilitating state for years.

When we have ongoing problems like this, we naturally ask God, “WHY?!! Why won’t you fix this, God? Why are you so slow in answering my prayer? What is the purpose of this prolonged agony?!”

While God does not often answer the “why” questions, He does want to answer the “what is the purpose” question….”

Dr, Jeff Shreve shares God’s answer in a post titled ‘So That Is Why This Is Happening to Me!” May you be encouraged by it!

From his website:
From His Heart Ministries is the TV, Radio and Internet broadcast outreach of Dr. Jeff Schreve who believes that no matter how badly you have messed up in life, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me; attend to the voice of my supplication when I cry unto Thee…” Psalm 143, from the Orthodox Christian Vespers Service

“Every Moment is a Chance to Practice” – Charlie Gilkey, ProductiveFlourishing.com

Recently I read a post with the above title, from Charlie Gilkey’s Productive Flourishing website. Charlie is the provider of some of my favorite weekly project planning forms, all aimed at creative types whose lives are project (not appointment) centered. While Charlie was speaking of other things, his title reminded me of a principle I learned decades ago: I must choose every moment to practice in seemingly small ways, what I may someday have to do in a much larger way.

What do I mean?

To run a marathon I’ve never run, I must run smaller distances on a regular basis before running 26 miles.
To run, I must first learn to walk.
To walk I must first take baby steps.

This truth also applies in our Christian spiritual lives: Those of us who are Christians often say “I have surrendered my will to Jesus Christ.” But if we actually live our daily lives choosing our own will, demanding our own way in everything, how will we suddenly obey Jesus’ will when He requires it? On a daily basis we have practiced doing our own will and demanding our own way until it has become a habit. When the crunch time comes, will we not be much more likely to do our own will, than to do His will?

Jesus has indeed given us a command, to forgive others (“If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew chapter 6 verse 14), therefore we must, on a daily basis – sometimes on a minute by minute basis – extend forgiveness to those who offend us. Even a seemingly small situation requiring us to forgive is not some lightweight, sweet and easy thing, but often a difficult act of the will, out of obedience to Jesus, that goes completely contrary to what our heart wants to do.

I often fail in the battle to obey and forgive. Sometimes it takes days, weeks, or months to bring myself to the point of forgiving. When I do, I get up, dust myself off, and try again, in the hope that someday my forgiveness muscle will be strong and ready for action, and I will have trained my will to do Christ’s will, not my own.

When I’m whining and having a pity party over the “injustice” done to me by someone who infringed what I considered to be one of my rights, I remind myself that Jesus set the bar high when, after having every human right violated, and being tortured and nailed to a cross, He said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Please leave me a comment below on how you struggle with forgiving others.

Tag: spiritual struggles

Guest Post: “So That is Why This is Happening to Me!”

Practicing Forgiveness