Victory Over Hardship

How should you respond when you face hardships in life? What do you do when the story of your life doesn’t play out how you dreamed? Marriages that end in divorce did not start with that as the dream. When parents experience the joy of birth, their expectations for the future do not include attending their child’s funeral. But, as I’m sure you are well aware, life doesn’t always happen the way we want.

Everyone has a story of hardship. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no hardship we face is beyond the course of what others have had to face. The Message translation goes on to say, “All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to hardship. He was whipped 5 times with 39 lashes, 3 times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked, rejected, betrayed, hungry, thirsty and cold (2 Corinthians 11:24-27).

How did Paul respond to these hardships? He refused to allow them to distract him from doing what God had called him to do. In Acts 20:24, facing imprisonment and hardship, Paul says, “None of these things move me.” What I hear Paul saying is that his service and obedience to God is not dependent on his circumstances. He was determined to accomplish the call God placed on his life no matter how uncomfortable or hard it may be for him.

How could he be so confident? How could he respond with such faith? Paul knew what you and I need to learn: regardless of what happens, we have victory over hardship. Look at what Paul writes in Romans, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Romans 8:35, 37)

Whatever you may be facing today, refuse to feel sorry for yourself. Don’t allow your circumstances to determine your obedience to God. Develop the attitude Paul had and begin to say, “None of these things move me.” If you are in the middle of a hardship right now, I make what Paul wrote in Romans 15:13 my prayer for you: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

It is true that here on earth we will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, Jesus has overcome the world! (John 16:33) The moment you surrender your life to Christ, you win. You have victory over hardship!