Do you ever get to that place in life when it feels like everything is going wrong? I think everybody gets there at one point or another, and it’s not a fun place to be.
In some instances, we really do make our own trouble. The issues we’re facing in life sometimes stem from our own bad choices, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes the world is just broken. Sometimes people are just broken, and there’s no explanation for it. And, what’s worse, there’s nothing you can do to fix it. .
I think it’s harder to deal with the fact that you can’t fix it yourself than it is to deal with the actual problem. But I’m a fixer. And realizing my own helplessness is discouraging.
So what you do when you reach the point in life where everything is breaking and none of it is within your power to repair?
A sunflower and Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS
Today’s verse is Psalm 43:5.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
I post on perspective a lot because it’s something I struggle with. My brain runs so fast, I tend to jump from topic to topic to topic in rapid sequence, and if I don’t have a healthy perspective on life, the universe, and everything, my thought processes can easily spiral out of control and land me in a useless heap of negativity.
I love this verse because it starts with a question, and questions always get my attention. They’re good questions to ask yourself when life goes wrong.
Why are you discouraged? Why is your heart sad?
Don’t just let them hang. They’re not rhetorical questions. Why? God wants to know why. He wants to know what’s troubling you. He wants to know what has happened in your life to make you so sad. So tell Him.
There’s something cathartic in talking to God and telling Him what’s bothering you. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s just getting it off my chest, but I always feel better after I tell God what’s bothering me.
Maybe it’s because when I hear what’s bothering me said out loud, I realize that it’s not that big of a deal anyway. Even my great big problems are nothing compared to God and His power and His grace. God can fix anything. God can help me accomplish anything. God can turn hearts around and change lives.
It’s important to remember that. It’s important to remember who God is and that even if your life is so broken you can’t fix it, He still can.
So why are you discouraged today? Why are you feeling sad? I know a lot of people who are, and I’m sad with them for a host of different reasons. Ask yourself why. Then tell God about it. As you tell Him, just remember who He is and who we are to Him, and remember that there’s nothing He can’t do. He’s already won this war, and even if our lives down here don’t turn out the way we want them to, He’s making a place for us with Him. And that’s the life that matters more, the life to come, the life that will last forever.
So cheer up. Put your hope in God, and praise Him for being who He is. He’s got a plan, and it’s good.
Always Peachy 