Life is full of ups and downs. We’d prefer not to have many downs but that’s not life. Perpetual sunshine is waiting for us in heaven. Meanwhile, there will be lots of rain and all kinds of life challenges. How to deal with them, that’s the key here. Joy is not the absence of demanding life events, it’s the ability to deal with them.

Okay, you say. How can we do that? The main thing whenever you meet any kind of challenges is to turn to God. He is happy to help and he also is the only one who truly can help. So do not keep away from God no matter what. Challenges can be blessings in disguise.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have obtained access^[bto this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5, NRSV.*)

Seven Tips to Deal with Challenges

That said, I have collected seven tips to deal with challenges. Hopefully, they can bless you on your faith journey.

1. Accept that challenges are part of life. With the words of Helen Keller “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”
2. Do not blame yourself or others or God. Things happen, life goes on and God will see you through. Instead blaming, turn to God. Give your disappointments to God so you get the load off and he can use them as building material for your future.
3. Do not compare your life with others. You are unique, your life is special and your challenges are none like others. Rest in God’s grace instead. God knows what is going on in your life. He will not leave you behind.
4. Do not focus on challenges, focus on God and his goodness. Lift up your head and see what God is doing in your life. God is good, also when you face life challenges.
5. Know that thanksgiving and praise will help you through any storm. Start praising God even when you don’t feel like it. Thanksgiving and praise will bring peace to you quicker than anything else.
6. Do not try to manage on your own. Set self-righteousness (and any sin) aside and surrender to Jesus. Living in grace is wonderful, especially during challenging seasons.
7. Ask for strength and anything else you need to endure. God’s grace is your power, receive it and put it in good use. You will notice the difference. And by God’s grace, you will be able to rise to the challenges. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray

Gracious God,
Thank you that you’ve promised to be with us through thick and thin.
We surrender to you, Lord, and we praise you even in storms.
How wonderful it is that nothing is too hard for you. Nothing.
So we can rest in you even when life becomes erratic.
We trust you and love you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you deal with life challenges? Please, do share your best tips with us!

Blessings to you, my dear fellow pilgrim, as you learn to live ups and downs with the Lord!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

Photo by Naitian（Tony） Wang on Unsplash. Linking up today with Dance with Jesus and Five-minute Friday.

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