Struggle is the pressure that exposes who I really am.
When something pushes me outside my comfort zone, I feel it immediately. There’s resistance. An old, adolescent part of me shows up—defensive, petulant, bargaining for ease. I’ve built a life with a lot of comfort. And comfort, if I’m honest, gives me options to choose weakness: I don’t feel like it. I don’t have to. I’ll do it later.
And yet—I’ve earned much of that comfort the hard way. Sobriety. Spiritual growth. Real progress that cost blood, sweat, humility, and tears. Adversity shaped the man I am today.
Still, beneath all of that, there’s a scared little boy who sneaks out when things feel uncertain. A part of me that wants to retreat, control, or avoid. That’s when I have to remind myself: the struggle is necessary.
Growth doesn’t happen in ease. It happens when I rise to meet what I’d rather avoid—with God in my heart and the courage to do what I don’t want to do.
Show me growth without struggle.
Show me transformation without resistance.
Every time I walk through a door I didn’t want to open, the world opens up just a little more. I believe God wants us to challenge ourselves—not to prove our worth, but to activate our faith. Faith isn’t passive. It moves.
My grandsponsor says, “Put some legs on those prayers.”
Scripture says it plainly: “Faith without works is dead.”
In other words—don’t just say you trust God. Show Him. Be bold. Step forward. Act as if He will catch you.
Challenges are uncomfortable by design. But doing the thing anyway—that’s who we’re meant to become. I have to remind myself: I’ve faced some scary things before. And every time, I came out the other side.
God didn’t bring me this far to stay comfortable.
He brought me here to grow, to remain faithful, and to hand over even more control.
“Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
— James 1:2–3
“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
— James 2:17
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
— 2 Timothy 1:7
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You see the parts of me that resist.
You know the fear I carry, even after all You’ve brought me through.
Give me the courage to step forward when comfort calls me back.
Help me to trust You not just with my words, but with my actions.
When I want to avoid, remind me that You are already ahead of me.
Teach me to walk through the doors I fear,
to put legs on my prayers,
and to believe that obedience is where freedom lives.
I surrender control again today.
Form me. Strengthen me. Lead me.
Amen.
