Wouldn’t it be nice if life came with guarantees? If choosing the right path always meant the easy path? If following Jesus meant the storms stayed far away? We often think, “Lord, I’m trying to do things right… shouldn’t things be easier than this?” It would be nice. But God never promised “nice.” He promised Himself.

When Jesus invited His disciples to follow Him, He didn’t say, “Take up your comfort.” He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). A cross is not convenient. It’s heavy, and it hurts. Yet Jesus calls us to carry it, not because He wants our suffering, but because He wants our surrender.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could grow spiritually without hardship, have patience without waiting, develop strength without struggle, grow deep faith without deep valleys? But God knows something we forget: blessings can make us grateful, but burdens make us dependable. Trials teach us to cling to God when everything else falls away.

David wrote with honesty and humility, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Psalm 119:67). It wasn’t the easy days that shaped him, it was the difficult ones. God used the caves, the loneliness, and the pressure to form a man after His own heart.

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone understood us? If relationships never fractured or disappointed? Jesus experienced betrayal, rejection, and heartbreak from those closest to Him. And yet He loved anyway. He forgave anyway. He stayed faithful anyway. He teaches us that love isn’t proven by how others treat us but by how we choose to treat them.

Here’s the paradox of the Christian life: the things we would never ask for become the very things that bring us closer to Christ. Paul had a thorn that would not go away. But when God answered “no,” He also gave a promise: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Weakness reveals where God is strong.

So yes… wouldn’t it be nice if life were simpler? But if simplicity cost us intimacy with Christ, would we really want it? God is not shaping us for comfort, He is shaping us for a Kingdom.

One day, we will step into a place where everything will be nice. No pain. No tears. No goodbyes. Until then, we walk by faith, trusting that even the hardest chapters are held by a faithful God who knows exactly what He is doing.

By: Justin Odom