If you’re anything like me, you wish life was easier. But life is hard. Growing up is hard. School is hard. Having a job is hard. Finding a spouse is hard. Having a good marriage is hard. Raising kids is hard. Maintaining good health is hard. Dealing with death and tragedy is hard. Dealing with problems (we all have them) is hard.

I was recently talking to one of my friends. I was trying to convince her that life is hard and difficult. She was being honest with me. She said she didn’t want to believe life is hard.

But here’s the ironic thing: when we accept the fact that life is difficult, life becomes easier to manage. (Notice I didn’t say “easy” but “easier.” I don’t think managing life will ever be easy until heaven).

We need to accept that life is tough. To ignore this fact is like denying the existence of gravity. This is an extreme example, but someone who keeps jumping out of buildings thinking he won’t fall is going to be disappointed again and again. Gravity exists. And the problems and difficulties of our lives exist as well. We must deal with them.

Here’s another analogy. Let’s say I really like a certain girl. I pursue her. I hang out with her. I give her flowers. I ask her on dates. I finally tell her I like her and would love to be in a relationship with her. However, she rejects me.

What should I do? Should I continue to like her? Should I wish and hope that she will like me someday? Or should I live in reality and move on?

We each must make a choice to live in reality or fantasy. Living in reality allows us to deal with our problems while living in fantasy causes them to fester and grow.

For example, step one of the twelve steps is the most important step.

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol [or insert whatever struggle you're going through] — that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Until an alcoholic believes and accepts this step, he can’t move on through the other 11 steps and experience victory and self-control. He’ll live in denial thinking he can control his drinking. But those around him know the truth. He will get drunk often. And because of his drinking, he’ll wreck the lives around him.

Too many times we look for the easy way out. We look for the magic bullet or pill that will take away our trials and difficulties. Instead of dealing directly with them, we ignore them and hope they will magically go away. But our problems are here to stay. In this sinful world, we’re always going to have them.

But here’s the good news: when we realize and accept that life is difficult, we’re more likely to turn to Jesus.

It’s interesting how many people turn to Jesus because of a difficulty or struggle in their life. I turned to Jesus and became a Christian because I experienced a heartbreak I didn’t think I could handle.

Our acceptance that life is difficult can be a huge motivation for us to turn to God for help. And here’s the better news: God is bigger than any problem we will ever encounter. This doesn’t mean He’ll magically cause our problems to disappear. However, He will walk with us as we go through the difficulties in our lives. He’ll give us strength, love, joy, and peace to deal with our problems. And somehow, by His grace, we’ll overcome them.

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