God doesn’t promise you a life without difficultites. But He does promise that He will always be with you.

Don’t let anybody tell you that a life with God is a life without troubles. Far from it. Sometimes it seems that your troubles begin the moment you trust God. Yet we continue to “sell” Christianity as a sort of Pollyanna religion that offers happiness to all who sign up.

There’s nothing in the Bible about that, so you’ve got to figure it isn’t true. What the Bible does say is that troubles will come your way, and when they do, you need to use them as a way to grow closer to God. When God helps you through your problems, whether big or small, your joy increases in proportion to your faith. You know you can count on God whenever troubles come your way.

For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:3).