"Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you." - Mother Teresa
Many people tend to think a Christian life is supposed to be a smooth-sailing and blessed one - the worldly definition of such blessed life would be one of complete possession of all things the world deems necessary, be it power, status, career, properties, wealth, etc. However, this is not necessarily the case.
I have read comments from atheists or people who do not really believe in God and even the devil. They say how limited our lives are when we believe in God. I think it is sadder for people to even say or think such things. May God bless them all. Some say things such as demon possession and exorcism are not real and that the devil is not real and is only a perception of the human minds and they label possession and exorcism as behavioral or psychological problems. There was one comment which said that most of these things only seem to happen to people who are religious or strong in their faith. I would say 'True' and 'False'.
'False' because these also happen to people who doubt their faith or are lost, and also to those who are already dwelling in the dark side - they feed on evil and have all means and ways to conjure them. The devil's job is to deceive, and in fact, for those who do not take the devil or hell seriously and those who do not believe in it, his job is already done. He is the king of lies and deceit, after all.
'True' because the devil knows his time is running out, and he knows that he will be defeated. So, of course he knows his enemies - those who are strong in their faith in God, those who follow and believe in Christ. Hence, he focuses on destroying these faithful followers of God, finding all sorts of ways to make people lose their trust and faith and backslide. The devil is like a lion prowling the world, waiting to devour those who give him the chance to.
I used to complain about my life a lot and then I realized I have been chasing all the wrong things. It hit me - and it hit me real hard - that God has been so good to me and has blessed me and stayed with me in everything throughout, even though I have been such a miserable sinner. He has provided and given me all these blessings which I do not even think I deserve for my disobedience to His wills and commands.
It is true, every time I want to turn back to God and be good, awful things would start to come. The priest said it is normal for the enemy to disturb and try to turn us away from God. And yes, many times before my faith was never strong enough for me to last through. I have backslidden a lot. This time, the enemy has come up with something stronger, something malignant. Not saying that I am a really good person now, but my faith is definitely stronger. Amidst all these pain and suffering now, I find that I am actually happier and more at peace than ever before. The devil can throw anything at me. Even unto death, I will trust and stick to God!
Praise the Lord in good times and in bad.
So, no, being and living a truly Christian life is not all smooth-sailing and perfect - in the eyes of the world. It is in fact, hard, but let these not be reasons for people to ever turn away from the Truth and Light. For the road though narrow and winding, shall be easy and so worthwhile to those who stick faithfully to God and His ways. Let His wills, not ours, be done!
When we deny the concupiscence of the world, then we can truly be for God.
"In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31
'Everybody thinks I'm crazy. They say, "You take this Jesus thing too seriously." Well, I don't know, but Christ took me pretty seriously when He died for me on the cross.'
