The Description of Struggle

 "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

by Alexandra Copeland

Before we can explore the description of struggle, we need to first define it. The definition of struggle is a forceful or violent effort to either get free of some kind of restraint or to resist an attack. As Christians, we’re familiar with attacks. All of them are spiritual in nature and they are formed against us in order to destroy our influence and impact upon a world that so desperately needs it. Describing our individual struggles, most of us would point to an overwhelming problem that we’re dealing with at the time. We would probably describe vexing issues in our marriages, relationships, health, jobs, or finances. The one thing that all of these have in common is that they are all symptoms, and don’t tell the whole story about the real struggle.

God tells us in 3John 1:2 (NKJV), “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” His Will is for us to be in good health, to have a prospering soul, and to have a good life. Because God’s Word makes known His riches of mercy and grace towards us, we have an expectation that He will bless and help us. We know that there’s an answer to our problems, and that’s why we pray.

God demands that we have faith in His willingness and ability to help us. The first issue that many of us encounter when we step inside the arena of faith, is that we see ourselves as ants and the problems we face as giants. Samson would never have been able to slay 1000 Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass had he saw himself this way. Neither would David have been able to kill Goliath had he saw himself as small and impotent in the face of a giant. These men were confident not in themselves, but in the power of God working through them.

Galatians 6:14-16 The Message (MSG) says, “For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!”

Seeing ourselves this way is truly a paradigm shift that must take place in our minds and emotions in the arena of faith. Our new birth reality in Christ has given us a new view. We can now see ourselves as empowered through Christ, through the Holy Ghost that indwells us, to impact our own circumstances. It’s not our power, it’s his! Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit. He is an inside job. Our source of power is inside of us! Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) declares, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (*)

 

The Struggle is Real!
Romans 6:17 (NIV) tells us, “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.” We came into this world as slaves to sin, and we were rescued by Jesus Christ from our sinful nature. We live in a day and time where people really don’t want to be accountable for their sins. Understand that where there’s no accountability, there can be no deep and abiding gratitude for what Heavenly Father has done. We have things within us that keep us from being our best—attitudes and behaviors, some we’re conscious about, and some—not so much. To the extent that our actions are being fueled by something that doesn’t represent the love of Christ, we’ve got to acknowledge it, repent from it, and let it go.

The struggle is real, but it is not the external circumstances that cause bondage, it’s the inner struggle to surrender and release fear and worry that keep us bound. It’s the struggle to release anything that doesn’t tell the truth about who Jesus Christ has made us. The Spirit wants to help us. Act 17:28 (KJV) tells us, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;” He wants to think through our minds, speak through our mouths, and demonstrate through our activity, but we limit him. We limit him because we don’t understand how incredibly important and consequential it is to dial ourselves back, so that he can be at work.

 

Move out of the way!
Romans 6:18 (NIV) tells us “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Dialing ourselves back is to plunge wholeheartedly and entirely into the depths of God’s grace. If we had lived ten million lifetimes, we still could not repay God for what He accomplished for us through Jesus Christ. He has made us righteous through our blessed Lord. Our responsibility is to walk in that righteousness. This is a choice.

Romans 3:24 (NLT) says, “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” As soon as we have knowledge that something within the way we are moving forward in this Christian walk is weighting us down, we need to move out of the way, and allow the Spirit to navigate us to higher ground. The way has already been made through Jesus Christ. The path of righteousness is clear, and to walk it, we need to be led by the spirit.

 

The Spirit’s Leadership Takes Us Above the Struggle
Without the Spirit’s leadership and guidance, you and I don’t have what it takes to successfully navigate life. More importantly, without the Spirit’s leadership, we cannot have the relationship with God through Christ that Heavenly Father desires. It is critical that we acknowledge this. Romans 8:14 (NLT) declares, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Struggle and strife are often the end results of fear operating in our lives in some capacity. We try to escape suffering, dangers, difficulties, and pressures, because these things make us feel things that are uncomfortable and stressful. God’s intention is that we overcome them—that we don’t see them as giants and ourselves as ants, but vice versa. We need to see our challenges as miniscule when compared to the overwhelming power and love that we can operate through the Spirit. This is why 1Corinthians 1:31 (NLT) tells us, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” Through God’s spirit working through us, we can continually bring glory to God, but His Spirit that indwells us, never fails.■

(*) =bold print added by the writer.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.