There are many things we struggle with daily. Some little things, like folding a fitted sheet, opening a clingy produce bag that just wants to stay shut, or microwaving leftovers without creating molten lava around the edges and a glacier in the middle.
But there are real struggles too, like feeling constantly stressed, chronically tired, or just not as happy as you once were. We’re consistently fatigued—feeling the weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress.
In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul says “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
He’s saying, “Hey, this life is a struggle, but we’re not falling apart.” When he’s writing this letter, he’s talking about his struggle with public ministry because he’s being persecuted. He’s isolated. There’s great opposition to his ministry. And in his personal life, he has a thorn in his flesh—a struggle he asked God to take away, but still suffered from.
This is the context in which Paul is writing this letter. Yet throughout the text, we see again and again Paul reminding us that through the struggle, God is faithful.
If your life feels like a struggle, you’re fatigued and worn down, know this today: God loves you even when it’s tough. Even when life isn’t fair. Even when you’ve been wrestling for a while.
I used to think struggles happened in trios, like the old saying goes, “Tragedies happen in threes.” But the truth is, sometimes we struggle for years. Sometimes it’s a week or two, but sometimes there’s no time frame, and it feels like the struggle just drags on.
If we’re not careful, what started out as a simple struggle can change how we see God. We begin to think, this is how God treats his children. And if this is how he treats his faithful followers, then why continue following him?
Paul said in Romans 5, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
We all face struggles—myself included. Following God doesn’t mean we won’t struggle, even when we’re living in the fruit of the very prayer we once prayed.
I recently came across this quote that so perfectly describes this tension:
“What a privilege it is to be exhausted by the life you once prayed for.”
Some of you reading this are right in the middle of that exhaustion. You’re holding the baby you prayed for, grateful, but truly exhausted. You’re a college student getting to go to class, such a privilege, but it’s nerve-wracking. Parents, you’re glad your nest is empty and your kids have grown up and moved out, but it’s a struggle to be all alone in an empty house. Or maybe you graduated school and got a good job, but now you’re just trying to manage it all. Or you found ‘the one’ and got married and swore you’d never argue, but find that now, even marriage is a struggle.
What do we do when we get exactly what we prayed for, and it’s still a struggle?
When we’re not careful, it’s easy to look at our finances, our marriage, our health, our job, and think, where is God in this? Does He love me? Does He remember me?
Romans 8 says, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Despite all the struggle, exhaustion, hard things, and endless waiting, God loves you in the struggle. When your prayers are being answered, and when they aren’t, God loves you through it.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 says, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
When you come to a place where you feel like you just can’t get off the struggle bus, you can boast all the more gladly about God’s strength in your life. Lean into His strength, not your feelings. Draw from His grace, not your abilities. Trust in Him to make your path straight, not your bank account.
If God is with us in everything, then it’s up to us to give thanks through all things—the good, the bad, and the struggle.
Life is never going to be perfect and anyone can gripe their way through life. But can you be different? Can we, as followers of Christ, be different? Live differently? In the middle of the trial, we’re called to be people that choose to thank God.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
There’s a beautiful moment that happens in the midst of a struggle, trial, or waiting when we finally learn to give thanks in it, even when it’s not perfect. All of a sudden, the weight you’ve been carrying turns to praise. You’re not mumbling and groaning and complaining anymore, you’re praising.
If you can come to the place where you’re thankful and worshipful through it, where the struggle doesn’t take you out, your purpose becomes bigger than your problems.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Paul is saying that while all we may see is a struggle, there’s so much more on the other side of this moment. For Paul, the struggles he’s talking about in his own life are prison time, being beaten with whips, assassins being hired to take him out again and again, being beaten with rods, being stoned, getting shipwrecked three times, going without sleep, food, or water, even being bitten by a snake.
But through all this, Paul comes to a place where he says our troubles are only light and momentary, paling in comparison with the purpose God has for us.
Paul understood that our ultimate hope is that this life is far from all there is. Instead of moping and complaining and getting trapped in his own problems, he stayed fruitful and continued investing in the life to come.
I want to encourage you today to live a life where your purpose is so much bigger than your problems.
You have an incredible purpose in front of you. Don’t let struggles, problems, and waiting get in the way. When you feel exhausted and absolutely worn down, remember Romans 12, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
We conquer evil by doing good, loving God, and loving others with all that we've got.