It's Not Gonna Be Easy By Cortney Donelson

Source: Unknown

James 1:2-4 (The Message)

“[Faith Under Pressure] Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

When I felt God prompting me to write a book, it took me awhile to get started. I procrastinated, not because I didn’t think it was really God laying the idea on my heart, but because I had never written a book before. I was scared! Not only had I never penned my own book, I had never been trained in advanced writing or editing skills. 

However, I forced myself to get started after several divine “signs” told me it was time. There was no big fish sent to swallow me whole while I ignored His prompting, but there were some pretty obvious messages – dreams, encouragements from friends, and finally a prophetic vision of an open book by someone who had no idea that God had been asking me to write one for months. 

So, with all these God-inspired motivators, I felt sure God would help me write it. Well, to be honest, I did not think He would just help me. I believed He would write the entire thing. I thought I was just going to provide Him with some fingers and a laptop. That’s it. So, I prayed and started typing. 

Twelve months later, I had my first rough draft. Surprisingly, it had been fun to write. Once it was completed, I still believed God had been the sole author while I just poured out what I felt He had communicated to me to write – each word crafted by Him, not me. It had been easy! I found a well-respected editor and excitedly sent her my first draft. 

While I waited for her to provide her feedback, I thought, God gives us only what we can handle. I patted myself on the back for handling it. 

I am going to be blunt here. That was stupid. If I knew God at all, if I had really hidden His Word in my heart, I would know that God is not in the making-everything-easy-for-His-followers business. In the New International Version, James writes, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Just because God asked me to write a book did not mean it was going to be easy! My book-writing ordeal was about to become a bigger trial than I ever imagined.

After three months, my editor began to send my book back to me in pieces. Each section was filled with recommendations. The number of suggestions was almost equal to the number of words I had typed out myself. It was all very helpful and good advice. Yet, I could not keep from feeling a bit overwhelmed. I had spent a whole year drafting this book. 

To make it worse, in the three-month break while my book was out of my hands, I had added a whole lot to my plate of daily responsibilities. My editor was asking me to reconsider the structure of the book, and that meant I was looking ahead to many late nights filled with planning and writing. It seemed I was going to be starting all over.  I had no idea how I was going to fit this into my new schedule. 

God! I fell to my knees and prayed. Why is this so hard? You told me to write this book. You helped me do it. I thought you were giving me the exact words you wanted to express, and it was all good – and easy! 

Easy? I laughed at my seriously off-base mistake. God doesn’t make our circumstances, acts of obedience, or work easy. He makes them purposeful. He makes them worthwhile. He makes them good. He does not make them easy! Jesus taught us that. Job attested to that. Paul lived that. Peter reminded us of that, and James warned us about that. It is a theme scripted throughout the entire Bible! 

I love how The Message interprets James 1:3. “So don’t try to get out of anything too prematurely.” Was that perhaps what I had done with this book? 

God gives us what we cannot handle on our own! He allows us to struggle, squirm, and wrestle with His will. Why? If we could handle it, we wouldn’t need God. If we could handle it easily, we wouldn't grow. Trials sharpen us. Struggles encourage our dependence on Him. They solidify our faith in Him and give us renewed hope in Him. When we go through difficult times, His glorious power molds us from within. It's the power found just around the corner named HARD and reminds us that we CAN do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13, capitalization mine).  We cannot handle some of the trials that get thrown our way, but God can. He does so by helping us to see what we are really made of in Christ.

We don’t learn a darn thing when our lives are easy. If we get out of our trials too early, we lose out on all that spiritual and personal growth. So, off I go to reconstruct, re-write, re-build … and re-learn. Time to persevere and find some of that maturity and joy that comes with my struggles.

Prayer – God, forgive the times when we forget Your messages, Your Word. We know life as a believer is not easy – but it can be filled with joy. Give us strength and perseverance to withstand all our trials. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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