WHY DOES GOD ALLOW ME TO STRUGGLE

“Dear friends, don't be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if
something unusual were happening to you. Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of
Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. If you are
ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests
on you. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone
suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name. For
the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household, and if it begins with us, what
will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? And if a righteous person is
saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? (So then, let those who
suffer according to God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is
good.” (1Pe 4:12-19 CSB)

God allows struggle and difficult times because we are sinners and we all come short of the
glory of God. God loves us, but because of our sinful nature, He allows these things to
happen. He knows that by allowing us to experience failure, pain, and struggle, we will grow
stronger in our faith and to become closer to Him and moving away from sin. During our times
of struggle, the path is not easy and without pain, but having faith in Him and knowing He will
never leave us shall be enough to get us through. God does not cause suffering, but He can
and may allow it to accomplish good.

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called
according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28 CSB)

God allows us to experience the consequences of our poor choices, and the consequences of
not living in His word. We have the gift of free will, and because of it, we are free to make
decisions; both good and bad. If we were to suffer no consequences for our bad choices what
motivation would there be for each of us to make good and sound decisions? More so, if God
were to intervene in all our poor decisions, then we would no longer have the gift of free will;
allowing the freedom to choose good and bad. Few would argue that a lesson learned with
pain, struggle, and hardship is a lesson quickly forgotten.
“No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11 CSB)

God allows for struggling to build our inner strength and faith. Without struggle and
resistance, a person would be weak and unable to sustain themselves when confronted by
the challenges of experience in life. A tree that grows in the absence of wind will quickly reach
a point where it can no longer stand upright, and it will fall over and perish; lacking the
strength to even support its weight, let alone the wind of struggle. Think back over the years
of those individuals admired and respected for their strength of character and their
wisdom. Were these people from a life without difficulty and conflict?

“And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction
produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces
hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Rom 5:3-5 CSB)

God allows us to struggle and fail to bring humility and realization we need Him in our lives all
day, every day. Sometimes it is hard to see and understand why a loving God allows us to
struggle and experience hardship, but it is because of His love for us and His desire to bring
us closer to Him he allows it. If a person lived a life filled with endless comfort and without a
struggle; would they seek the Lord? I doubt many would.

“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness."
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power
may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in
difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2Co 12:9-10 CSB)

We may attempt to see the positive outcome achievable through experiencing struggle,
hardship, and pain, but we only see it for the pain and struggle. When we strive to understand
and experience God, we can do so from our limited, imperfect senses. It is like looking at the
world through a soda straw. We get a very narrow and limited view. Unlike God, we are
unable to see and know the totality, only seeing a glimpse of a reflection.

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but
then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” (1Co 13:12 CSB)
There will be times where it seems the undeserving needlessly suffer through no fault or
doing of their own. What useful purpose would such suffering bring? Through such suffering,
the grace and mercy of God may also be seen by others, so they may come to know God.

“As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him: "Rabbi, who
sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? ““Neither this man nor his parents
sinned," Jesus answered. "This came about so that God's works might be displayed in him.”
(John 9:1-3 CSB)

Although we struggle and suffer because of our sin, it is also of His love for us, God will allow
us to struggle, and to experience pain and failure.

“In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And
you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the
Lord's discipline lightly or lose heart when you are reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines
the one he loves and punishes every son he receives.” (Heb 12:4-6 CSB)

During times of struggle, it may not be easy and or will it be without pain but having our living
faith in Him and knowing He will never leave us shall be enough to get us through our trials.

"Be strong and courageous; don't be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the
one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you." (Deu 31:6 CSB)

Our suffering on earth is a small price to pay for the vast riches and glory that await us.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory
that is going to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18 CSB)