Just Because Something’s Hard Doesn’t Mean It’s Wrong

Hey, my friends. Welcome back to Let’s Encourage One Another.

I’m wondering if you are doing something that is really, really hard right now.

• Maybe you are raising little ones.
• Maybe you are caring for an aging parent.
• Maybe you have a friend who is in a season of grief.
• Maybe you are working extra hours to pay off debt.
• Maybe you are getting a degree or certification in your so-called free time.
• Maybe you are leading a small group or Bible study or ministry.

There are times when I get so incredibly discouraged, and maybe you do, too, because you are striving to do a good job or doing your best to care for someone else or just trying to keep up with what life has thrown at you.

And you’re tired.

And you’re weary.

And some days you just feel like giving up.

And we begin to question, “Is God really asking me to do this? Where are all my open doors? Where is God making the path easy for me? Why does my burden feel so heavy? This doesn’t feel easy or light.”

And today, I want to speak a word of encouragement to you:

Just because something is hard doesn’t mean that it’s wrong.

Personal Examples

Let me share a few examples with you. Teaching is really the first thing that comes to mind. Whether I was teaching kids in Sunday school, students in the college classroom, my own children at home, or adults in Bible study… I can tell you that rarely does a lesson go the way I imagine it in my mind. Either I’m not feeling it that day, or it’s not resonating with the class the way I hoped it would, or we keep getting interrupted and so it’s hard for us to focus on the lesson. And teaching is just hard.

And yet, I feel like God has called me to teach. I enjoy the process of putting together lessons and studying and doing the research. But there is no doubt about it, teaching is hard.

But that doesn’t make it wrong.

The same goes for parenting. Raising kids, teaching them the difference between right and wrong, helping them learn how to interact with other people, letting them explore and grow and build friendships, feeding them three times a day (often more)… it’s hard. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel the weight of that.

And yet, God has called me to be a mama. And while there is genuinely delight and joy in having kids, there is also a lot of sacrifice and hardship.

But that doesn’t make it wrong.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Kari, of course those things aren’t wrong. Teaching? Raising kids? Who would question the rightness of those things?” But let me tell you, we could have the same kinds of questions regarding our work, our leadership roles at church or in the community, our own education, or volunteering.

Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

A Principle of Discernment?

And I’ve noticed that when people are discerning whether or not to move in a certain direction, if they have a decision they need to make, there is often an idea in their minds that if God is calling them to do something, He will open all the doors that need to be opened.

Have you heard that before? Do you believe it?

To some extent, that is true. If God wants something to happen, there is nothing that can get in His way, amen?

But there are times when God calls us to do something and we face hardship or opposition along the way.

In fact, think about the Israelites as they returned to their own country after being exiled. You can read their story in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. While so many doors were, indeed, opened for them along the way, they also faced much opposition. Three men, in particular, had it out for Nehemiah, and they threatened him and talked about him behind his back to the Israelites, trying to discredit his leadership. And they threatened the people themselves, saying they would be attacked. And they pretended to be his friends to entice him to stop doing the work.

Before that, there were other enemies who wrote angry letters to the king in charge, who then forced the Israelites to stop rebuilding.

And that’s just opposition from the outside. Think about how hard it would have been to leave the place you and your family had called home for 70 years. How hard it would have been to make a 4-month journey through the desert. How hard it would have been to leave some friends and family members behind. How hard it would have been to see your city still in a pile of rubble, needing to be rebuilt.

This was not an easy task God had called them to. Yet it was right and good.

Just because something’s hard doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

What’s Hard for You?

What is it that is hard for you right now? Where are you growing weary and burdened? What feels hard about it? Where are you struggling?

Is God inviting you to make some changes to alleviate an unnecessary burden? To find your rest in Him and Him alone?

Or is He inviting you to persevere? To stand strong? To rely wholly and totally on Him through it all?

I can’t answer that for you, my friend. But I will be praying for God to reveal His invitation to you.

And as we close, I just want to remind us of the words in Galatians 6:9 (NRSVA): “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”

And also in Hebrews 10:36 (NCV): “You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised.”

Hold on, my friend. Persevere. You can do the hard thing—with His help. Let’s cling to Him and remain faithful to what He has called us to do. Even when it’s hard.

Okay, my friends, that is all for today. Until next time, let’s encourage one another.

BIBLE VERSES + RESOURCES:

• Episode 103: 6 Strategies to Manage Overwhelm, Stress, and Change
• “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NRSVA)
• “You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised.” (Hebrews 10:36 NCV)

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