life is hard

Today for me really reinforced the truth that everyone knows. The truth that we can't go through life alone-non-Christians and Christians alike. We are made to need one another....

We all have met or will meet people that will hurt us. Intentionally and unintentionally. When people hurt us, we know we need to forgive, but we don't always obey what Jesus asks us to do. Unforgiveness-pretty ugly when you allow it to dwell in yourself. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness. What a life to live... in bitterness. Life wasted. The thing about forgiveness is that we can't do it alone. We can try and try, but we can't. It's only through God's power that we can get past the bitterness and forgive. For those of us who have hurt those that we love, sometimes it's hard to forgive ourselves. We beat ourselves up repeatedly. We wallow in the hole we dig for ourselves. Though deserving at times, we often dwell in the hole too long and too often. Christ forgave us, but we can't seem to forgive ourselves. Christ calls us to live a live of truth that filled with joy in Him who sacrificed Himself for us.

There is difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is temporary, situational, usually involves getting something we want. Joy is deep rooted in Christ in that even in hard times, there is a sense that everything is going to be fine. Happiness goes away when we face hard times, but joy remains. When everything falls apart around you, it comes down to you and God. If you don't have Christ in your life, it's just you. Everything appears bleak. Joy is stemmed from having Christ in your life and this brings about hope. When everything falls apart around you, there is hope in Christ. Hope. Do you have hope? Because life is not happy all the time. It involves pain and sorrow.

We are not made to cope with the hardships of life alone. Even Jesus himself needed fellowship with others. When the realities of life hit us, we need people in our lives to support and encourage us, to keep us accountible for our actions, and make us laugh. If I had to keep my struggles of life inside and not share with my good friends, I think I would literally explode. We are not made to go through this life alone. Christ did not call us to a life of seclusion. We need one another.