"But I Thought it would get easier."

This past Sunday I preached a message on the necessity of spending time at the feet of Jesus, where we find every needed resource so that we may then rise and face the responsibilities of life with confidence and grace, in spite of the chaotic world that surrounds us.

While greeting those who attended the morning service, one gentleman told me that the message was just for him. And then he said this, speaking of the seasons of his life, “I thought it would get easier.” Inwardly I had to laugh, because I said the same thing to my wife only days before. Let’s take a moment to consider that statement.

I remember when in grade school, thinking that things would be so much easier when I made it to high school. From the vantage point of high school, I knew things would get easier after graduation. After graduation, I served in the U.S. Navy for the next four years, where I dreamed of easier upon discharge from the service. The next stages of life were filled with marriage and the responsibility of raising a family, thinking down in my heart that things will get easier when my children are raised. Not! The empty nest provided a brand new set of challenges. Concerns then filled my heart about my adult and now married children and the grandchildren that they have brought into the world. Watching them face life’s challenges has been no easier than going through them myself. Just wait until I retire, then things will get easier. Again, I am confronted with new challenges and various challenges of which I had no idea.

I have now concluded after having passed through many stages of life, that life does not get easier, it just gets different, different challenges and different concerns. And all along the way, in the background have been these words from Jesus, “My grace is sufficient for you” (II Corinthians 12:9). Jesus is telling us that His grace will be enough to get us through the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs, of each and every phase of life until He calls us unto Himself.

The most common definition of grace is unmerited favor, and that it is. But it is so much more. And with each passing season of life I now embrace the following definition of grace. Grace: the empowering presence of God that enables me to be all that He would have me to be and to do all that He would have me to do.” That definition of grace meets us where the rubber meets the road throughout each and every season of life.

In no way do I want to discourage you or the man who met me at the church door, but my friends, Jesus never promised easier, He promised that His grace would be sufficient for each and every day of each and every season of our lives. Embrace that, and find a renewed joy and vitality for the season of life that you presently occupy.