Listen: Chris Witts presents Morning Devotions.
By Chris WittsSaturday 13 Mar 2021Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 3 minutes
None of us likes difficult situations in life. It is one of the deepest desires in our life to avoid difficulties. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life was free of trouble.
But life is not like that unfortunately. I’ve yet to meet anyone who has not had his or her share of difficulties. A lot of our prayers are in the hope that our difficulties will be taken away, or that we will have a comfortable time: Lord, I’m a good person. I don’t hurt anyone.
We are mentally so averse to difficulties that we don’t even like the word. We would rather call them ‘challenges’, which puts things, we hope, in a much better or ‘positive’ way and reduces or takes away the pain of recognising them as difficulties. Some people like to assert, The word ‘difficulty’ is not in my dictionary! But difficulties won’t simply go away by ignoring them or calling them by some other name!
On Fifth Avenue in New York, in front of the RCA building, sits a gigantic statue of Atlas. He is carrying the world on his shoulders, and he is barely standing up under the pressure. You can try to live your life like that—feeling like the world is on your shoulders. Good luck with that!
Jesus Can Handle Difficulties
On the other side of Fifth Avenue, at St Patrick’s Cathedral, is a statue of the boy Jesus holding up the world with great ease with one hand. We have a choice! You are going to carry the weight of the world, or you are going to let Jesus carry it for you. Trusting God is a process. It is building on the relationship you have with the Lord. If you have no relationship with him, it will be next to impossible to trust him when you are going through a hard time.
King David faced many difficulties and trials over a period of about 13 years, through which he finally became a man of God and a successful king. Years later, he wrote these words:
You have tested me O God. You have refined me as silver is refined. You allowed me to be trapped in nets. You allowed heavy, oppressive burdens to be laid on my back. You allowed men to ride over my head. You took me through the burning fire and then through icy-cold water. But finally, You brought me out into a place of spiritual abundance and anointing, where my cup is now overflowing with blessing to multitudes of people. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 66:10-12 – free paraphrase).
Trust Him and Be Patient
Mark 4:35-41 is the story of a terrifying storm, a time of difficulty and panic for the disciples of Jesus when they were in a boat with him. Suddenly a huge storm hit the lake, and it looked like they were going to sink. Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, and his terrified friends woke him up fearing for their lives. They thought they would drown. Jesus ordered the wind and waves to be still, and everything became calm.
It was a miracle—but storms are a part of life. Every one of us goes through them. Romans 12:12 says, “Be patient when you have trouble. Pray all the time”.
I want to encourage you to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour. With him at the centre of your life, everything has a purpose, even in those difficult times. German philosopher Nietzsche said, “If a man has a why for his life he can bear with almost any how.”
C.S. Lewis once said:
Relying on God has to begin again every day as if it had never been done. We need to trust that Jesus is there for us and enough for us in times of crisis. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age and peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you….let not your hearts be troubled”. These are truths which can prepare us to respond when crisis and fear come into our lives.