We understand challenging and difficult seasons are a regular part of life. But there are times in which life still just sucks as we’re faced with tragedies outside our control and seemingly more than our fair share.
We generally accept the hard work needed to build our careers and grow our relationships. There’s a logical connection here between the difficulty we face and our desired outcomes.
However, it’s harder when life blindsides us with difficulties we didn’t see coming and we’re simply forced to accept.
Perhaps a friend dies suddenly in a tragic accident – no time to say goodbye.
Or a loved one is faced with a diagnosis that robs them of their inner self – physically alive, but gone inside.
And maybe there’s a global pandemic that daily threatens our lives and livelihoods for months without end – filling every area of our life with much uncertainty.
Beyond the normal and expected challenges of life, our story is often marked with many tragedies, and some more so than others. And they suck because there’s nothing we can do about them except endure.
But our endurance is not resignation.
Like Job, we won’t always have the behind-the-scenes scoop on the tragedies we face. All the same, we must remember the events of our life are taking place within the much larger story God is telling.
This doesn’t minimize the grief and pain we still experience. And we do well to allow for deep lament.
Even still, we’re reminded there’s often much more going on than what meets the eye.
When life sucks our faith and hope in God is tested.
Will we still trust his goodness even when we’re faced with tragedies we don’t understand?
Yell, groan, and weep when life sucks. And remember God is still faithful and his story ends well.
Photo by Christian Erfurt on Unsplash
