Why God wants us to struggle

Do you see yourself as a caterpillar, a worm?  How often do you have thoughts of depression, of lowliness, of unworthiness?  When you try to picture yourself through God's eyes, do you see yourself as a 'sinner' and nothing more?  Unfortunately, this is how much of the church has painted the picture of Christians and Christianity.  But I want to help transform your mind into seeing yourself as God truly sees you.

God doesn't see you as a worm or a struggling caterpillar; He sees you as the gloriously transformed butterfly!  God loves you, and He looks past your struggles and your failures.  He sees your accomplishments, your aspirations, the times that you've picked yourself back up and carried on again.  God isn't as disappointed by the times we fail, as He is excited and overjoyed by the times we 'get back on our horse' and try again.  So what of these struggles?  Why does God even allow all these hardships and struggles in life?  Why doesn't He just eliminate sin from the face of the earth so life can be hunky-dory?

I believe there is one simple reason; one simple answer.  God allows sin because He wants us to struggle.  No - not like you may be thinking.  God isn't looking down from heaven, waiting for us to mess up so He can get angry and curse our lives, and our children's lives, and their children's lives.  No.  He is not an angry Father just waiting for us to mess up.  Far from it.  God is a loving, caring, kind Father who wants His children to grow up to be just like Him!  Let me draw a parallel to help me illustrate this point.

Caterpillars must go into their cocoons at some point of their life if they ever want to become a butterfly.  Your life pre-God is the life of the caterpillar.  You are just crawling around, eating stuff wherever you can find it, thinking this is all there is to life.  You draw your sustenance from this world.  However, at some point it becomes evident to the caterpillar that is must form itself into a cocoon to become a new creation.

When we accepted Christ as our saviour, we've realized a new struggle exists.  This is what the Bible is talking about in Philippians 2:12 when it says you must "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling".  If you've ever seen a caterpillar working and struggling in its cocoon, you can actually see it trembling as it struggles!

This is the point I want to make:  If you don't go through the struggle, you cannot become a butterfly.
Butterflies will die if cut out of their cocoon too early.  God allows struggles and hardships not because He enjoys watching the pain but because His enjoys watching us grow into His own likeness; the image of his Son; the trueness, originality and intentionality of His creating us!  We were created not to struggle, but through the struggle to walk into our inheritance, which is a son-ship including the power and glory available to us from God.

Don't see yourself as a worm or a caterpillar crawling along the earth on your belly.  Remember, Jesus said in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these..."  You were originally and intentionally created to become the glorious butterfly.  However, there must be struggle for that to happen.  I don't particularly like math, nor am I particularly good at it, however, look at this equation:

Comfortability = laziness and sloth = no change = deterioration

If you're not struggling and working out your salvation daily, then perhaps you've gotten off the path somehow, some way.  I know that personally, I look for a life of peace and comfortability, and therefore my life in Christ deteriorates rather than improves.  Some days I am a caterpillar who is just sleeping inside of my cocoon; if I don't wake up because I enjoy my comfortability then I will never become the glorious butterfly that I am destined to be; the image of God with His power and glory.

You too were destined to struggle - not because God wants pain in your life, but because His ultimate goal must be fulfilled:  His goal is that you'll become a true son (or daughter) and that you'll have the life He always intended you to have.  A life full of miracles and communion with Him.