A Novel Idea: The Conflict

Yet man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward.

Job 5:7

How many of us would be happy to breeze through life with no conflict? A life free of time constraints, peer pressure, health issues, financial trouble and relationship strife sounds good to me. But that’s not reality. Today’s verse reminds us that man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward.

Read just about any person’s story in the Bible and you’ll see conflict upon conflict. A story without obstacles is boring. And who can relate to a character who has nothing to overcome? I’m likely to toss that book aside.

Conflicts keep the story moving. A captivating read pulls us into the adventure. Will our protagonist cave under pressure or rise above?

Let’s look at an example. Esther was a young Jewish woman who was kidnapped, taken to a foreign country and added to the king’s harem. If that wasn’t enough, she had to compete to become the king’s wife, submit to his authority, and face an evil villain who wanted to destroy her and her people.

I would read that story! It contains an innocent protagonist, a sinister antagonist, external conflicts, and internal struggles. Esther’s ultimate triumph resulted in the salvation of herself as well as her fellow Jews.

Think of the conflicts in your story. Do they make you joyful? James exhorts us to consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2). I have many emotions when I have problems, but joy isn’t usually one of them.

Looking back over my own story, I see that most learning occurred in times of struggle and my faith was strengthened. I sure would like to grow without conflict, but I probably would never move beyond my comfort zone. James goes on to say that the testing of our faith results in perseverance which results in maturity.

Father, help us remember that our current problems will help us grow into mature women of faith.

Terri