It's just a Broken World
| Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1Peter4:12-13) |
Sometimes it feels like the world is overwhelming and we feel singled out, picked on and victimised. Inevitably we cry "Why me?" and our frustration and inability to understand or make sense of our struggle can be just as exhausting as the trouble itself.
But Peter gives us some good advice: "Don't be surprised by a broken world."
Jesus did the same thing for His disciples when He prepared them for life after His ascension when He said: "In this world you will have trouble..."
Hardship is exhausting by itself, but when we begin to have a victim mentality and frantically search for explanations for our trouble, then we can exhaust ourselves even more. Yes, sometimes we can explain our troubles: We did something stupid and are reaping the fruit thereof or someone else was stupid or mean and this caused our trouble.
But sometimes our pain is inexplicable. It's simply the result of being in a broken world. We can wear ourselves out trying to bend our brains around it, or we can take Peter's advice: "Trouble comes, but you are not alone! Your trouble is but a subset of what Jesus carried on the cross for us - He is able to restore and renew.
You see, when things seem meaningless, it depletes us even more. So Peter invites us to make peace with brokenness so that we can discover an even greater and more permanent reality...
That reality is the healing power of a Saviour who carried it all.
