Episode 320: I’m Talkin. . .Struggle

I’m Talkin’, episode 320, for June 2nd, 2024.

This is Joel from the I’m Talkin’ microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking struggle.

This week, I want to start out with a definition.

And when I think of the word struggle, I’m thinking of the verb form, so action.

And two definitions that I read that I liked was engage in conflict, which seems like the normal use of the word, or strive to achieve in the face of difficulty.

Both are good definitions to fit what I want to talk about today.

Every day, we probably struggle with something.

Some decision, some action, some person, whatever it may be.

And in the world we live in, we often rely on ourselves to face that struggle.

What we want is correct.

What we deem is correct is correct, because we are in control.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

So it’s a challenge because as Christians, we aren’t in control.

We know that we have given our lives over to Jesus Christ, and he needs to be in control of what we do.

So when we think of struggles, we aren’t on our own.

Whether those struggles involve another Christian, because that happens.

Or whether it’s just someone in the world, maybe at work, could be a spouse, could be a child, all of these struggles exist the same way they do in the natural world.

But as Christians, we have a power source that allows us to deal with struggles more effectively.

So as Christians, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us to guide us.

Not that we always listen, but he’s there if we choose to listen.

And so that gives us a basis of absolute truth to reconcile conflicts.

It gives us the opportunity to know that we are correct or we are wrong through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

And then it matters how we react based on our ability to accept the truth of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

So it’s still a challenge to deal with conflicts, but unlike the world, we have a source of truth that allows us to deal with the conflicts more effectively, more efficiently, and hopefully an outcome that is acceptable, maybe even more than that, looked forward to and enjoyed by both parties or however many are in the conflict.

So something else that I’ve learned, really through listening to Chuck Swindoll, and he says this regularly, I guess, but in dealing with conflicts, as a Christian, there are things that we can lean on.

And he says, in essentials, that’s the basics of Christianity, we must have unity.

In non-essentials, we must have liberty, the ability to give someone the freedom to be who they are regardless of the conflict.

But in all things, in resolution, in dealing with people, we must have charity, which is love.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talkin’ Microcast.

Before I sign off, I want to give a shout out to my son, today happens to be his birthday.

And I just want to thank him for being a great son, for being a great dad, for being a great husband, and giving his mother and I delight every year.