It was hard for Christ to be beaten and nailed to a cross; this ought never to be a reason for disobedience.
Christ in us can give us the strength to obey Him. I don't deny that many things in life are hard, but it can never be a reason to resist doing what God tells us to do.
When I was a child, I used to say things like "but it's hard." When I became an adult, I knew difficulty was not a reason to be lazy or deny the truth.
Life is hard................ all the time! When things seem to get easy for a time it won't be very long before another challenge comes along to stretch us a little more.
Those who avoid chastisement, run from discipline, and even punish those who attempt to help with constructive criticism, are not able to grow spiritually or emotionally. They remain children all their lives as they grow more bitter in their elder years.
James 1:2-4 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
We cannot become better people without the trials that force us to see ourselves in reality, the frail people that we are without Christ.
Romans 5:3-5 "Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."
1 Peter 1:6-7 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
When we endure trials and progress in Spiritual growth, it is God Who is glorified, not ourselves.
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