The goal of our struggles

What is the goal of our struggles? Why do we continue to face these trials and tests? If we are followers of Jesus, we are instructed join Jesus and participate in his suffering (I Peter 4:13). Are we prepared to have God destroy our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual desires by transforming them supernaturally? Following Jesus is not a matter of feeling; it a matter of the will. It is a matter of joining Jesus in the Garden and saying to the Father, “Not my will but yours be done.” Many of us follow Jesus as long as we are filled with the joy of his presence; when he asks us to join him in giving up our rights, we falter and withdraw. With the disciples in the Garden we fall asleep, only to awaken wondering why God has passed us by. If we will say, “Not my will but yours be done”, we will find that our sufferings are the doorway to the power of the resurrection. – Ron Friesen