Good morning. It’s Wednesday, June 3rd!

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

— 2 Corinthians 12:19

A foolish man/woman prays for easier roads. A wise man/woman prays for stronger legs.

We spend so much time asking for things to be simpler, for the obstacle to move, for the timing to be better, for the path to just clear up a little. And that’s a very human thing to want.

But think about what actually happens when everything comes easy, when the road is flat and the resistance disappears. You don’t grow into anything. You just pass through.

The hard road is doing something to you that the easy one could never. It’s building something in you that comfort simply cannot manufacture. Every difficult season, every uphill stretch, every moment you wanted to quit and didn’t, that’s not something that happened to you. That’s something that happened for you.

Because the goal was never to have an easy life. The goal was to become someone who could handle a hard one.

And the Bible shows us this exact idea perfectly through the apostle Paul.

Paul had something in his life causing him deep pain and suffering that he called a “thorn in the flesh.” Three separate times he begged God to take it away (2 Corinthians 12:7-8).

That was the easier roads prayer.

But God did not remove it.

Instead, God answered him by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

God chose to make Paul stronger instead of making the road easier.

And over time, Paul realized that the suffering was teaching him dependence on God, building endurance in him, humbling him, strengthening his faith, and making him spiritually stronger than comfort ever could have.

That is why Paul later says, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Because if God had simply removed the struggle, Paul may have become more comfortable, but he would not have become the same man.

The road did not become easier.

But the man walking it became stronger.

A foolish man prays for easier roads. A wise man prays for stronger legs.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: Lord, thank You for strengthening us through hard seasons.

Confession: Forgive us for always wanting the easier road.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for Your grace in weakness.

Supplication: Help us grow stronger through trials.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

“Lift Your Head” by Spillhouse

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Thanks for letting us be a part of how you start your day with God.

See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God