Too Hard?

And the Lord your G.o.d will make you abundantly prosperous in every work of your hand. . . . If you obey the voice of the Lord your G.o.d, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your G.o.d with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being. For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off. . . . But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.

-DEUTERONOMY 30:9-11, 14 Please make everything easy and simple for me, dear G.o.d. I don't like to struggle, and I want constant victory without exerting any effort. Let me go on my way as I let You do everything to keep me secure.

I've never heard anyone pray those words, but I have heard people pray in such a way that they were asking for an easy time in life. Too many people want victory without battle, triumph without effort, and ease without labor. G.o.d's world simply doesn't function that way.

"It's just too hard." I wonder how many times I've heard people talk that way. I wonder how many times Joyce Meyer has talked that way. And I did. There was a time when I'd make a firm stand for following the Lord, but in my heart (and often in my mouth) were the words that "it was just so hard."

G.o.d convicted me of negative thinking. He taught me that if I would stop looking at the hards.h.i.+ps and obey Him, He would make a way for me. The previous verses tell us that G.o.d wants to bless us and prosper the work of our hands, but we must obey His commandments. And in verse 11, He a.s.sures us that we can do it: "For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off."

Because we spend so much time listening to the negatives and figuring out what can go wrong, too often we forget the promise that His will is not too difficult for us. Instead, it may help if you think of the obvious difficulties as blessings from G.o.d.

For instance, take encouragement from Joseph. After he spent years in Egypt and saved the lives of his family in Canaan, his brothers were afraid of him. They had hated him, plotted to kill him, and sold him into slavery. After their father, Jacob, died, they expected Joseph to punish them. He could have done that and groaned about his hard life-and his life had not been easy. Not only was he sold as a slave by his brothers, but he had been wrongly imprisoned and could have been put to death if G.o.d hadn't been with him.

Instead of saying, "Life is so hard," Joseph said, "As for you, you thought evil against me, but G.o.d meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day" (Genesis 50:20). He understood how G.o.d works in human lives.

Joseph didn't look at the hards.h.i.+ps; he looked at the opportunities. Joseph didn't listen to the whispering campaign of his enemy; he turned his ears to the encouraging words of his G.o.d. In no place do we read of him complaining. He saw everything that happened to him as G.o.d's loving hand upon him.

I wrote the words loving hand even though it may not always seem that way. And that's where the devil sometimes creeps in to say, "If G.o.d loves you so much, why are you in this mess?"

The best answer I can give is to repeat the words of Paul the great apostle: "Let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hards.h.i.+p produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fort.i.tude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for G.o.d's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).

G.o.d never promises an easy life, but He does promise a blessed life.

G.o.d of love and compa.s.sion, please forgive me for complaining about life being too hard. Forgive me for wanting things to be easy. Lead me wherever You want me to go and, in the name of Jesus, I plead that You will help me rejoice all the way-even in the midst of the problems, because You will be there to help me solve them. Amen.

100.

Truth in the Inner Being.

Have mercy upon me, O G.o.d, according to Your steadfast love; according to the mult.i.tude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful]. Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.

-PSALM 51:1-6.

The heading under this psalm reads: "A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba." David cried out for mercy because he had sinned with Bathsheba, and when he learned she was pregnant, he had had her husband murdered in battle.

After David confessed his sin, Nathan said to him, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born to you shall surely die" (2 Samuel 12:13-14).

That's the first lesson I want you to grasp from this incident. When you fail G.o.d, you harm yourself, but you also bring dishonor to His name. Whenever you take a false step, there are those who watch and gleefully point their fingers. The two always go together. Not only do you bring disgrace on the name of the Lord, but you fail yourself. You knew the right but chose the wrong.

As if that were not enough, the evil one also whispers, "See how bad you are. G.o.d won't forgive you. It's too awful." Of course, he's lying, because that's what he does best. Don't listen to those words, because there is no sin you've committed that G.o.d won't forgive. You may have to carry scars or pay the penalty, but G.o.d wipes away the sin.

There's something else to learn from this: You need to face reality. You sinned. You disobeyed G.o.d. What will you do about your sin? You can plead excuses (and most of us are good at that), or you can follow David's example. When the prophet said, "You are the man . . ." (2 Samuel 12:7), the king did not deny his wrongdoing or try to justify his actions. David admitted he had sinned and confessed.

He wrote in the psalm quoted earlier: "For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment" (vs. 3-4).

If you follow Jesus Christ, not only are you declaring to yourself, to your family, and to the world your trust in the Savior, but you are also declaring your stand for truth. It's easy for us to deceive ourselves, but G.o.d has called us to be totally, completely, and scrupulously honest in our inner being. Don't look at what others may get away with or how they justify their behavior. We can't blame others, the devil, or circ.u.mstances.

When you fail, remind yourself that the greatest king of Israel cried out to G.o.d and said, "My sin is ever before me" (v. 3). Those sins, failures, or shortcomings (or whatever you may choose to call them) will always be there until you admit them and confess them to the Lord; only then can you know the joy of living with integrity and in truth.

This is the message for you from this final meditation; this is the message of the entire book: Strive to live with truth in your inner being. You-you and G.o.d-are the only ones who know what's in your heart. Live in honesty and truth.

Holy G.o.d, David prayed, "You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart." Through Jesus Christ, I plead with You to help me desire truth in my inner being, to live in such a way that I'm as honest and as open with You as I can become. I know that the life You honor is the life You bless. Amen.

NOTES.

1 Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1995), 40. (back to text).

2 Ibid., 128. (back to text).

3 "Count Your Blessings." Words by Johnson Oatman, Jr.; music by Edwin O. Excell. Included in Edwin Excell's Songs for Young People (Chicago: E.O. Excell, 1897). (back to text) 4 Meyer, 150. (back to text).

5 Meyer, 191-192. (back to text).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

JOYCE MEYER has been teaching the Word of G.o.d since 1976 and in full-time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than seventy inspirational books, including Approval Addiction, In Pursuit of Peace, How to Hear from G.o.d, and Battlefield of the Mind. She has also released thousands of teaching ca.s.settes and a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.

OTHER BOOKS BY JOYCE MEYER.

Ending Your Day Right.

In Pursuit of Peace The Secret Power of Speaking G.o.d's Word Seven Things That Steal Your Joy.

Starting Your Day Right Beauty for Ashes Revised Edition How to Hear From G.o.d.

How to Hear From G.o.d Study Guide Knowing G.o.d Intimately The Power of Forgiveness.

The Power of Determination The Power of Being Positive The Secrets of Spiritual Power The Battle Belongs to the Lord Secrets to Exceptional Living Eight Ways to Keep the Devil Under Your Feet Teenagers Are People Too!

Filled with the Spirit Celebration of Simplicity.

The Joy of Believing Prayer Never Lose Heart Being the Person G.o.d Made You to Be A Leader in the Making.

"Good Morning, This Is G.o.d!" Gift Book Jesus-Name Above All Names "Good Morning, This Is G.o.d!" Daily Calendar Making Marriage Work (Previously Published as Help Me-I'm Married!) Reduce Me to Love Be Healed in Jesus' Name How to Succeed at Being Yourself.

Eat and Stay Thin Weary Warriors, Fainting Saints Life in the Word Journal Be Anxious For Nothing.

Be Anxious For Nothing Study Guide Straight Talk Omnibus Straight Talk On Loneliness Straight Talk On Fear Straight Talk On Insecurity Straight Talk On Discouragement Straight Talk On Depression Straight Talk On Stress.

Straight Talk On Worry Don't Dread Managing Your Emotions Healing the Brokenhearted Me and My Big Mouth!

Me and My Big Mouth! Study Guide.

Prepare To Prosper Do It Afraid!

Expect a Move of G.o.d in Your Life . . . Suddenly!

Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make.

When, G.o.d, When?

Why, G.o.d, Why?

The Word, The Name, The Blood.

Battlefield of the Mind Battlefield of the Mind Study Guide Tell Them I Love Them Peace The Root of Rejection.

If Not for the Grace of G.o.d If Not for the Grace of G.o.d Study Guide JOYCE MEYER SPANISH t.i.tLES..

Las Siete Cosas Que Te Roban El Gozo (Seven Things That Steal Your Joy) Empezando Tu Dia Bien (Starting Your Day Right).

BOOKS BY DAVE MEYER.

Life Lines.