Everyone struggles -- everyone. Whether it is a struggle with addiction, self-worth, mental illness, or something else, everyone has their "problem." For me, I struggle with anxiety. My anxiety is oftentimes crippling and debilitating, stopping me from doing fun things or enjoying my time with others. I want to live life to the fullest, but my anxiety seems to trap me, making me feel crazy and worthless. Whatever your struggle, you probably feel this way too. The troubles of this life are heavy and often feel too hard to bear. In light of this, God's faithfulness is often called into question.
When I feel down about my mental illness I often question God. I wonder how a God so great could allow me to feel such pain and have so much of my life seemingly ruined by this horrible mental illness. It often seems that God has forsaken us when our prayers, intended to save us from our struggle, are not answered. This does not mean that we should stop praying; however, only that perhaps God has a greater plan in mind.
Despite this, it is easy to begin to see yourself as a victim at the mercy of the universe. The problem with thinking this way is that you can easily spiral into pitying yourself and feeling bad for yourself that you have the condition you do. This ultimately gets you nowhere. Feeling bad for yourself might make you feel better, but only for a very short while. Self-pity is destructive and can lead to a lot of selfishness and conceitedness.
Recently I came across an amazing song by MercyMe called "Even If." I absolutely love this song. This song is my new anthem for my life. It is a wonderful reminder that God's faithfulness is not a direct correlation to our happiness or contentment. The chorus reads:
"I know You're able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone "
This is so beautiful. God is able to take away our struggles. He is powerful enough to do it. He can take away our pain with a wave of His hand, but His lack of doing so is not weakness or an absence of faithfulness. God is faithful whether He takes away our struggles or not. His plan is much greater than ours and His ability to see the future is more than we could ever imagine. God knows our struggles, but He also knows what is on the other side of those struggles. Within our daily problems, God can teach us things, even if we don't see them at first. We can have absolute hope in God despite our struggles. He is our hope and He is always faithful.
