No Difficulties

I praise God for the concordance; it is really helpful because it lists things by topic. It is utterly senseless not to make diligent use of it.

I have a tremendously helpful subject on my heart, but the only question is how receptive you are. The fact is, we read the same things in the Bible, all of us, and we hear the same things, but they don’t always produce the same results. Individual receptivity varies immensely, from very high to almost zero. That brings us to a truth that is extremely helpful. The truth is that all sin, all need, and all lack of true light come from the same thing—the very same thing. That is: You don’t take each word of life exactly, and seriously, just like it is written. Nor do you believe it with all of your heart, and love it, and practice it, and keep on practicing it for the rest of your life. This is always the source of the problem; this is the underlying cause of everything that is wrong. We have God’s Word to cover every possible area and every possible situation; God has made His will clearly known there.

Now, I would like to give you an example of the effect of the concordance. I looked up the word “tribulations.” There are a lot of scriptures listed. There isn’t a weak one in the bunch. I also looked up the word “trials.” There are also many scriptures listed, all of them strong, and some even stronger than the others.

Trials and tribulations are among the very most important things that exist. Temptations come as a result of and in accord with the different situations we meet. If we are receptive, tribulations and trials prove, exactly to a hairsbreadth, how it is with us, every time. And it would be difficult to imagine that anything more helpful could exist. Then we get clear evidence of how much of the life of God we have, and how much we don’t have. I can see this if I take note of the way I take things and how I react to things. Either I stand in the trial or I don’t stand. If I stand in a trial, then I’m strengthened, and I’m enthusiastic about standing in the next trial. If I don’t stand in the trial, then I have proof that my condition still isn’t any better than what has been revealed by the trial. Then I will be deeply grieved (assuming that I have that kind of attitude of mind) and will press whole-heartedly into God in order to be able to stand in the trial the next time. How profitable—and so beneficial! It’s as simple as 2 + 2 = 4.

I would recommend that each and every one read everything that is written about trials and tribulations. Read slowly and thoughtfully. You are bound to get light if you’re receptive and hungering and thirsting for salvation—you are bound to understand how glorious these things are. For example, it’s written that “. . . we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” “We must,” it is written, and many other very strong words are used.

You can also look in your concordance under “difficulties.” There isn’t one single word in the whole Bible about “difficulties!” If we aren’t as hard as a rock, then this fact should make a tremendously phenomenal impression on us! It can’t be found in the Bible, but it can be found in people because they don’t believe what is written in the Bible. My personal testimony is that no one has ever heard me talk about my difficulties. God is rich and there is no limit to the help He will give us. For my part, in the latter years, help has been pouring down. In a little book about Socrates, the word “difficulty” isn’t found either. It just wasn’t in his vocabulary, and he didn’t even have God’s Word—he didn’t know one single verse, but he sought God in spirit and in truth, and found Him, to the highest degree—and without God’s Word! Oh, how we ought to dwindle in our own eyes!

Quite simply, difficulties are something that we create for ourselves—they are something that each individual makes for himself. After I have said that, you might well ask, “How can that be?” The fact is, as previously noted, that the Scriptures contain detailed descriptions about everything that can happen in the life of a person and what God’s will is for each one (what is pleasing to Him) in each particular situation. In other words, it reveals how a person should take things, how he should react. Difficulties arise when I react differently than God’s Word says I should. I take things in the wrong way; I react incorrectly. Nothing anyone else does or says, or doesn’t do or say—regardless of who he is—can create difficulties for you or me. The difficulty comes from one thing, and only one thing—that you take things in the wrong way! In others words, there isn’t anyone else who can create difficulties for you. That is a total misconception. It isn’t true; it’s a lie. No one can create difficulties for you or hurt you! No one can hinder your progress!

What other people do or say is their business—it says something about them, but not about you. No one can make you unhappy; that is something you do yourself by not taking things exactly as God’s Word says you should. When people, as many unfortunately do, talk and complain and moan and groan abut their difficulties, it goes without saying that they think their difficulties are caused by others. But what they do, quite unintentionally, is let everyone they complain to know that they have taken things in the wrong way—even though that wasn’t what they meant to say. They are actually declaring that they don’t live according to God’s Word, and that they are taking things in the wrong way. Without realizing it and without wanting to, that is precisely what they are saying. This is simply a very radical and perfect way to be finished forever with regarding anything as a difficulty.

In Isaiah there is a scripture (and this was in the Old Testament): “. . . in all of their affliction there was no affliction.” Literally speaking, this contradicts itself. But it simply means that in all of their afflictions, there were no difficulties to be found because they took things in the right way and reacted in the right way. You may well ask, “Is it really possible to take everything in the right way, without exception? Is it possible to react in the right way to everything, without exception?” Yes, everything is possible for him who believes. Everything is possible for the one who reads, and looks very precisely at what is written, and believes it with all his heart, and loves it, and enters into it with the intention of remaining there for the rest of his life—not just hoping that it will get a little better over the course of many years. The attitude of hoping things will get better over the course of many years won’t produce anything; it’s just a lot of empty words. Take for example the scripture that says if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. It is quite common for people to judge others—it’s the other’s fault. The whole of mankind does this, night and day, as long as they live. There are very few exceptions. It isn’t people in the world who carry on this way, but also people who have been converted—and even many of the friends, and that is the saddest part of the whole thing. It’s written that love hopes all things, believes all things, and bears all things. When you have difficulties, you are actually acknowledging that you lack love. If you have love that hopes all things, believes all things, bears all things, and endures all things, then there can’t possibly be any difficulties. So when you talk about your difficulties, without intending to, what you have said is, “I lack love!” It’s written that if you lack love, you are nothing. You don’t have love, but you go around imagining that you have love, and demand that others should have and show love for you. This understanding is completely wrong, and if you take things like this, you’ll have many difficulties.

Romans 8:28 is 100% confirmation of what we have talked abut here. “And we know all things”—all of the bad hat others do, and all of the good that they neglect to do—“work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” “All things” includes everything that happens, all people, good friends and bad friends, opposers and enemies, injustice and bad treatment—everything. God pulls the strings and works so that everything is obliged to work for our best. Everyone who talks about difficulties or who believes that he has difficulties, does not believe in this scripture. All sin and lack of light comes from not looking exactly at what is written and believing it like a little child who doesn’t understand enough to doubt—not one drop of anxiety, not one drop of discontent. What a happy life—a continuous, abundant life of happiness. What are you to do when someone does something bad to you? It’s clearly written; it’s as simple as A-B-C—return the evil with good. By faith you can live according to God’s Word.

Temptations come through trials and tribulations—through the things that you meet—the unjust and unbearable things that you meet. Then you are tempted. “There is no temptation that a person meets that cannot be borne.” 1 Cor. 10:13 (Norwegian). In other words, it has never happened. Everything that you meet, God has determined that you are able to bear. When you take things in the right way, it goes amazingly well. The area that causes the most serious and common difficulty (because people react in the wrong way) is the area of personal relationships, both in the church and in general. Don’t expect anything, don’t demand anything nor have strong wishes for anything—no, not even little wishes that someone else should be different than they are. Think only about loving; that’s what it means to serve and give. Think only about how you are to react—not one thought about what others do or should do.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18. The usual thing is that people think their tribulations are long—even that they are unbearable. That’s how bad it can be with us because we don’t believe God’s Word. “For our tribulation, which is short and light . . .” (Norwegian). Hallelujah, they are light, it says! It’s not a question of what you think or feel. The fact that you think differently shows that you don’t believe this scripture. All tribulations are short and light. What shall we do, friends? Believe God’s Word. Faithfully follow it—there are no exceptions to God’s Word. It’s so easy for people to think that in their particular situation, things are different. Have you ever heard anything so brazen? When it concerns me, things are different and the Word is to be understood differently. That’s ungodly, it’s dreadful. Then you have, quite simply, listened to Satan instead of taking heed to God’s Word. In verse 18 the condition is given. “. . . because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen . . . .” This is where the problem lies—you are not meeting the condition. You are so occupied with the present, with the situation you are in. Then things are difficult for you; you seem to forget that God is alive. You aren’t taking God into consideration; you aren’t thinking at all about eternity; you aren’t thinking about the salvation of your own soul. Your fixation on what is happening blinds you. In other words, you are occupied with the others. It’s ungodly. Difficulties are something you create by not living according to God’s Word, by not living exclusively according to God’s Word, by not thinking exclusively about what you should be doing. You can defend yourself until you are blue in the face, but the fact is, you have demands that you want the others to live up to. To make demands is of the devil, but to love, serve and give, that is of God. To love God is to keep His commandments. If you receive this, it will result in an indescribable salvation and progress in your life, and the possibility of receiving it is open to everyone.

There is a proverb that says something to the effect that as the craftsman fashions his work, so each person fashions his own happiness. We could make up a proverb for the opposite—as the craftsman fashions his work, so each person fashions his own unhappiness. You fashion your own unhappiness; it isn’t the others, as you have imagined. Therefore, we have the scripture, “Judge not . . . .” I never get tired of this verse. I took this scripture to heart in my youth and have lived according to it ever since. I believe that to be one of the main reasons that I have become as indescribably happy as I am and have been for a long time. It doesn’t say we should not judge too harshly, or we should not judge too much, or we should not judge too often, or we should not be too quick to judge; no, it says, “JUDGE NOT.” It is also written: “But if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged we are chastened by the Lord, in order that we not be condemned together with the world.” [1 Cor. 11:31—Norwegian]. You can conduct yourself in a way that will result in your being condemned with the world, in spite of the fact that you have been in the church for many, many years. So the way we take things is the deciding factor for everything, without exception. It’s possible to take everything in such a way that my happiness only increases; how I take things makes the difference—no matter what I meet. I wish you every success on this perfect way of happiness. It is never anyone else’s fault that it is going so badly with me. It just simply isn’t the case—and never has been.

Actually, the word “difficult” does appear once in the Bible, but not “difficulty.” Peter wrote a very serious verse: “If it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, how will it go with the ungodly and the sinner?” [1 Pet. 4:18—Norwegian]. What makes it difficult for the righteous to be saved, according to what we have just heard? The difficult thing is to take things in the right way. We have countless proofs for and experiences of this. The difficulty lies in reacting rightly, but when you do that, there are not difficulties. That’s why there isn’t anything written about difficulties.