‘…But such as is common to man…’ 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 NAS
The Bible says your struggle is not unique, it’s ‘common to man’. Your secret is not really a secret, it’s just a secret shared by others who are equally afraid to talk. The only time we tend to be honest is when we’re in trouble. As long as we think we can manage our dysfunction, we don’t talk about it. You are not the only one who got married and then wanted a divorce, or lost control and lashed out, or quit a job and now doesn’t have a job to go to. This is important to know, because it takes away your feeling of isolation and enables you to overcome self-pity. It also helps you to say, ‘If others made it, then by God’s grace I can too.’ Perhaps you wonder if God is judging you, or the devil is attacking you, or if you did something to bring it on yourself. No, it’s just part of life’s journey! You’ll notice in Scripture that God doesn’t whitewash His heroes. He doesn’t exempt the people He uses from struggle and sorrow. ‘These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us…’(1 Corinthians10:11 NIV). Every age and every stage of life brings a different test, and a different level of testing. You can’t pray away the tests of life, or quote Scripture and make them disappear. God never promised you a trouble-free trip to heaven. Jesus said, ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NIV).
Bible In A Year: Zech 1-4, John 20:10-18
