What to do when Life Sucks!

                If there is anything I have learned about life in the past couple years, it’s that being in your mid-to-late twenties is a VERY difficult place.  I heard a statistic somewhere that the average American does not begin to “grow up” until the ripe age of 25.  This makes sense if you really think about it.  Our generation has been taught to graduate high school at 18, move on to college and have as much fun as possible until 22, then either continue education (grad school) or get a job with a bunch of other 22-year-olds that never “grew up.”  While some parents cannot afford to pay for their children to attend college; my guess is that most parents at least contribute to their children’s college fund.  Even if parents could not pay for college, the government comes to our aid and pays our tuition,  books, living expenses, and even provides some extra cash to blow on fun (if you so choose – AT 18-YEARS-OLD)!

                So, our generation is spoiled beyond belief.  We expect our folks to take care of us until we get jobs.  Some even expect their folks to take care of them for their first few years of working.  So, when we reach about 25 and funds start to get cut off (especially if you got married), reality slaps us right in the face!  All of the sudden an adult (who still behaves much like a twenty-year-old) is expected to pay bills, student loans, buy their own groceries; purchase toilet paper, etc… The greatest problem is that we are a highly educated generation with little practical skills and experiences to offer.  Further, many of us were not taught responsibility beyond taking a shower and dressing ourselves.  So, here we are very “book smart,” looking for a job within an economic crisis, frustrated because we have no money to buy toilet paper.  Brilliant minds cannot get jobs in their fields.  Young people who have spent thousands and thousand of dollars on master’s and doctorial degrees are finding themselves making less money than people who didn’t even go to college, but mastered a trade.

                I know a lot of you reading this can relate and so can I!  Being in your mid-to-late twenties is a difficult age!  I am almost done with my master’s degree and have no clue what I am going to do with it!  I certainly know what I would like to do with it, but that does not mean I will have my way.  So, where is God in all of this?  What is the point of me knowing so much information, yet having no one share it with or no where to practice what I have been taught?  One could drive themselves CRAZY coming up with question after question about their future.  Will I find a spouse?  Will I finish my education?  Will my career path work out? Will I be able to pay of my student Loans?  The questions and doubts just go on and on.

                As I walked out of a job interview today, unclear on how it went, I felt the still small voice of the Holy Spirit pressing a Bible Scripture on my heart….” God works all things for the good of those who love Christ Jesus.”  This is a promise to me and to all who truly love Jesus Christ.  Loving Jesus Christ means devoting your entire life to Him, just as a man and woman who are in love commit their lives to each other.  Loving Jesus Christ means submitting to His will, his commandments found in the Bible, and intrusting your hopes, fears, dreams, and motivations to Him!  Does this mean you have to be perfect?  Of course not!  If we were all perfect, we would not need Jesus in our lives!  You do not have to be perfect to love or to be loved, but when you REALLY love someone, you want to “do them right!”  Though I love my husband and want to please Him, I will never be able to perfectly walk out his expectations.  The same goes for any marriage!  However, when we committed our lives to each other, it was our full intention to try our best to submit to one another and help each other reach our goals.  Jesus wants this type of relationship with you.  Here goes me being blunt; If you don’t care about pleasing Christ, do things you know he does not like without any remorse, and do not try to obey biblical commands, chances are, you do not love Christ.  The great thing is that He loves you and is simply waiting for you to commit to Him!

                For those of us who do love Jesus and those of you who make a decision to love Him, we have been promised a good life!  This does not mean that we will always get our way or bad things will never happen to us; it means that no matter what “curve balls” life throws our way, God is on your side and we can expect Him to turn every situation for the good.  Even the worst of all situations (like murder and rape) can be turned around for good.  This seems difficult for our human minds to comprehend, but there are many ministers of the gospel who were abused as children and now live amazing lives because of their relationship with Christ. 

                So, do not be discouraged if things have not worked out how you hoped they would.  Don’t fret if you are having a hard time finishing college, getting a job, working a job you hate, finding a spouse, and paying your bills!  If you love Jesus Christ, God has promised that in His timing, God will turn all the difficulties in your life into good!

Advertisement