Morning Devotional

September  1, 2005
"Normal"      
    by Don Emmitte

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We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT).

Somewhere along the line, we got the idea that we deserve to have a relatively easy life. We have a very false sense of what should be the norm. If someone asks you how things are going and you answer “Fine,” that is thought of as normal, the way it should be. If there is anything wrong, and you answer that question with a qualifier (“Fine, but…”) then it is assumed that your life is not normal. If something is wrong, then your life is for some reason not what it is supposed to be.

In actuality, the real thing that is wrong is this kind of thinking. Until we change our thinking in this regard, life will always be frustrating. We will be preoccupied with trying to fix everything instead of learning life’s lessons. We will always be expecting things to get better around the next bend in the road when “better” isn’t anywhere on the map. Until we learn this, we will just wrestle with life instead of working with it, taking what God sends as our course description, and readying ourselves for each new lesson. Difficulty, surprise, hardship, and trials of every kind are the norm for the follower of Christ.

That’s certainly what Paul meant in our reading today. Now that’s normal. If you want to grow as a Christian, expect this kind of treatment. And the reason for this is twofold. First: life by nature is difficult and hardship produces character in us as we meet life’s challenges with the Holy Spirit; and second: when we go through ordinary hardship and difficulty the reality of the presence of God in our lives can be more easily seen, because the hope and confidence of Christ in our lives is in direct contrast to our situation, making God easier to spot. Or, as Paul goes on to say: “Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us” (2 Corinthians 4:11 MSG).

Oh, to be sure, no one likes life to be easy more than I do; however it simply is not always going to be easy. And, if normal for you means everything is fine and dandy, then brace yourself, because it’s definitely going to get worse. Count on it. God loves you too much to allow you to get away with anything less. And if life is difficult for you right now, rejoice in your opportunity to grow. We need to all start expecting another kind of normal. Knowing that makes life a little “easier”!