I can’t help but notice that 2023 has been a difficult year for many people, myself included.

It seems like it’s been something every month… and I’m not talking about the things you’d expect from adulthood, like the occasional flat tire or trouble with the washer or dryer.

No, 2023 has been full of the most random issues I’ve ever seen in my life, ranging from a wild turkey or guinea hitting my car and taking my passenger mirror with it on the way to work one morning, to most recently trying to get compensated from our home manufacturer due to a dangerous latent defect we discovered. And there have been several moments in between these events that have been just as crazy and aggravating.

I often call fitful seasons like these a Life Rut, where you feel like you’re doing your best to drag your feet in hopes of reaching the other side of this treacherous ravine.

And that’s today’s question: How do we get through life ruts as a Christian?

Obviously, I’m not an expert on this subject, but I’m more than happy to share some of the things I’ve learned this year with y’all. Let’s get started.

Step 1 | Realize That Some Situations Are Out of Your Control

One area that I struggle with in my Christian walk is my tendency to want to control everything: how people act, how life events go, etc. And while, yes, it’s good to plan ahead and have goals, we can’t plan for everything, and we don’t hold supreme knowledge of the future. Only God has those abilities. But, we often forget that, and make situations 10 times more stressful by wanting to control–or fix–things ourselves.

When that crazy bird hit my car earlier this year, I was upset with myself for what happened to my car. But, looking back, I had no control over the situation. I was driving over a narrow bridge on a curvy, wooded road, and the bird was sitting on the edge of my lane. I couldn’t have swerved much, because I was afraid a car was coming in the other lane. The safest thing to do was allow the bird to fly up and hit the side of my car, but I was still mad at myself for allowing the car to get messed up, even though we were able to easily fix most of the damage.

Many times, we have no control over that out-of-the-blue medical diagnosis, that busted pipe, or that flashing check engine light either. They are just rough patches in life that are bound to happen. So, don’t beat yourself up when one crazy thing after another starts happening and you feel yourself struggling to gain control. Instead, remember this:

 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV (emphasis mine)

If we believe in God, we need to believe that God is sovereign, that only He has control of everything. We need to acknowledge He is in control of our lives, not us, and realize that He is faithful to sustain us even through the worst circumstances, because He has control of the outcome.

But then, sometimes we wonder why do we even have to go through life ruts in the first place? Why do bad things seem to happen all the time, to good people?

Step 2 | Realize That We Live in a Fallen World, and Struggle is a Consequence of That

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden by eating the forbidden fruit, it brought sin into the world. Sin against God has consequences, and that is why women now have labor pains when giving birth, and why suffering, diseases, (every source of pain, really), exist. Even if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior–Who cleanses our sin–we are not exempt from the tribulations of living in a fallen world.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Romans 5:12-15, KJV

And, we’re all guilty of sin. Even if we think we’re always in the right, none of us measure up on our own merit before God.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23, KJV

One sermon in particular at our church helped me cope with the reality that we’re all doomed to suffer here on earth due to living in the fallen world. Our pastor said that, instead of asking God “why me?” when we go through trials, we need to approach hard times with the question of “why not me?” instead, because we’re not exempt just because we follow Jesus. None of our names are listed in the Bible’s footnotes, nor in fine print, nor in invisible ink in a These People Will Never Struggle list. As long as we live in this fallen world, we are bound to struggle and endure difficult times, because sin reigns here for now, until Jesus comes back.

But how do we cope with that? Because that’s pretty bleak.

Step 3 | Seek True Comfort and Peace Through God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit

Let’s turn to the back of the Good Book for some hope. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, this is what eternity will look like for us:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4, KJV

If we’re looking for comfort in this world, we’ll never find it. True comfort, true peace of mind, comes only from a relationship with Jesus, and keeping our eyes on the promises of eternity, not the fickle state of the here and now.

I, for one, am excited that there will be no more crying in Heaven, because this year alone has made me shed buckets of tears, as I’m sure it has made you as well.

Thank God for our Comforter.

When we have a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. In the book of John, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as our Comforter:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:26-27, KJV

The Holy Spirit’s job is to keep us in check, to remind us of Jesus’s teachings and promises. One of those is peace, which, again, only comes from Jesus, and is the peace that passes all understanding.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7, KJV

This peace reassures us that, no matter what happens, no matter what we’re going through, no matter how bleak and hopeless this world seems, that if we have Jesus, all of these terrible things will pass away once we’re in eternity with Him.

Let’s Recap!

So, if you’re currently going through a difficult Life Rut right now, keep these three tips in mind:

1) Know that some things are our of your control, but God is always in control.

2) Know that trouble is a consequence of our fallen world, but Jesus has overcome the world.

3) Know that Jesus gives us the peace that passes all understanding, and that His peace is how we can survive in this fallen world.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

I hope and pray that this post helps someone who is going through a painful season of life right now. If you know someone who is going through a tough time, especially if they do no know Jesus, please feel free to share this post with them.

Do you have any other tips for dealing with a Life Rut as a Christian? Please share with us in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀