The Struggle Is Real 1Cor. 4:9-17; 2 Cor. 11:23-33

“Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches” (2Cor. 11:28, NASB).

I get up at my usual time 4:00 a.m. and go through my morning routines. Then, I go to the gym for my early morning workout. I need to work out because I have a tendency to gain weight easily. I think that this is because of my genetics and my eating habits. So, I make my way to the gym. I see Sandy and she has on a T shirt with these words inscribed on it: “The Struggle Is Real.” I exchange pleasantries with Sandy and continue my work out. I think about the words on Sandy’s shirt. These words are true and they can be applied to a myriad of areas in our lives. In this context I am thinking about the struggle to get up at 4:00 a.m. to work out. I also think about life itself; and especially the struggle that one goes through to be successful in their life’s calling. Life is a struggle, and the struggle is real.

One of the main reasons that people do not succeed is that they do not want to struggle. Christians often think that their relationship to Christ should guarantee them an easy life; one without struggles. My mother often said: “People think that they are going to get to heaven on flowery beds of ease.” This was mom’s way of saying that the Christian life comes with struggles, and the struggles are real. Those that are preaching and teaching that if they do the right things Christ will bless them with everything that they need to have a blessed life are guilty of misleading the people. They are failing to take into account all the people in every walk of life that have succeeded through hard work, patience, and endurance. Life is a struggle. The Christian life is a struggle, and the struggle is real.

In his writings to the church at Corinth the apostle Paul says a lot about his struggles. In the church there are false apostles that are guilty of false teaching. Paul writes concerning these false teachers saying, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:13, NASB). In verses 23-33 Paul describes the struggles that he has gone through as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul is not one that claims that life as a Christian is an easy life. Instead, he suffers for the cause of Christ. He preaches the Gospel regardless of the oppositions and the struggles. That Paul is struggling for Christ is seen in two particular passages of scriptures.

The first passage of scripture is found in John 15:18-16:15. Jesus is giving instructions to His disciples to prepare them for the work that He is giving them to do after He leaves them. Jesus wants the disciples to know that their work will not be easy. The struggles that they have seen their master go through they too will have to go through also. Jesus says to them: “‘Remember the word that I said to you. ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also” (v. 20, NASB). The good news is found not in the absence of struggle. Rather, the good news is found in the power of authority and the power of ability that comes to us from Christ (v. 26-27).

The second passage of scripture is found in Acts 9:15-16. Saul (Paul) is traveling to Damascus to continue his persecution of the people of the Way. He has letters from the high priest to the synagogues to bring back to Jerusalem persons “belonging to the Way.” On his way to Damascus Saul is confronted by Christ, and he is converted. The Lord commanded Ananias (v. 10) to go to Saul and assist him. When Ananias asks for clarification the Lord gives him these words. “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake’’ (Acts 9:15-16, NASB). Paul, formerly Saul, knows from experience that he will suffer because he is a servant of Jesus Christ. So, what makes life a struggle? What makes my early morning work outs a struggle?

First, there are mornings when I get up and I do not feel like going to the gym. I struggle in my mind to motive myself to do what I know that I need to do. It seems to me that I cannot get ready to go to the gym. I just go and after I get there I find the strength to get started. Thus, the struggle is sometimes mental and our mental state has a direct effect upon our physical state of being. Paul writes about this kind of struggle in 2 Corinthians 1:8. “For we do not want you to be unaware brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;” (NASB).

A second reason that we struggle is that we do not see the results that we hope for. For example, I work out, but I don’t seem to be reaching my goals. I have not lost weight. I’m getting older and everything seems to be getting harder instead of easier. Jesus also experienced disappointments. In Matthew 23:37 Jesus laments over Jerusalem. He says, “‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling’” (NASB).

A third reason that we struggle is that there are entities that impede our process and our progress. Earlier we mentioned that Paul has to contend with false apostles. In His ministry, Jesus has to contend with the religious leaders of the Jews that includes the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and elders of the people. The religious leaders follow Jesus looking for ways that they might find fault in His teaching and His miracles. They question who He is and the source of His authority to do His work. They look for ways to entrap Him. “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and authority of the governor” (Lk. 20:20, NASB). In John 8:1-13 they bring a woman accused of adultery. They question Jesus about paying taxes (Lk. 20:22), and divorce (Lk. 20:27-35).

In His ministry Jesus is met by the demands of the task that are so many that He is overwhelmed. In John 6:1Jesus goes to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, but He is not able to escape the demands of His ministry. “A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick” (6:2, NASB). In order to reduce the demands on our life we must learn to prioritize the things in our life. We must become managers of our time. We must do the things that are necessary and at the same time reduce and eliminate those things that are unnecessary.

Life is a struggle, and the struggle is real. We will not be successful if we try to escape this reality. We do not need to despair. In Jesus Christ we are helped by the Holy Spirit who guides us, empowers us to do the things that God calls us to do.