I think we can just agree point blank that nobody likes to struggle. That’s one of the few things we can agree on in this crazy world. Struggling is not a good time. No one wakes up in the morning thinking “You know what I want to do today? Struggle!”. It just doesn’t happen. And yet, for all our distaste for it, it is an absolute constancy in our lives. It may come and go in seasons. It may come for some more than others. But everyone on this earth will at one time or another find themselves in what feels like an impossible, heartbreaking struggle.
What’s more, a great deal of the time it will feel like no one knows just how deeply you are fighting.
You may have people who are close to you, walking alongside you and bearing you up in your fight, but even then there will come long, dark nights when you feel all alone and small, quiet voices tell you that it doesn’t matter how you treat react now because no one’s there to see it. It will seem like there’s no reason to maintain your discipline in struggle.
But that’s when it matters most.
Your discipline, your steadfastness, your simple desire to do well all matter so much more when it seems like no one is watching. Because you most certainly do have an audience and it turns out, it’s a rather important one.
Consider the story of Job, the man who lost seemingly everything and then just when it seemed like he couldn’t lose anything else he lost some more. We know from Job’s story that what was happening to him went far beyond sheer bad luck here on earth. This was a cosmic event happening to one very finite man. His wife and close friends are all witness to this (offering their rather unhelpful commentaries along the way), yes, but they were nowhere near the main audience to his struggle.
Consider that, like Job, there are certainly witnesses to your deepest, most secret struggles. Whether or not your family, your friends, your neighbors, or even your coworkers see what you’re going through there are witnesses to your struggle. There are forces in this world waiting for you to fail so they can try to chip away at God’s honor.
Now, does God need us to defend him? No. He is more than capable of doing that himself. He doesn’t need our human efforts. But does our steadfastness glorify him? Absolutely. And he truly wants our hearts postured to glorify him.
The greatest mistake you can make in a struggle is to slack off in discipline because it feels like no one is watching.
Who you are in the struggle always matters. It is no different from Job’s situation and no less pressing. Who you are in the struggle always matters. Stay the course and know that every ounce of effort you give, no matter how riddled with failure it may be, every moment you endure gives glory to God.
Your silent struggle matters. May we live like it does.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 