Hello Everyone, This is Chaplain Sung Kim. I am Deputy CMD CH in the 63d Readiness Division. I pray you are well.
Sometimes life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Throughout every person’s life, there will be hard times where it’s forecasted to be dark and gloomy, with seemingly constant showers. It is important to use these difficult times as life lessons, growing and shaping you to blossom into a stronger and wiser person every day.
John Maxwell says, “Facing difficulties is inevitable, learning from them is optional.”
Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”
Let’s consider the message of Jesus and how it applies to our life situation today. Think about the most difficult situation in your life. Continue to think about it as we learn from the words of Jesus how to be on top of the circumstances instead of under the circumstances. Let’s think about why the narrow way is less traveled. The reason is: It is difficult.
When I go hiking in the woods I notice that every living thing takes the easy way. Deer make trails and walk along the same trail over and over. They take the broad way, the easiest way — the road most traveled. Of course, humans do the same, and muskrats, mice and ants do also. They almost always walk in a path that has already been created.
We tend to do the same thing in life, don’t we? We take the easy way, the broad way. We take the way of least resistance. We avoid life rather than engage it. We avoid confrontation. We do what everybody else is doing. We don’t want to stand out. We don’t want to sacrifice or do without. We just want life to be comfortable.
But that is fantasy, even though the American society has flooded us with messages that life should always be exciting, fun, adventurous, and most of all easy. “No Rules, Just Right,” is not just the slogan of Outback Steakhouse, it is the mantra of our culture. Rules are hard, and we want the easy way.
But Jesus keeps reminding us that life is difficult, and that if we want to find life we have to put forth effort, do the difficult thing, be disciplined, take responsibility, delay gratification and work hard.
In the difficult thing that you are now facing, you will have to do difficult things in order to get out of the situation. You may have to make a decision that is painful. You have been avoiding it for a long time, but your life has become more difficult by avoiding it, not less. It is time to get up and do something.
Whenever we feel overwhelmed by the chaos and difficulty of life, we can turn to God in prayer for peace and serenity. In this time of uncertainty, fear, seclusion and separation from what we term ‘normal,’ our human solution is to ‘handle it ourselves.’ But that is not what our Bible and the Lord tell us. Turning to the Lord should be our first response, not our last resort.”
Hard times are not quit times. The last battle always seems the toughest and to give up will always bring the worst defeat. Don't pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one. Your God will be with you always!
Have a blessed day and Blood and fire!
Here is the direct email and phone number for anyone requesting support from the 63d RD Chaplain office,
usarmy.usarc.63-rsc.list.chaplain-all-users@mail.mil
650-526-9668