A very dear friend used to quote: “Life ain’t for sissies” often,
particularly when I was going through a rough patch
I couldn’t find the original author, but there is a book with this title
The quote has been around a long while
Likely an older person, in fact, Bette Davis said: Aging Ain’t for Sissies
It sort of makes you wonder who said it
and what was happening in their life that would bring them to that conclusion
Not that we all haven’t felt that way
Been at the end of our rope,
so tired it seems impossible to go on
As we look around,
it appears some people have it so easy
For them, life is a breeze
They have lots of people to help them
and care about them
A good job, a nice house, maybe more than one house
Their good attitude seems to be able to let things roll off of them
They seem to have it all together
Maybe they were raised differently
They got into good habits
and while God gives us what we need
and teaches us the lessons we need to learn,
some people do have it easier than others
It’s hard to say why
The important thing to note
is that Jesus knows about our lives
and what we have gone through,
how we feel,
He knows it all
and He has the answer for everything that concerns us
He who has been forgiven much loves much
Life has its ups and downs, not everybody has an even shot
Some are likable and easy to love and others not so much
Some have lots of baggage and can be high maintenance, as they say
You may be able to see yourself or someone else in these descriptions
There are a few thoughts that come to mind: Do Not Covet
One of the 10 Commandments: not thy neighbor’s wife, thy neighbor’s ass nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.
Which would include their lives that seem to be so great
He told us this because we
should not wish for something someone else has
whether it be material or otherwise
They may not have it all together as it so seems
They may be in a different season of life than we
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven
They might be in the world and/or not have committed their life to Christ
Our perception and understanding is limited
We are to focus on other things, meaning God
and the things that we are exhorted in the word to focus on:
Our blessings (Philippians 4:8)
Our purpose (Psalm 139:16)
Our cross (Matthew 16:24)
Another thing to consider is that If someone has not chosen Christ,
they may not have a cross to bear,
although God sends rain on the just and the unjust
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Psalm 37:1-2
Jesus has a way to work in all of our lives
Each one of us is different
we come from different backgrounds
and all of us have had very different experiences
Some of us find some things easier, other things harder
That’s why focusing on Jesus and what He wants for us
and our life is of utmost importance
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. John 9:2-3
To consider this above scripture,
it might be possible to take the word blind out
and put any word in that spot: Poor, ugly, inadequate, inferior, imperfect…
The point is that each person is born how they are born
and they have different obstacles to overcome
and hurdles they need to jump over
It’s easy to point at someone
and think of how easy they have it
or that they have done something wrong,
or even at ourselves and blame ourselves for our circumstances
I think God wants us to mindful of our circumstances,
but not held captive by them
but rather to think of Jesus
and seek Him about how we can trust Him to overcome our circumstances While this sounds easy, it is not for any of us
Jesus’ work in us starts inside of our hearts and goes from there
Do the best you can with what you have
We can all do that
Scriptural References:
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Luke 7:47
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. Exodus 20:17
That ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven. For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:45