What to Do When Life Gets Hard: Finding Strength and Purpose
Life rarely moves in a straight line. Between unexpected setbacks, closed doors, and seasons of intense waiting, it is easy to grow weary and wonder why the road feels so steep. When trials surround us, our natural human inclination is to scramble for our own solutions—relying on human connections, personal credentials, or sheer willpower to force open the doors we desperately need. Yet, spiritual weariness often points us back to a deeper truth: we are never meant to navigate life’s battles in our own strength. Drawing inspiration from the profound teachings of Tony Evans, we explore what it truly means to anchor our faith, maintain humility, and trust the One who holds the master key to every locked door in our lives.
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Why All the Life of Struggles?
Struggle is a universal human experience, but for the believer, enduring trials without a spiritual anchor leaves us wandering in exhaustion. When we deny Jesus on earth or shy away from being publicly associated with Him, we forfeit the divine open doors He desires to set before us. Far too many people work tirelessly trying to manufacture opportunities, build networks, and accumulate wealth through purely human effort, completely missing the divine intervention waiting for them. If God has never intervened or given you an open door, it is worth examining whether you have truly surrendered your authority to Him.
- The Master Key of Heaven: Jesus sits with the master key to your circumstances, waiting for you to call upon His name.
- The Illusion of Self-Sufficiency: Relying solely on your own education, money, power, or contacts leaves you powerless compared to what God can unlock.
To break free from empty pursuits and anchor your confidence in heavenly provision rather than human achievement, read our guide on how to take a step of faith to align your daily walk with true kingdom purpose.
POINT A
The Reality of His Presence: Nothing makes the Lord more real to your spirit than experiencing His sovereign hand open doors that no human being could ever shut.
“If you have never seen him come through for you or intervene in your circumstances, then you might have surely disregarded his authority over your life. If you have Jesus, you have everything.” ~Tony Evans
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
Audit Your Reliance: Take an honest inventory of your daily stress. Are you attempting to force open doors through anxiety and networking alone before seeking God in prayer?
Invite Him In: Before making major career, financial, or personal decisions this week, pause and explicitly surrender the outcome to Christ, acknowledging His master key.
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Maintain a Life of Humility
The world measures greatness by academic degrees, luxury vehicles, and six-figure income brackets, but the kingdom of God operates on an entirely different scale. The most powerful people in the kingdom are often those with little worldly status who deeply know God and boldly advertise His name. Humility is vital to our spiritual survival; on our absolute best days, we remain sinners saved entirely by grace. When success and comfort inflate our pride, we easily slip into self-sufficiency, looking down on those who lack education, careers, or financial stability.
- Recognizing False Religion: Religious talk and church attendance do not automatically equate to loving the Lord; scripture warns of worldly counterfeits and deceptive spiritual pretenses.
POINT A
Guarding Against Pride: Success, nice homes, and great jobs are blessings to be thanked for, but they should never breed an elite, big-headed attitude.
POINT A
The Danger of Dismissing Others: Never look down on anyone around you, because you may be overlooking someone who carries profound, unseen access to God’s master key.
“No matter what position you hold and the influence you have, keep yourself small. Keep yourself small in the eyes of God. Keep pride far away from yourself. Humility is a big deal to God.” ~Tony Evans
Biblical Context
In Revelation 3:9–10, the address to the church in Philadelphia speaks directly to believers facing opposition from religious adversaries (“the synagogue of Satan”). The Greek word for patient endurance here is hypomone, signifying an active, steadfast perseverance under heavy pressure rather than passive waiting. True humility keeps the believer dependent on this divine endurance rather than human pride.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
Practice Intentional Gratitude: Whenever you receive a blessing—whether professional or personal—offer a silent prayer of thanksgiving to remind your heart of its source.
Check Your Perspective: Intentionally reach out and show respect to someone in your community or workplace whom society often overlooks.
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Get to Know Who God Is
W hen life feels intimidating and obstacles tower over you like massive doors you cannot reach, your perspective changes the moment you remember who is standing with you. Consider the analogy of a tiny puppy standing next to a massive German Shepherd bragging about how quickly it can open a heavy door. While the big dog jumps and claws frantically at the knob, the little puppy simply barks and relies on the master on the other side to open it. When you truly know who is on the inside of your situation, you stop exhausting yourself trying to break down doors through panic and stress.
Knowing Your Standing: You do not need to be the “big dog” with overwhelming power or influence to change your circumstances.
The Master on the Inside: When you belong to Christ, you carry access to the One who can open what towering obstacles cannot resolve.
Releasing Anxiety: Stop letting impossible circumstances intimidate you when your anchor is rooted in divine relationship.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
Shift Your Focus: The next time a problem feels too big for your capabilities, stop focusing on the height of the door and meditate on the power of the Master.
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God Will See You Through All Tests
When opposition makes things difficult and closed doors linger, recognize that you may be walking through a season of testing. God uses these exact moments to walk with you until He completely reverses the situation. Nothing magnifies the reality of God quite like watching Him flip an irreversible situation upside down, turning a trap where the enemy seems to run the show into an undeniable display of heaven invading history. Even when God seems silent, He is positioning Himself to move suddenly, leaving no doubt about the source of your breakthrough.
- Holding Fast: Jesus urges believers facing trials to hold fast to what they have so that no one steals their crown of authority.
- The Purpose of Testing: Trials are not abandonment; they are testing grounds where your faith is refined and preserved.
To learn how to stand strong when circumstances shift unexpectedly beneath your feet, read our post on trusting your wings in conflict and trial to anchor your heart in God’s unfailing protection.
POINT A
Sudden Breakthroughs: God loves to break through unexpectedly so that there is zero debate over who caused the miracle to take place.
“Nothing makes God more real than when he flips something that looks unflippable. Nothing makes God so powerful to you when there is no way out… and suddenly God reverses the whole situation.” ~Tony Evans
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
Reframing Your Trial: Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” try asking, “Lord, what are You teaching me in this testing season, and how are You preparing to show Your power?”
Stay Steadfast: Maintain your daily spiritual disciplines—prayer, scripture reading, and service—even when heaven feels silent.
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People Do Not Have the Final Say
There was a school prayer group that was facing eviction because some Christian haters wanted them out. These opponents had arranged for a vote to shut the prayer group down. But on the day of the vote, something remarkable happened.
The Christians and the judges arrived at the meeting before anything unusual happened. Everything was ready, and the vote was about to take place. Meanwhile, the haters were still on their way to the meeting. Suddenly, while they were driving on the freeway, an unexpected traffic jam began. They got stuck in traffic and could not arrive on time.
Before the opposition could get there, the council had already voted in favor of the prayer group! Just imagine that. The people who wanted to shut the group down were delayed, while those who supported the group and the judges were already present. What looked like a hopeless situation turned around in their favor. To me, this is a reminder that God can make a way even when people are determined to stand against you.
Now, let me tell you another story.
There were two men named Sam and Jed who deliberately went into the mountains to hunt wolves. They did not just go there for adventure; they went because there was a bounty of one dollar for every wolf they brought in. That meant the more wolves they caught, the more money they would make. One wolf meant one dollar, ten wolves meant ten dollars, and fifty wolves meant fifty dollars!
One morning, Jed woke up and looked outside their tent. To his shock, he saw about fifty hungry wolves with red eyes surrounding them. Imagine waking up to find yourself surrounded by fifty hungry wolves in the middle of the mountains! Jed was terrified. He probably thought, “This is the end of us!”
But Sam looked at the situation differently. Instead of panicking, he looked at all those wolves and exclaimed, “We are rich!”
Why did Sam say that? Because he remembered why they had come to the mountains in the first place. They had come to hunt wolves for money, and now fifty wolves were right there in front of them. What looked like a frightening situation to Jed looked like a great opportunity to Sam.
Everything depends on whether you view your trials through human panic or God’s divine perspective.
POINT A
Divine Intervention: God can shift physical circumstances, logistics, and human hearts in a split second to protect His purposes.
POINT B
The Power of Perspective: The terrifying obstacles snapping at your heels look entirely different when viewed through the lens of God’s ultimate victory.
“There is no miracle that God cannot do. Stop living your life based on what man can do. People do not get the final word because they do not have a master key to your life.” ~Tony Evans
Biblical Context
Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Throughout biblical history—from Joseph in Egypt to Daniel in the lions’ den—human authorities believed they held absolute control, only for God to sovereignly redirect history to honor His faithful servants.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
- Evaluate Your Fear: Identify any person or situation whose opinion or opposition currently dictates your peace of mind. Surrender their perceived power over you in prayer.
- Adopt the Right Lens: When facing aggressive obstacles, deliberately look for how God might be setting the stage to display His sovereignty rather than focusing on the threat.
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Hold Unto Jesus Till He Comes and Be a Full-Time Christian
When weariness tempts you to surrender, the call of Christ is clear: “Hold fast”. Those who overcome the temptation to give up find themselves in the closest possible proximity to God, promised a permanent pillar status in the temple of His Father. Just as lightbulbs come in different wattages (40-watt, 60-watt, or 75-watt), Christians do not all exude the same spiritual experience or capacity because they do not share the same depth of relationship and commitment. Many believers are saved and headed to heaven, yet remain part-time spectators who want the blessings without ever getting dirty, serving, or standing up for Christ in the public square. True kingdom power belongs to those who leave the crowd, step onto the field, and commit fully to glorifying the Lord.
To move beyond spectator Christianity and ensure your life bears lasting spiritual fruit, read our teaching on developing the fruit of the Spirit to deepen your practical commitment to Christ.
POINT A
Avoiding Part-Time Faith: Do not be a spectator Christian who watches the show from the sidelines; step into active service and ministry.
POINT B
The Ring of Honor: True fulfillment and the ultimate commendation (“Well done, my good and faithful servant”) come to those who embrace kingdom responsibilities and stand boldly for their faith.
“There are a lot of Christians who Jesus is just not deeply committed to in a practical way because they want to be 40-watt Christians expecting a 100-watt blessing, and it does not work that way.” ~Tony Evans
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Action Step
Step Onto the Field: Move from being a passive observer in your faith community to actively serving, giving, or mentoring others this month.
Commit Fully: Examine your daily routines to ensure you are living as a full-time witness for Christ, unashamedly standing for His truth among your peers.
Summary & Key Takeaways
When life gets hard, it is easy to default to panic, pride, or human self-reliance. Yet, the struggles we face are often the very testing grounds God uses to display His unmatched power and sovereign authority. By keeping ourselves humble, recognizing that human beings do not hold the final say, and refusing to live as part-time spectators, we position ourselves to experience heaven invading our history. Hold fast to Jesus, trust His master key, and step boldly onto the field of active faith.
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PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTION
In what area of your life are you currently relying on your own strength and human connections rather than trusting the master key of Jesus Christ, and what is one step you can take today to surrender that control to Him?
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✝ A Prayer to Strengthen Your Spirit
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your sovereign authority and for holding the master key to every locked door in our lives. Forgive us for the times we have relied on our own power, education, and human networks instead of depending on You. In seasons of testing and trial, when the opposition feels overwhelming and human voices try to dictate our future, remind us that You have the final say. Help us to maintain a life of deep humility, to drop our pride, and to step out of the crowd to become full-time, unashamed witnesses for Your kingdom. Strengthen us to hold fast until our change comes, for Your glory and honor. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
