Cue the Struggles

Have you ever had moments in your life where it seems like adversities, hardships, or bad happenings just keep on coming? If it is not one conflict with an individual, it is another conflict with an individual. If it is not one adversity, it is another adversity. The problems just keep on coming.

The last month of 2024 was like this for me. It was hardships and adversities, not only for me, but also my entire family. At the beginning of December of 2024, my family started dealing with our indoor cat having heart issues. One night, he began panting, breathing heavily, and meowing like he was really hurting. We knew that there was something majorly wrong, but it was already 11:00 at night. We couldn’t really do much of anything. We didn’t want to spend over one-thousand dollars at an emergency vet clinic and sit forever waiting for tragic results.

Along with our cat’s heart issues, my family also began dealing with our fifteen-year-old golden retriever, who was struggling. Some nights we woke up at 3:00 in the morning to let her outside to use the bathroom. There were small accidents on the floors every now and then that we would have to clean up, or we would have to rush her outside.

Along with the dog and cat, my mother and I were also trying to help my ninety-one-year-old grandmother. We started doing her grocery runs for her and driving her to appointments. I even did my best to call her one night a week to talk with her. I felt like our small talks and calls uplifted her spirits.

The weeks before Christmas felt like utter chaos. It just was constant struggles. It was constant battles of hardships, adversities, and unforeseen circumstances that I never would have expected, especially before Christmas time. It was almost as if the floodgates of hell opened up for my family. Wave after wave kept crashing down.

My head was spinning in many different directions. My negative thoughts were out of control. I thought to myself a couple of times, My goodness when will this chaos ever stop? I need a break.

Maybe you’ve had similar circumstances in your life where you have felt like the struggles just kept on coming. Maybe it’s like that now. You feel like God has abandoned you and nothing but bad occurrences have flooded your life. You feel overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, and frustrated because you don’t quite understand what is happening in your life. You don’t understand why all of the hardships, adversities, and struggles are quickly escalating. Maybe you’re at the point of praying, “God, when will the chaos, trials, and tribulations end? I’m tired.”

What do we do when the struggles keep coming? How do we handle our emotions, feelings, and frustrations when all hell breaks loose on us? How can we continue to trust in our Father in Heaven in these times?

I will share with you that each struggle I went through personally encouraged me to get closer to God. It encouraged me to not walk away from Him but to walk towards Him. It made me want to get more familiar with Scripture, read an encouraging devotional, or listen to uplifting Christian music.

James 1:2-4 in the New Living Translation reminds me that even though my faith is being tested within these struggles, I will still be able to come out stronger than ever before. My faith will grow and flourish, if I continue to persevere and endure through Christ.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

When struggles and troubles come my way, I can be confident that my endurance of faith will increase. I can be confident knowing that if I desire to continue chasing after God in the numerous struggles I am facing, my faith will grow, flourish, and become stronger.

One particular way that we can stay close to God is through prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 in the New Living Translation reads, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

When we are going through struggles, we can pray about them. When we are going through heartbreak, grief, loss, or rejection, we need to pray about it. When we are experiencing hurt, chaos, confusion, or stress, we need to talk to God and share with Him how we are feeling.

He doesn’t want us to just say, “Okay, God, you need to stop with this chaos.” Instead, He wants us to share with Him our feelings and struggles. We shouldn’t feel like we have to hide these things, bottle them up, and then burst as a result. We need to be real with God.

I encourage you throughout this week to find a positive habit that will help you get closer to God. When I say closer, I mean spending more time with Him. If journaling helps you process struggles, hardships, and adversities, go ahead and journal. If you find that doing a devotional every night before bed uplifts your spirits, do a devotional. Find a way to spend time with God and keep that habit going through the struggles. Find a way to be personal and intimate with God, not only through the struggles, but in good times as well. Then, like James says, you will grow and flourish in your faith through Christ.

Dear Father God, If I am being honest right now, I am swamped with struggles, adversities, and hardships. I am feeling so confused, lost, and overwhelmed right now. I need your peace, Father. I need your hope. Reveal to me your peace, comfort, and hope in these trying times. Remind me to stay close to you through prayer when hard times hit. Help me to not turn away from you, but get closer to you, God. I want to get closer to you. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Reflection Questions:

• What is one positive habit that you can begin this week to help you stay close to God throughout any struggles that may come? Does prayer help? Does worship music help? Does reading your Bible and becoming more familiar with scripture help?
• What is one struggle, adversity, or hardship recently that has made you question God’s love and faithfulness in your life? How can you choose to see God’s hope, peace, joy, and comfort during this trying time?

Morgan Faith

Morgan Faith is a non-denominational Christian author and blogger. She has written and self-published two Christian living books so far and plans to write more in the near future. In all of her books, blogs, and videos, she enjoys incorporating personal experiences for readers to grow, learn, and relate in their own personal lives and relationship with Jesus Christ. Morgan always desires to apply biblical concepts to modern day living to help each individual leave feeling filled and inspired. Check out Morgan’s two published books, Having a Heart for Jesus and A Time to Be Real: 100 Day Prayer Devotional on Amazon.