[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fharder-than-it-looks":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fharder-than-it-looks-surround":87},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":69,"date":70,"description":16,"extension":71,"image":72,"meta":73,"minRead":74,"navigation":75,"path":76,"postType":77,"publication":78,"publicationUrl":72,"seo":79,"stem":80,"topics":81,"__hash__":86},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fharder-than-it-looks.md","Harder Than It Looks",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"Acts",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":65},"minimark",[13,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50,53,56,59,62],[14,15,16],"p",{},"The great ones make it look easy.",[14,18,19],{},"Nolan Ryan’s 98-mile-per-hour fastball looked effortless. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers glided across the dance floor as if their feet were made of rubber. Michael Jordan’s jump-shot sailed from his fingertips as if a laser beam guided it toward the basket.",[14,21,22],{},"When I was a boy, my grandma made cooking look easy. She smiled pleasantly when she served up her homemade fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. My dad never complained about money and always seemed comfortable paying our family’s bills.",[14,24,25],{},"Great deeds, though, are harder than they look. The athlete spent years on the practice field and fought to overcome injuries. The dancers rehearsed while others relaxed. Grandma spent half a day perfecting her chicken dinners. Dad squeezed the maximum out of his modest and unpredictable farmer’s income.",[14,27,28],{},"Did you ever notice others who seem carefree, as if they have it made? “She’s lucky,” you tell yourself. “If she had to deal with my problems, she wouldn’t be so happy.” Did you ever wish you could be the CEO because he makes a big salary and gets to tell everyone else what to do? Truth is, the woman with the charmed life has worked hard with a counselor to deal with her bouts of depression, and the CEO secretly wishes he were free from the burdens of leadership. Emotional health is harder than it looks. A missionary might appear content and well-adapted as he serves God in a foreign land, but we don’t see all of the adjustments he’s made and the loneliness he’s endured.",[14,30,31],{},"Life gets a little easier the moment we acknowledge how hard it is. The bride and groom discover the joys of maturing together when their newlywed love survives the test of time. The student’s education advances when the teacher gives her a challenging assignment that she can’t bluff her way through. The fun-loving guy who’s the life of the party develops stronger character and a deeper faith after he walks through a minefield of emotional pain. The businessman who has known repeated success becomes a wiser leader after his company experiences a downturn.",[14,33,34],{},"Remember Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush? The bush was on fire, but it didn’t burn up—quite a feat of pyrotechnics, but the Lord made it look easy. How could the branches keep burning without being consumed by the flames?",[14,36,37],{},"What about us? How can we stay aflame with passion for the Lord without being consumed in the process? How can we keep burning without being burned up?",[14,39,40],{},"Not by avoiding our difficulties but by admitting them. Not by covering up our struggles but by facing them. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Growth seldom happens till we go through trials. God fans the flames of spiritual power when we listen to godly counsel, heed necessary rebukes, suffer through the Master Teacher’s hard tutorials, and let him guide us through the dark valleys.",[14,42,43],{},"It’s in denying ourselves that we find ourselves.",[14,45,46],{},"It’s in giving that we receive.",[14,48,49],{},"It’s in following that we learn to lead.",[14,51,52],{},"It’s in suffering loss that we learn to appreciate what we have.",[14,54,55],{},"It’s in dying that we find life.",[14,57,58],{},"It’s in taking up a cross that we find the way to resurrection.",[14,60,61],{},"It’s in facing our weaknesses that we discover God’s strength.",[14,63,64],{},"I’ve heard it said, “Becoming a Christian is easy, but walking with Christ is hard.” Maybe so. But no matter how difficult the path of discipleship might be, to live without Christ would be the hardest thing of all.",{"title":66,"searchDepth":67,"depth":67,"links":68},"",2,[],"Another Look","2010-11-07","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fharder-than-it-looks","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":16},"articles\u002Fharder-than-it-looks",[82,83,84,85],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Perseverance in Suffering","Spiritual Formation","ri6AmsbyUFfiN-YnOllgIHsKDqEg_fvBbEPGqXTYAok",[88,93],{"title":89,"path":90,"stem":91,"description":92,"children":-1},"Hard Work, High Regard","\u002Farticles\u002Fhard-work-high-regard","articles\u002Fhard-work-high-regard","Every member of the body of Christ has been called to serve. Some are privileged to devote larger portions of time to their work and \"receive their living from the gospel\" (1 Corinthians 9:14). Yet, while we dub them with the noble (and demanding) title of \"minister,\" we often misunderstand these servants of God.",{"title":94,"path":95,"stem":96,"description":97,"children":-1},"Harnessing the Power of Synergy","\u002Farticles\u002Fharnessing-the-power-of-synergy","articles\u002Fharnessing-the-power-of-synergy","Hellen Keller observed, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” On one occasion the Lord promised the Israelites who went to battle, “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand” (Leviticus 26:8). That’s favorable math!"]