That question

Man, it's been a WEEK...good and bad....crazy and calm, but the good Lord brought me through! I don't have much to say about this week's column, so just read it and pass it along if you like it or relate to it!

Original publication date: Friday, August 28, 2015
Random Writer
That question

About a month ago on Facebook, I posted a question that wouldn’t leave my mind. After it lingered in my thoughts for a while, I finally had to get it out of my system.

“Does anybody else start randomly looking back on their life and think, ‘Man, I really haven’t accomplished much’?”

Knowing me, I was probably having a pity party of sorts wondering what I’ve done over the last twenty-something years of my life. I was probably playing that horrible game called Comparison where I look at the lives of others--mostly on social media--and say to myself “well, I don’t have this or that or [fill in the blank], but she does or he’s working toward that.” And then I probably began wallowing in self-pity instead of thinking about how to better my situation...even though going after the goals of others probably isn’t what I should be doing anyway.

It’s funny how that question likes to come to the surface more than we’d like.

It was the question that came to mind this week on my birthday, while looking back over 28 years of life and trying to figure out what I could call as my “accomplishments”. I fared well in school, competing in music and writing competitions. I established friendships in college and traveled more than I would have imagined. But life post-college hasn’t been what I thought it would be, with many shortcomings in the areas of career, relationships and ministry.

Many times I’ll waste time (yes, that’s what it essentially is) trying to figure out if there was a particular moment in life where I made the wrong decision, which led to the path that I’m on now, and I begin to think, “Well, if I hadn’t done it this way, would things have gone the same? Or would have life changed...for the better?” At times, I think I’ve narrowed it down to a few situations, but I guess I’ll never get those answers until I ask God in Heaven.

Then, on a few occasions, I try to push that question out of my mind. It’s not for me to know; if I was supposed to have it all figured out, God would have told me from the beginning. A question of this magnitude is a trick of Satan to cast doubt on my life and the way that God works in my life. It allows worry and anxiety to creep into my life and thought process, and Jesus addresses those things, those sins. “Cast your anxiety on Him” and “Don’t worry about anything” can be found in Scripture.

So when our birthdays come around, that question shouldn’t even surface. We should just thank God that He allowed us to live another year. We should strive to remain in fellowship with Him so that He can chart our course in life and that we can be centered in His will. And we should ask God to help us follow after Him so that the next year in our lives will promote His name and bring Him glory.