The Reality of Life

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” ~ John 16:33 ESV

We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 GNT

We will all agree that life, as the old saying goes, is not a smooth sail. Looking at it from my own perspective, I believe that it’s a battle, and as such must be approached and lived. This doesn’t mean that we should be fighting and contending with whatever comes our way every moment of our lives, rather it simply means that we should approach and live life with a winning mentality; knowing that no matter what comes our way, we have victory and God has our back. God has called us from the world and positioned us in the same world for His divine purpose, but this doesn’t mean that we will have it all going for us. Far from it, in fact, there are times we will have it rough. Yet no matter what happens and or what comes our way, we need to understand that victory is on our side. Nothing comes into our lives without His knowledge and in everything, God is our present help. Look at what He says in Isaiah;

Israel, the Lord who created you says, “Do not be afraid—I will save you. I have called you by name—you are mine. When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you ~ Isaiah43:1-2 GNT

The above scripture gives us a clear picture of exactly what to expect in our lives. I have lived several years to come to the realization that life is all about growing through challenges and hardships. I also believe that every human being alive, no matter who they are or what they have; where they come from, their nationality, color, race or religion, have some tough issues that keep them scratching their heads. Even though some go through more challenging issues than others, the truth is that no one is exempted. That’s the reality of life. We all go through unfavorable issues that push us against a wall and put us in undesirable positions. Right from the time we are born until death, our lives are characterized by challenges. There are simply no exceptions.

There are those of us who would agree that there seems to be a cloud of darkness that cover our lives and even though we cannot put a finger on exactly what bothers us, we can’t deny that there really is something. This is the reason why there seems to be some form of opposition we can’t explain where it’s coming from and even though we desire to succeed and prosper in our lives, we find that for every one step ahead we make, we make two backwards. Many cannot explain this mystery and for this reason we choose to live life as it comes, or rather, resign to our own fate and choose to go with the flow of life. Some do say that what you don’t know cannot destroy you, but I believe that our ignorance is dragging many of us to destruction. Even though most of these things are hidden, they do have a great effect on our lives and destinies.

There are those of us who feel that life is unfair and that we don’t deserve what we are going through or what we go through, while others choose to cave in and accommodate ourselves within the environment of our unfavorable circumstances and situations. This ends up shaping us to become our limited selves and as a result, never live to realize who we really are. Many people are captives of their environment and as a result, have become a shadow of themselves. We cannot really say that life is fair to some and unfair to others; I believe this is not the case. Rather, we all have the opportunity to change what we don’t like in our lives. Someone has wisely said that in this life there are three kinds of people; those who watch things happen, those who wish for things to happen and those who make things happen. I believe that human beings fall into these three categories and it all happens by choice. You can choose to sit down and wish, watch or make things happen. It’s upto you.

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil… I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live ~ Deuteronomy 30:15, 19 ESV