Don’t see the hard times in life as unfair or meaningless or getting in the way of the comfort we really want. We should learn from our suffering, growing in faith and prayer, and being reminded that there is more to the good life than our selfish comfort. We learn more in the hard times than the good times. Remember what your aim in life is; serving Jesus requires we not focus on ourselves but work hard towards the bigger goal of honouring and loving our good God.
What are you aiming for in life? What would you class as a good life, a successful life? It is important that you know what you are trying to do with your life. Then you can work out what you should be doing now in order to achieve that goal.
Think of it like this. We often have aims or goals for particular aspects of our lives. You might want to have a career in a certain field; that will require enrolment in an appropriate course or starting a particular training programme. There will be times during that studying and training that you find it hard or boring or expensive or tedious. When that happens, you can remind yourself of the bigger goal: you need to get through these things in order to achieve what you want. You are prepared to put up with short-term pain for the long-term gain.
When you apply that reasoning to life in general, we can see that many people don’t really think that hard about what they are trying to achieve in life. They just measure a good life compared to other people around them. A good life in many cultures is one where you have enough money, when you are comfortable, and when you have a family situation you are happy with. It is a life with health and prosperity in it. Without really thinking too hard about it, many think that this kind of life will make them happy.
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