When Life Isn’t Easy, How It Can Be Made Better
Recently, I had been looking forward to an event I thought I would attend with someone important to me. At the last moment, they told me they needed to go alone — without explanation. I was left feeling excluded, puzzled, and, if I’m honest, a little hurt.
The day before, another situation had left me frustrated. People I trusted in a business arrangement made choices that felt unfair, as if they were taking advantage of my goodwill.
Two different circumstances, both leaving me feeling low.
The Pull of the Low Place
When these kinds of moments stack up, it’s easy for the mind to spiral. Questions echo: Why did they treat me this way? Am I being taken for granted? Do I matter? Even with years of life experience, those moments can still pull at your heart.
But that morning, my prayer time with God met me right in the middle of that heaviness. I listened to a devotional based on Jesus’s words in the Gospel of John:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Not Easier — But Better
The devotional reminded me that following Jesus doesn’t remove life’s difficulties. Disappointments, misunderstandings, and injustices are still part of our human story. But faith changes how we live through them.
The phrase “take heart” isn’t a shallow “cheer up” — it’s an invitation to courage. It’s a reminder that the One walking beside me is not surprised by these bumps in the road, and that His victory over the brokenness of the world is already secure.
Better doesn’t always mean easier. Better can mean knowing that when relationships are strained or fairness is absent, I’m not alone in facing them. Better can mean that my spirit can be steady even when my circumstances are unsettled.
Choosing Courage in the Moment
That morning, I realized I had a choice: I could let the weight of these disappointments dictate the tone of my day, or I could anchor myself in a truth that doesn’t shift — that Jesus is with me, He sees me, and His victory is my victory.
That doesn’t erase the need to address unfairness or have honest conversations later. But it means I can approach them with peace instead of bitterness, with clarity instead of confusion.
Wisdom Through Faith
Life will never be perfectly smooth on this side of heaven. There will be plans that change without explanation. There will be people who test our patience or take advantage of our trust.
But wisdom through faith reminds me that I don’t have to let those moments define me. I can breathe, pray, and move forward, remembering that my worth and my future aren’t in anyone else’s hands.
When life isn’t easy, it can be better — because the One who promised to walk with us has already overcome the world.
