WHY DO PEOPLE STRUGGLE? 

Pr. James Victor Lubwama

In the beginning when God created man, struggling was not our portion and if you quest the scriptures, you will find out that before the fall of Adam and Eve, before they were cast out of Eden, there was no record of them struggling. Struggling began after they left Eden because they had sinned. When you become born-again, God comes to dwell in you but when you disobey and sin, He disappears; and so after disobedience, Adam was driven out of God's presence. He began to suffer because he was out of the place God had prepared for him - when God prepares a place for you; when he prepares a ministry, job, nation and you leave that place, you fall out of His will, grace and protection; this also implies that you are also out of His provision and guidance among other things.

When God drove out Adam and Eve, He told them that they would survive out of their sweat. Genesis 3:19 (NLT) says; “By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat…..”  

When someone works hard and does not achieve their target, it means they are struggling. Struggling is not a blessing; for it came as a curse. Even before Jesus came, God sent prophets who revealed His mission and purpose; they spoke of times to come where there would be no struggle and peace will flourish in the land (Isaiah 2:1-5).

Three in One

In the days of the Old Testament, for the prophets to prophesy, the Holy Spirit had to descend down first; so when they were about to prophesy, the Spirit would fall on them to prophesy and speak the secrets of God, and after that He would leave (Numbers 11:25, Judges 3:10, 1 Samuel 10:10). 

The Holy Spirit would fall upon them on the day of the Lord but not manifest on the inside: Why? because their bodies inside were unclean; so its the coming of Jesus that gave us the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit; His coming led to the shedding of his blood, which had the ability to cleanse us and wash away our sins; He thereafter came to this temple (body) and made it possible for the Holy Spirit to reside in us. 

Prophet Isaiah spoke of the day to come, when the temple would be cleansed and the Holy Spirit given unto us.  Isaiah 7:14 (NLT) says; ”The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” 

The prophesy of Isaiah was the proclamation of God coming to live with us and in us; Immanuel – God inside a man’s body. Prophet Joel also prophesied of the time to come when God will pour out His Spirit and draw near unto us. Joel 2:28 says; "Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my spirit upon all people......" 

When God draws near a person by pouring His Spirit, He does so to reveal himself and his plans. Everything today is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, even the angels listen to his voice because He controls them.

From the beginning, God would appear in three different forms; God the father; God the Son (Jesus) and the Spirit – Immanuel which means God is with us. How was all this possible? God created his own body, became incarnate and came to live with and among us so that he can save humanity - he gave us another opportunity to always dwell with us. He told the people that he was able to take his life and then restore it in three days (John 2:19-21). Jesus spoke with the authority of God the Father who put on flesh – Jesus, and came to live with us forever – Holy Spirit. God the father, put on flesh, came and walked with us for 33 years but the world did not discern that He was the one who had created the world.

Jesus, Born of God

Jesus was God in the flesh; God is spirit and a spirit can inhabit anything. Mary gave birth to Jesus but not Christ; she gave birth to the Child not the Son. For the scripture says in Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV) that; “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” 

A Child is born but a son is never born, so don’t confuse the two! Mary is the mother of the child not the Son; the child is the body that was born, the Son is given - put inside the body; the child – Jesus is the body and the Son – Christ is the Spirit; Jesus was completely man and Christ was completely God, thus the Child made the Son legal on earth. When God created earth, he gave dominion (Genesis 1:26) to man and so for him to be able to come on earth and be able to intervene and rescue humanity. 

He had to enter into a human body – incarnation; this is because any spirit without a body is illegal on earth (demons can under certain conditions indwell in human or animal bodies); and we see that satan entered Peter to try and distract Jesus from the will of the Father (Mathew 16:22-23); and also entered Judas to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3).

Human simply means a spirit being in a humus body. The word humus means dirt or soil, and man is the spirit part; so a human being is a spirit with a humus body. God took man (spirit being) and placed him in humus (dirt) thus coming up with a humus-man; the middle syllable was dropped to come up with one word - human. 

A person is a spirit not the body, the body only enables you to legally do things on earth; so demon possession is a demon trying to use your body to function on earth, and that is why we can cast them out because they have no legal authority outside a body. So for demons to cause harm or evil, they will have to enter into a body, and I always say that; demons are persons without bodies; so its living bodies that make them functional.

God created a body for himself, entered it and used it to cleanse our sins – for the blood of Jesus is so powerful and without sin. Jesus was without biological father (because He was born of God) and even the Jews waited as required by their culture, for the day when the father of this baby Jesus (whom they claimed had been begot out of wedlock) would come and declare that the child belongs to him. They sought to stone him. But His father appeared at river Jordan when Jesus had gone to be baptized; and declared in Matthew 3:17 (NIV) that; “…This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 

There has never been any other person whom God spoke audibly about from heaven; that happened once, and after that moment, Jesus begun to operate as the Son of the most High while also making use of the power, authority and riches from above.

When Jesus died as it was written, He shed his blood and His blood cleansed humanity; then he left the body, which had completed its mission. The body had to ascend to where it came from. Unlike man who was created from the dirt (Genesis 1:26), Jesus did not come from dirt and thus could not return to it and when he was buried, he only spent 3 days in the tomb; His body could not suffer corruption nor see decay. Acts 13:37 (AMP) says; “But He whom God raised [to life] did not experience decay [in the grave].”

God’s Perfect Will – Holy Spirit

Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven and He will return the same way he went up; as he was seen ascending, so shall he descend (Acts 1:11). With Jesus’ ascension, the Father implied that He will return to fulfill His desire of saving and dwelling among his people (Hebrews 9:28). God had this desire right from the Old Testament. According to scriptures, He called Moses and asked him to build a place that he could dwell in. Exodus 25:8-9 (NLT) says; “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. 9 You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.” 

In the Tabernacle were three areas; the outer courts (body); Holy place (soul); Holy of Holies (spirit). The golden lamp symbolizing the presence of God was to be positioned in the holy place; it was a symbol of Jesus, the light of the World (Hebrews 9:2). What does this mean? God was saying that He will reside in your heart not your body - His presence will dwell in you not fall on you as it was in the Old Testament

In the New Covenant, the plan of God came to fulfillment; the Holy Spirit is with and in us; Jesus assures us in John 14:15-17 that; "If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you."

If Jesus had not died, this would not have happened; we wouldn’t have had the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died and shed his blood so that the Holy Spirit would dwell in us. The presence of the Holy Spirit brought something so paramount - it stops us from struggling because when He dwells in you, He guides and instructs you. The journey of salvation is about instruction; this is because when Satan came into the world he disorganized, misplaced and scattered everything God had created and planned, that is why he is also referred to as the confuser. It’s God’s desire to instruct and guide us in the right direction as per his plan and purpose, hence His reason for administering the Holy Spirit to His children – to lead us into God's true plan. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit (Counselor) , you will be led truthfully and guided as per God’s plan thus eradicating struggling in life.

Chosen, Equipped and Purposed

Before we were formed in the womb, God knew us (Jeremiah 1:5). We were known before we knew. Before it ever crossed our minds that God might be important, God singled us out as important, we are not options but priorities to him; so we no longer have to run here and there, try this and that, panicked, anxious, worried, searching for answers to a purposeful fruitful life.  Our lives are not puzzles to be solved; rather we come to the Lord God our Creator who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives; the problem and number one mistake is that we usually start with ourselves and not God yet He is the Alpha and Omega, and the centre from which life springs and develops.

Not everything good thing is right and not every right thing is meant for you. You were created, equipped, graced and purposed for a particular mission or task - for our God is a specific God! Struggling is sometimes as a result of being vague and taking on everything thrown at you. Struggling is a result of doing that which God did not plan and purpose for you.

When it comes to divine godly things, there is predestination. Predestination is a biblical doctrine. The word predestine is from the Greek word ‘proorizo’, which carries the meaning of “determine beforehand,” “ordain,” “to decide upon ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. Romans 8:29-30 (NV) tells us that; “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”   

The important thing to remember is that no one deserves to be saved. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23), and are all worthy of eternal punishment, but it’s by grace that we have been saved (Ephesian 2:8). God predetermines that certain individuals will be saved. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen (Ephesians 1:5, 1 Peter 1:1-2, Romans 8:33) 

Ephesians 1:11 (NIV) says: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” 

Salvation is not by accident or default; God chose us and we shouldn’t take that for granted; we are here to accomplish God’s mission and plans not to use Him to accomplish our plans.
God foreknows all things, events and people in one sense (Isaiah 46:10) all your time on earth was already planned; whatever concerns you has already been planned by Him. What causes one to struggle is because you have never discovered what God planned and purposed you for you, and whenever you out that zone, you will not be fruitful.

Struggling is as a result of doing that which you were not planned, purposed or graced for. God meant for you to be purposeful and bear fruit on this earth, that is why He planned for your presence here in advance. You're not here on earth to drift through life, you are here to accomplish that which God planned and purposed for you for the glory of His name. What usually brings about lack, frustration, misery and struggling is because you are doing things God didn’t plan you to do. Struggling is not our portion; you were not born to struggle. The Holy Spirit was given to us, to direct us; before you do anything, first ask your Counselor. Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV) says; “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. 

We received the gift of the Holy Spirit but do we use Him? The Holy Spirit will let you know what you should do and know where you should cast your nets. Jesus directed Peter on where to cast his net in John 21:6 (NLT) - “Then he said, ’Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!’ So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.”

Are you in the right place that God expects you to be? Are you doing what God expects you to be doing? Are you in the ministry God convicted you to serve? Are you drawing water from the right well? Are filled with the Holy Spirit? 

Do not imitate others as you may do so incorrectly. Remember that whenever you do something that is not according to the plan or will of God you will continually struggle and the devil will torment you. Reposition yourself. Life is not about speculating, it is about instruction and guidance, so let the Spirit of God guide you in accordance with His perfect will and plan