Many of us face struggles that we keep in secret because we are ashamed to let it all out. Many people who keep their struggles to themselves feel like if others knew what they were facing, they'd be rejected, ridiculed, or no one would love them anymore. Thus, such people decide to face the struggle alone.
Struggling Defined
To "struggle" means to "make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction," or "a forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint or resist attack."
Based on these definitions, we can conclude that a Christian's struggle means resisting the devil's attempts to lure us to sin and captivity. One way to face this is to open up to people who can help.
Open Up
Opening up and sharing our burdens to someone we can trust greatly helps in our fight against sin. Whether it's our spouse, our pastor, or our trusted brother or sister in church, having someone to share struggles with is good and beneficial.
The Bible often mentions the word "yoke." This is a piece of wood that is attached to either a cart or a plow, and is used by farmers. Yokes are designed in such a way that no single animal can carry it – it has to be carried by two.
We Christians are reminded to carry each other's burdens that way: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (see Galatians 6:2)
The only way others can help us carry our burden is when we open it up to them.
Opening up your struggles to a trusted friend can help you in many ways:
1. It Helps You Think That You're Not Alone
Often the thought of facing troubles, temptations, and other worries by yourself enlarges our view of the problem. When we feel that we have someone to support us, we feel more confident and able to face it head-on.
2. It Helps Lighten the Weight of Our Struggles
Often, facing struggles alone for a long period of time wears us down. When we share our burdens to a trusted person, it helps lighten the load that we carry. Others can also help us see our struggles in a different light, and might help us see our struggles better.
3. It Allows Others to Help You in a More Specific Way
When others discover the troubles that you face, they can come up with ways to help you face it. Their prayers for you become specific, and their words and actions more suited to your needs. They might even know what you should do, because they might have gone through what you're going through.
Friend, don't be afraid or ashamed to share what you're going through. If you're married, tell your spouse what you're going through. Share it to your trusted pastor or mentor. Most of all, open it up to God, who is more than willing to help you.
