(Please read the passage cited above first.)
My sisters and brothers,
Paul was writing about the need to live without anxieties. He was writing to married people and unmarried people. When the Bible speaks of two opposites, it usually includes everything in between the opposites. For example, knowledge of A to Z includes knowledge of B, C, D and so on.
Paul was speaking to married and single people, including married people who did not want to be married, those living in difficult relationships, those who were unable to marry, and those who did not want to marry. He wrote to all those married and single and all the rest so that they could live without anxieties.
Our anxieties distract us from God who is our focus and goal. Each one of us, married or single can be distracted. Paul wanted us to be free of anxieties in our lives. He was writing so that we could concentrate on God.
Now I can see that all of you want to concentrate on your work for God and be free from anxieties in your life. I do see, however, some of you being anxious now. You want to focus on God and you struggle to keep focused on God because you eagerly want to do God’s will.
I want to tell you that you do not have to worry. Your struggle is good. Your struggle is a sign of your desire to be with God and God blesses you in this struggle. You cannot sin if you are struggling to do what is right.
Athletes have coaches to help them improve because it is not easy to improve. The struggle to be better in sports is good and so is our struggle to have a better relationship with God.
Like a good coach, I want to encourage you to continue your struggle to improve in your relationship with God. You struggle to become a disciple of God. It takes no struggle to be a disciple of the devil; it is easy to follow the devil: it does not take a struggle.
If you are struggling to be a Christian, I am proud of you. You are struggling to get better. Your struggle is virtue. Your struggle is good. You do not have to hang your head with anxiety or shame. The struggle is your strong point, your virtue.