"During The Struggle!"

Cynthia R. Bennett

What to do when what used to come easy now seems to be a struggle? It was easy to forgive; easy to love; easy to bounce back from negative situations, relationships, and experiences. It was easy to encourage others and be uplifting and positive. But because of what you have been through yourself, lately, easy it not so easy anymore.

I’m reminded of the story of Jacob in Genesis Chapter 32, a man who struggled most of his entire life, as many of us do; but as he matured in faith, Jacob depended more and more on God. After his dramatic, all-night wrestling match with God; he ended up a broken man…and a new man. From that day forward, Jacob was called Israel and he walked with a limp; a constant reminder to him and those who recognized the change in his walk that he now depends on the Lord.

Webster’s dictionaries define ‘struggle’ as trying in the face of opposition; or to proceed with great difficulty. Have you ever had to struggle to make ends meet? Struggle to be treated fairly? Struggle to get up and go function as if everything in your life is okay; when in fact, it felt like all hell was breaking loose? It feels like nothing comes easy to you when you are giving it and people your best. When

we feel ‘struggle’ lingering, it causes flared tempers, finger pointing, confusion, and hurt to come and try to overwhelm us. How can we exist and have happy lives during constant opposition? The answer is to believe in yourself, that you are better than your circumstance; and have a dependence on God. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV) says ‘We are pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Yes, we all have obstacles; we all have problems; and we have all been through a lot, but God gives us an internal strength to overcome anything that comes up against us. 

I agree, no one likes to go through lack, abuse, hurt, pain, or any type of struggle however, we must keep in mind, God will give us a way out; when we look back the struggle strengthen, encourage, and equip us to maturity.

It reminds me of the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. There are four stages to their complete development, but I want to reference the third stage: the process the caterpillar goes through in the cocoon. For the caterpillar to break out of their shell, there must be a struggle. If there is any outside assistance during this phase, the process stunts their development. For this process develops their wings to flap and carry the weight of their bodies. Frederick Douglass quoted “without a struggle, there can be no progress”.

We know that hindsight is 20/20; we can see things more clearly after we have gone through them. I am not downplaying anyone’s hurt, pain, neglect from people, places, or things. What I am saying, those of us who are dead smack in the middle of a struggle, I want to encourage you as I encourage myself; continue to push, pull and tug to get out of our shells; our dilemmas; our circumstances. When the process is complete, we will be able to spread our wings and bear the weight we must carry on in life just as the butterfly.

Cynthia R. Bennett

Founder/CEO, JADASA

www.jadasa.org