If Not Easy, Then Doable

by Gary Henry
via Wordspoint.com

"Most assuredly, I say to you [Peter], when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, 'Follow Me'" (John 21:18,19).

My difficult days have come (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Easy things are now hard. Pleasant things are now fraught with pain. But for what shall I pray? If I pray for the removal of the pain or alleviation of the difficulty, the Lord’s answer may well be, “I will not make your work easy; I will make it doable. My grace is sufficient for you.”

When the Lord indicated that Peter would die by crucifixion, John commented, “This He spoke, signifying by what death [Peter] would glorify God.” It may be so with us. When we pray for ease, the Lord may say, “No, it will be by difficulty that you will glorify Me.”

Not all our difficulties are the consequence of sin or irresponsibility in our lives, but many of them are. And when the Lord says, “The sword will not depart from your house” (II Samuel 12:10), prayers for the removal of consequences put in place by the Lord will not likely be granted. What the Lord will do is make the sword bearable.

We often hear that the Lord will not put on us more than we can bear. But ease is often harder to bear than difficulty. Does the Lord know that we couldn’t handle much ease without being destroyed by it? If so, He won’t bring us much ease. He will spare us that and bless us instead with difficulty, which from a spiritual standpoint is more helpful (II Corinthians 12:9,10). We would do well to start praying less for ease and more for God to be glorified in our hardships.

Speaking of II Corinthians 12:9,10, the Lord’s statement that “My strength is made perfect in weakness” is, I believe, one of the hardest of the Lord’s hard sayings. Paul’s confidence that “when I am weak, then I am strong” is, I confess, beyond my present state of spiritual maturity. But by the Lord’s help, I’ve made a little progress lately.

So, I say again, my difficult days have come. But for what shall I pray? That the difficult days will not be difficult? No. I confess I’ve often prayed like that, but I hope I can learn to pray greater prayers.

Father, hear the prayer we offer:
Not for ease that prayer shall be,
But for strength that we may ever
Live our lives courageously.
(Love Maria Willis)