If you’re a Millennial like me, I bet you’ve heard somebody say (or have at least seen a meme on social media that says) something about the regret and exhaustion of living in ongoing unprecedented times. As a demographic group, we thirty- to forty-somethings long for safe, simple, normal times and feel the squeeze of constant left-hand kingdom troubles.
The Struggle
Although, come to think of it, I suppose the experience of that external oppression is not only a Millennial outlook, even if we of my generation do often feel personally attacked by the times. Welcome to the general human condition, I guess? We’re all in a tight spot! How super fun.
When we struggle with the world around us—with the effects of a fallen creation—we often hear the voices of the world offering trite (and useless) responses to our woes. “Everything happens for a reason” springs to mind. So does “God won’t give you more than you can handle” and “It could always be worse!” But we’re sometimes guilty of feeding ourselves our own clichés, often in the form of self-pity instead of self-help, which is equally as unhelpful. I know we’ve all said it (or something similar, I’m sure) at some point in our lives, if not within the most recent decade. An impotent phrase that offers only a false and fleeting fraction of comfort while we despair: “Why me?”
Why Me?
We’ve all said it. We’ve all felt it. We all know that it’s the plight of the Christian to be in the world but not of it, and that the world will hate us because of our faith (see John 17:14), but dang. Does the world have to be fully against us all the time? From the little annoyances like getting sick or caught in traffic while your kids resort to fisticuffs in the backseat to the bigger stuff like not knowing when (or if) your next paycheck is coming. Grappling with developmental regressions in your child. Chronic illness and psychological trauma. Death. Destruction. War. Misery and evil at home and abroad. We’ve all felt the gamut of troubles in our world, and we’ve all, even if indirectly, felt the harshness of their existence right smack dab in the core of our well-being.
Shift Your Perspective
Here’s a thought experiment though: What if, instead of defaulting to the cliché of “Why me?” for yourself as quickly as someone might lob an “Everything happens for a reason!” at you, first consider the rest of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, especially when Jesus prays that “the world may know that You … loved them even as You loved Me” (John 17:23). We are enfolded in the love of God, sanctified by Christ, and sheltered in His glory. So maybe instead of “Why me?” in abject demoralization, we can remember to whom we belong—who loves us to the point of sacrifice—and sharpen the emphasis a bit to “Why me?”
What Can I Learn?
Why me? Why am I experiencing the things I am? Why am I going through the things I’m going through? Is there something I can learn? Something I can use to serve others? Has God chosen me for something difficult that will somehow be of benefit to me or others later on? After all,
We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
The idea that God won’t give us more than we can handle is not correct. But the knowledge that He will turn our unprecedented times, our disasters and wars, our personal woes, and the heaviness of this world into good out of love for His children and for the sake of His plan is real. It is the best encouragement we could possibly have. We can look for that goodness with hope during every high-stress situation, throughout each trial and affliction. And we can give that hope to those around us who struggle to see the light. God’s encouragement wins over every tired-out phrase the world can muster. It wins over our inner monologue. It is a balm to our well-being and a comfort to our weary souls.
Scripture: ESV®.
Encouragement from the world and encouragement from God look different—and that’s a good thing. Find real biblical encouragement in Faith Doerr’s book, God’s Encouraging Word.
