God, why can’t you make it any easier?
That’s a good Montessori prayer! Actually, it’s a prayer that most of us breathe now and then – and often now! Why can’t God make it any easier? All the good work that is done in Montessori schools that blesses children shouldn’t have to be so hard. No, it is not the children by and large – they are a great joy. It is all the other things. Finances! Staffing! Parents! Life! Why doesn’t God choose to make it easier? That’s a mystery. It is also a mystery why we have been chosen and blessed to know Him and to serve Him. But why can’t He make it easier for us to accomplish His calling in our lives? I keep forgetting a lesson I learned years ago. (It is hard for a type A to remember.) He is interested more in my relationship than in my ministry. “But Lord, this ministry is so important. It blesses little children and families and …” And He smiles. Yes, it is all true. And He knows it but He has a purpose beyond our vision and our understanding. He uses our ministries to forge our relationships. It is in life that we learn to handle life. Why doesn’t He make it easier? I have no simple answer to that mystery but I do have a word of comfort – you are in good company! (Misery loves company is not exactly the word of comfort or encouragement you were hoping for.) Along with the word of comfort I can offer you a word of perspective.
Paul’s resume: 2 Cor. 11:24
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods,
once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked,
I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers,
in danger from bandits,
in danger from my own countrymen,
in danger from Gentiles,
in danger in the city,
in danger in the country,
in danger at sea,
and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled
and have often gone without sleep;
I have known hunger and thirst,
and have often gone without food.
I have been cold
and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
Did he mention being lied about,
Gossiped about.
Criticized
Abandoned
Being second guessed
Being in jail.
Being chained
And Oh yeah, being snake bit!
Did Paul “deserve” any of this? Do we? So why does God allow us to go through the tough times? In 2 Cor. 1:3-7 Paul uses the word comfort or comforted eight times. Comfort one another with the same comfort you’ve received. “I know how you feel.” Is no comfort from someone who has no idea of how you feel. Death, divorce, despair, loss, failure, pain, betrayal, humiliation are all part of the fall. Sympathy is feeling for someone; empathy is feeling with someone. Scripture tells us that we have a High Priest who is touched by our infirmities. And He asks us to bear each other’s burdens. So why do you go through hard times? To be able to help others? In Peanuts, Linus tells Lucy, “We are here to help others.” “Well, what are the others here for?” asks Lucy. It’s still a good question! Why doesn’t He make it easier? He has his own reasons. And as Charlie Brown says, “Pain hurts.” There is no way to minimize the discomfort we encounter. People in the world tend to mask it with money, alcohol, drugs, sex, or power. But what do you do when you follow God and it leads through valleys that feel like the shadow of death? I think you have to keep going. Does the pain stop? Not always. Do things turn out right? Not always. Do you get what you want? Not always. What do you get? Endurance. You will reap if you don’t faint. However our reaping may not be in the here and now.
We live both in a natural and supernatural world. We are to be good stewards of that which we can control and are called to cede control to God in those areas beyond our control. There is no way to minimize those challenges except by trusting them into God’s hands. And so when we are faced with “Why can’t God make it any easier?” we must lean into the wind of faith and let it carry us forward. The irony of sailing is that you can make progress “against” the wind but it is how you set your tiller that will determine your progress.
Life is real – and often painful but if we can steadfastly look at Jesus in the midst of our challenges we might say with Paul (I Cor. 4:8):
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.”