Life is hard. We know that to be true. Some people seem to have more problems than others, but life here on earth is still a challenge for everyone. The problems people face will be vastly different, but they are still problems.

Last month we attended a “couple’s shower” for some young friends expecting their first child. Our hostess had just recently moved into a gorgeous new home she and her husband built in the country. It is a “smart home” in that just about everything in the house can be controlled from her cell phone. That is all well and good until the internet goes down, as it did shortly before the party that day. As I said, it is a very new home. She knew how to control everything with the app, but not without it. She could not figure out how to make her “smart oven” work, which made the food prep more interesting. On top of that, her husband was terribly ill and staying in the barn so he would not be around any of the guests. And they were supposed to leave on a family vacation the next day!

Life can be hard in many different ways. You might think the problems my friend was facing were minor compared to yours or those that other people face. But something I learned a long time ago is that your problems are just that: your problems. They are real and you have to face them, deal with them, and do the best you can with them. They will not be the same as the ones your neighbor faces, but they are real life issues with which you must contend. Don’t belittle the problems others have in their lives.

Advertising agencies are well aware of the truth of the adage “Life is Hard.” A large number of the ads they produce try to convince you that using a certain product or shopping at certain store will make life easier for you. One drug store commercial recently used the catch phrase, “Let’s talk about making things easier.”

God knows this about us, too. He did not intend for our lives to be hard, but they are because we brought sin into this world He created. Our disobedience brings all the problems that result in life being so hard. That is why He came down here to live among us as one of us. By taking on human flesh, He would experience the reality of a hard life. He loved us and lived a life of perfection for everyone, and He was killed on the basis of trumped up charges. He did this in order to make our lives easier now and with the promise of eternity with Him. He paid the debt our sin deserves so that we could be forgiven and restored. Look at some of the things He said and promised.

John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

We live our lives in the confidence that God is with us and will care for us!

Hebrews 13:5 God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Romans 8:31–32 “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

As you deal with your hard life today, remember God’s promises. Merry Tenth Day of Christmas!