Home, after work, after dinner, after the kids are in bed, after life settles a bit, we sink sighing into our easy-chair daydream or our bubble-bath reverie, "Oh, to leave the rat race and move to a deserted island! Calgon, take me away!"

Beware of simple answers. It is true that life is hard. It is true that the essence of being a Christian is fairly straightforward. But there is also luxuriant depth and sparkling complexity. Beware of too simple answers. Don't be simplified to death.

Answers that are too basic, stripping away necessary details, could mislead us to a single-pointed "truth" at the expense of others we also need to heed. All of God's Word is light and life to us. A handful of favorite promise box verses will not sustain in the long haul. The surrounding clutter of context is not to be discarded. Too, in living, sometimes what's perceived as noise may actually be the warm-up before the symphony. The discord merely the tuning. Be careful of those things you wish and pray away.

We long for simplicity. We live in the midst of confusion and noise. Reality is that our lives will always be enmeshed by complex issues, demands, and loose ends. I hate loose ends. Yet, also, reality is, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. This is not just a nice sentiment.

God loves us and He loves paradox. The way to peace, the way out of a problem, the path around a dilemma is frequently not in avoidance, pain reduction, or even a solution. God delivers the gift of a trial to us and the correct response could be -- are you ready for this -- embrace it. Live with it. Walk with it in grace. Tough it out joyfully. Trust Him completely. Share the pain with no one but Him. Wait for His deliverance, even if it never comes on your terms or in your lifetime. Don't seek a spiritual aspirin.

God is not simple and His desires for us are not simple. Nothing that touches my life is outside His Sovereign will for me. Before entering my experience all things must first pass through His loving hands. And I want all He has for me -- every demanding, confusing, trying moment of His blessings. As well as the spine-chilling joy, the transcendent peace, and the eternal satisfaction of suffering endured successfully. 

Mining the depths of our despair with the tools given through the Holy Spirit can yield the most precious jewels. These are the gems of experience, knowledge, and wisdom with which He adorns our lives; with which He crowns our life-beaten brows.

Life is not easy, that's true. But His burden is light. In Him all things hold together. Through Him I live, and move, and have my being. If my being in pain is part of my life, resting in Him is the only valid response. When confronted with troubles, if all we do is struggle against the problem, we may miss the opportunity to grow, to learn, to be strengthened in grace and mercy. In fact, we just may miss Him.