Our attitude towards life’s struggles

WE need to examine our attitude towards the unavoidable struggles we

have in life. These struggles can be in all fronts—spiritual, moral,

material, social, personal, etc. We need to ask ourselves whether we

know why we have these struggles and whether they have some meaning

and purpose. Otherwise, we would be eaten up simply with our fears and

anxieties, and other anomalies like bitterness, sadness and the like.

We should consider this aspect of our life from the point of view of

our Christian faith, since it is there where we can get a global

picture. It is there where we can find the meaning and purpose of

these struggles.

As long as we believe in God, in a God who continues to govern the

whole of his creation with his abiding providence, then we have no

reason to fear and to worry. God is completely in control, and if we

are with him, somehow we also would be in control of whatever may

happen in our life, especially in the area of our struggles.

Let’s remember that as said in the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a

time for everything—“There is a time for everything, and a season for

every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to

die...” (3,1)

Also, St. Paul assured us in his Letter to the Romans, that for those

who love God, everything will work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

That we have to have struggles in our life can mean a number of

things. First, is that it is part of our nature to struggle since in

this life we will always be a work in progress.

Our human nature is such that while it is already defined or set, it

is something that is dynamic, something always in pursuit of its

perfection which ultimately is when we become truly identified with

God, since we are his image and likeness, and children of his. Our

nature is not something rigid, since it is mainly spiritual more than

material, ruled by freedom and love.

Besides, that we have struggles, challenges, trials and difficulties

can only mean that God our Creator and Father has confidence over us

to allow us to have these struggles, challenges, trials, etc. He does

not let us handle struggles that are beyond our powers, but with these

struggles he also gives us all the necessary means.

This assertion can be based on that parable of the three servants

whose master gave them different amounts of money according to their

capacity in order to cooperate with the business of the master. (cfr.

Mt 25,14-30)

It conveys the message that God wants us to participate in his

business which is to help in the governance of his creation. He wants

us to cooperate with his providence. That is how we should understand

the phenomenon of the struggles we have to tackle in our life. And we

should just be game about it, trying our best with God’s grace to face

these struggles as competently and with profit as possible.

What we should avoid is to do nothing about these struggles and to

allow ourselves to be dominated by pessimism, doubts and fears by

them, just like the third servant who did nothing with the money

entrusted to him.

Obviously, not everything in our earthly struggles would lead to

victory according to human standards. We have to expect some failures

and defeats, for the simple reason that there are factors that are

beyond our control. Just the same, as long as we struggle, we will

always be victorious in the eyes of God. Thus, we should always be

guided by our faith, more than by our human standards and criteria.