JOB 7:1–4 – Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?  Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn.”

The Lord calls us “sheep” for many reasons.  We are timid like sheep; easily frightened like sheep; need constant care and supervision like sheep, and don’t be offended by this – we are not very smart like sheep.

In living the “sheep life” as followers of Jesus, we sometimes forget obvious things. Like the theme of today’s nugget.  We know life is supposed to be hard but we forget what Jesus told us about life under the sun –  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).   We also forget what the Apostle Paul told the believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch –  When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:21-22).

So, let me remind us about life. It is supposed to be hard because we live in a fallen world, engulfed in sin, and under the curse of God.  And we must constantly remember this.   This is extremely important for our response to the difficulties of living in a cursed world will either enhance our witness for the Lord Jesus or hinder it.  How we respond to difficulties will either be under the control of Christ’s love seeing the good God is working in us through difficulties or we will be like the world and complain of life’s difficulties. If our attitudes are the latter, two things are present in our understanding of the Christian life.

First, the complaining Christian who does so because life is hard has forgotten the catastrophic consequences when Adam and Eve sinned against God.  Take time soon and read the first three chapters of Genesis and the first chapter of Romans.  As we do, ask the Lord to show how serious and consequential sin is to humanity.

A second truth revealed in us when we forget life is hard and we complain is we have forgotten the heart and soul rest God has provided in the Lord Jesus – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light  (Matthew 11:28-30).

So, life. Don’t listen to the lies that tell us it isn’t supposed to be this hard. It is, but we know only for a short time (1 Peter 5:10).  We are headed to the land where hard is a thing in the past.

PRAYER: “Father, thank You for giving me the hope of heaven and forever fellowship with You in love.”

QUOTE: “We should never expect life to be anything but hard and never complain because it is.”