Wouldn't You?

I once had a conversation with God about a struggle I had that I'd wished I didn't have.

"Can you just take this struggle away?"

I knew He could. For the one who stood on water and raised a three-day old dead man...taking away a stupid temptation, was easy. It would have been anyway...

His response...

"I left you with it to struggle with...so, struggle with it."

Oh, Great!

Not what I had in mind, but not unheard of.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

[7] To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

[8] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

[9] But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

[10] That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Well, I really haven't had such impressive visions as Paul, but what I did, and always do, is need a stronger faith in Him. Faith not just that He can take away struggle and temptation, but that His grace is sufficient to forgive and help me grow to where the struggle might just die by my increased faith.

He loves when we get closer to Him. Greater faith is simply a byproduct of knowing Him more.

With Him, there is always a purpose for the struggle. If there wasn't a need...He would in fact remove it without even being asked.

He is a good Father after all.

Wouldn't you?