But The Bus Is Dirty...

The Struggle Bus

So I remember, in college and even more so in medical school I would have these points in time where nothing going right. Not my hair, not my school work… heck, I couldn’t even brush my teeth properly sometimes. I would sit down and joke with my friends that I was going through “The Struggle”. They all would laugh at me and talk about how they also recently hopped on “The Struggle Bus” because of their various problems and other things that were going on. One of my friends even said that she had recently purchased her own “Struggle Private Jet” because her struggle was on a different level than any one else’s. We laughed and joked and talked about the various things that were happening to us that were merit enough to put us on said bus (or private jet).

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that the term “the struggle” has some real truth in the Christian life. We might term it a little differently (HELLO the God is “testing” me people!), but the problem and the concept is essentially the same. For all the older people reading this, don’t worry, I will clarify this phrase soon.

Even though my friends and I would laugh at each other’s misfortunes, some of us were really going though some trials. We thrived on talking to others about our problems so that they could laugh with us and remind us that, honestly, what we are going through is not that bad (really).

So this struggle… For Christians, this is a real thing. These things are called trials, or tribulation.  The bible not only addresses them, but Jesus literally guarantees that they will come to us. There is no way to avoid the trials, or the struggles, if you will.

John 16:33 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.”

Seriously, Jesus said that you WILL. He didn’t say that you might, or maybe you will have to board the struggle bus at some point when you have your car in the shop. He said you WILL pay your fare and hop on that bus.

If you think about it though, it makes a lot of sense. The enemy, the devil, whatever you want to call Lucifer, only came to steal kill and destroy (John 10:10). Those things usually aren’t associated with anything good in Christian life, except for football… But anyway, since you became a Christian, there  is only one thing that the devil can do to you. I know you guys are thinking, “Lise, you clearly just named 3 different things that the devil is doing… What’s up with you?”

I know, but lets talk about them. The devil may steal all you have here on earth, but Jesus said to store all your treasures in heaven where they won’t rust and they DEFINITELY can’t be taken away by the devil (Matthew 6:20). He might kill you, but honestly, the devil still loses there because you get to go to Heaven to be with the Father where there is only light and love and wonder (Matthew 5:12, Colossians 3:1-7, Luke 13:29-33). And then he might destroy you, or everything you have… But honestly, think of Job. Job lost EVERYTHING, and yet, he still loved the Lord and he rested in the fact that the CHARACTER of the Lord was worthy of trust. His friends even told him to walk away from God, his wife even told him to walk away from God. He still didn’t give up hoping in God. I don’t know if you guys finished all of Job… But at the end, the Bible says that EVERYTHING that Job had before was given back twofold because he remained faithful. (Book of Job in the bible… yeah its an actual book!)

Who won there? I would say #TeamGod and #TeamJob. Seriously, what can the enemy do to you then (Romans 8:31)? If he is going around stealing and killing people, yet it means nothing because God comes out on top every time, why does the enemy even bother?

He wants to steal your faith.

This is the only thing he can do that even matters and that was what the enemy was trying to do in Job and in all of our lives. 

Think about how many people were Christians, but a loved one was taken away and they aren’t so sure about their faith anymore.

Think about how many Christians really hoped that something miraculous would happen, yet everything they had was stolen from them. They walked away from the Lord because surely, God isn’t good anymore.

When the enemy steals your faith, he really takes something from you. He takes away the peace of being able to hope in the Lord so he can renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31) and he takes away the ability or your willingness to run to God who is your refuge (Psalm 91:2).

THIS is the reason that the devil even bothers putting you through trials and tribulation. This is the reason that even though his bullets are hitting the full armor of God, he still finds new ammunition to try and attack us.

He wants you to lose your salvation and be with him in the abyss forever. That is the ONLY way he can win in your life. (This is not saying that he could ever succeed, because he cannot. This is just what he desires to do)

Creepy right? I agree. Knowing this, we should remember the beginning and the ending of the verse that Jesus gave us. “I have said these things to you that in me, you may have peace// Take heart for I have overcome the world.”

Jesus literally told us (for you Call of Duty fans) where the enemy would be aiming for us, and he told us all of the safe spots to run to when we are under attack. If you aren’t getting it, here are some more verses:

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,  though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. "Selah"

Psalm 16:8

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Psalm 119:50

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

1 Chronicles 16:11

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

And one of my favorite verses:

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I mean seriously, in all of these verses there is a common theme. Let me make it really simple.

Trouble? Run to God.

God is the one who can help you and desires to help you, if you would let him. Sometimes we turn to our friends, our parents, our spouses, our neighbors, our dogs before we cast our cares on the Lord.

I assure you, your dog cannot help you. He can’t even understand English, maybe Russian, but definitely not English!

Run to God instead, who has been trying to give you strength and teach you to trust in him by allowing these things to happen. Even though people don’t understand why God allows some things to happen, this verse is clear:

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

In these verses we see that being complete, mature, and having perseverance is more important than comfort and things going well and never having to board the struggle private jet. Jesus never said, “Oh yeah, now that you are a Christian, life will be peachy and super easy.”

No… if you recall, he said the exact opposite. However, he gave a promise at the end of Matthew that will stay with me forever, because it shows me that this promise makes all the trials bearable and the joy set before me (the promise of salvation) is worth the struggle.

Matthew 28:20

“…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So when you feel yourself finding your fare to join everyone else on the struggle bus, just remember:

1.              Jesus is WITH YOU. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). He didn’t endure beatings, being spit on, and dying for him just to walk away when you got on the struggle bus.

2.              God can handle it! He created and controls EVERYTHING. He is more than capable of handling everything we could think to throw at him! So…

3.              ASK GOD FOR HELP!! He is the only one who can help you, truly. He might use other people, but the underlying person helping you is God.

4.              Ask your friends and family for prayers! It might be easy to just sit around and complain to your girl friends or your boys, but really, do something productive while you are going through this time. (If you don’t have any friends that you can pray with, please refer to my other post here.)

5.              Allow God to give you the peace that surpasses ALL understanding and don’t worry. Every time you feel the worry coming on, SPRINT back to God to allow him to carry your burdens.

I am praying for all of us, and I know you guys are doing the same. Let’s intentionally pray for the other people on the bus with us that don’t have the hope of the Lord and pray that we can be a light to them and get a chance to share the love of God with them. 

Love you guys!

Lise

P.S. Congrats to finishing another school year! I know lots of us have made crazy transitions into this year and I am so proud of what God is doing in each of our lives!!

Congratulations to the graduates and the newly employed!!

Congrats to those who have remained employed!! God’s favor is on you in a world where there are so few jobs available and people are constantly being laid off. Prayers are still going up for you!

Picture credit to redjar on flickr "School Bus" https://www.flickr.com/photos/redjar/113897608/in/photolist-7kpb7-bwjp7D-tq91V-nErxmf-eerX4q-iRF58V-rUYNq-nErwNm-f2ATnf-iRHHDL-b4KMS-e3wuZu-oQMSHn-4LZMG4-iRF96z-nnYhdx-sjjj8-tq91c-pMEzWQ-iRHDvW