There are so many challenges throughout life, aren’t there?

Some are new and exciting opportunities – gifts from God that allow us to serve him in the ways he crafted us.

Some are problematic and seem unfair – present because we live in a fallen world.

Some are the result of our own, or someone else’s, pride – choices of selfishness causing disruptions to relationships.

Each challenge gives us the opportunity us to choose to draw closer to the Lord.

When we consider the challenges our selfishness brings, it boils down to sin. Period. We feel unjustly treated or we covet our time or we are boastful of our successes or …. You fill in the blank. Each of us has human tendencies that need to be bent toward God’s tendencies. Living in that mindset can only happen through giving up our willful sins by surrendering to God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The struggle is real! Even the transformed apostle Paul shared about his wrestling with sin, which we can read about in Romans 7:14-25. Praise God that Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection overcome our condemnation - the Spirit of life set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2). If we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are children of God, and we can put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13-14). “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV). What a promise!

The more we choose God’s ways, after giving ourselves up to him, the more readily our instinct will reflect obedience to our Lord. King David prayed, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me” (Psalm 19:13a NIV). We might pray this verse as, “God, I serve you, which means I should be doing what you want me to do. Please help me to obey your ways, to choose right from wrong. I want to be filled with a desire to please you and to demonstrate that I love you by obeying you. Thank you for forgiving my sins and bringing about change in me” (letter K in Keep on Track).

As we, followers of Jesus, encounter challenges of various kinds, our first consideration should be how to handle the situation in a way that honors God. Even in the uncomfortable or terrible situations, we can be certain that God is sovereign, God is good, and God is faithfully at work in us.

We cannot see all the details from all the angles, but our loving Father does, and he uses our situations to grow our relationship with him. Remembering this can help us rise to the challenge!

For more encouragement, read a previous post about choosing to honor God throughout your day.