the struggle is real

We all have one thing in common...we face challenges every day.  Challenges have as much variation as the people who face them do.  These trials can be life changing or day changing, but we all have them.  Each day we have choices to make as we face our own row of hurdles.  Will we become bitter or better?  Will we stop and stare at the hurdle in front of us, or will we go for it, or will we try to avoid it?  And what if we go for it, but instead of soaring over that hurdle, we fall flat on our faces?  Will we learn in the process of soaring or falling?  

A week and a half ago, the hurdle in front of me was a crack in the sidewalk on my running route.  I fell flat on my face (literally) and as I struggled to stand, discouragement overwhelmed me.  I briefly considered giving up.  Forget this running thing...I quit!  There is no escaping the cracks in the sidewalk in my neighborhood, so the obvious solution (at least in my 5 a.m. logic) is to give up running.  It was so symbolic of life.  We get discouraged and wounded, and we give up.    It's self-preservation.  Our brains think, "I don't want to feel that way, so I'll just quit and I won't ever have to deal with that hurdle again."  

Here is the good news...The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  (Deuteronomy 31:8)  In the face of any challenge, this is the truth.  We can soar over the hurdles knowing that God goes ahead of us and He will never abandon us.  And what about the times that we are sprawled on the ground and injured?  Deuteronomy 31:8 is still the truth.  God is with me.  He will NEVER leave me or forsake me.  Fear and discouragement can not take over in the presence of God.  

My scrapes and bruises are healing.  My knees will have new scars.  But, I didn't quit running.  I was back at it the next morning.  Same choice in life; I will keep moving forward.  The struggle is real, but Jesus is more than enough!