What You are Going Through is Nothing New to God
Tyler Thornton
In my brief time on this earth I have come up against a good handful of things that left me feeling completely unprepared and ill-equipped. Jobs, marriage, and parenthood have all brought me to a place where I realized I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did.
Ever heard the expression “there is nothing new under the sun?” We often quote it to offer hope when things feel out of control or we are without solutions for our current reality. I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but this saying is actually found in Scripture in Ecclesiastes 1! It has been used and quoted to help us put our current reality into perspective and recognize that the things we are coming up against are forces, motives, or temptations that have existed far before we entered the scene.
Sure, there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to how the world operates and functions, but we experience things we have never faced before all the time! Almost every day something arises that we feel powerless to face.
It is this tension that causes the writer of Ecclesiastes to write just 7 verses prior, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” In so many places the Bible gives us meaning, and reasons for encouragement and purpose, but here it seems to be doing just the opposite! If you are anything like me you have had those days where you just want to curl up into a ball and cry out the same thing!
But what gives meaning to a life filled with uncontrollable situations, craziness, and pain? As we consider the true implication of there being nothing new under the sun, it can completely change how we view and respond to current events and how we think of our future. How often have we heard that the world has just gone crazy, or people are just crazy these days? We say this as if it is a new thing, that people have made bad decisions and acted irrationally for the first time.
Take a moment and consider, there is nothing going on in your life that God hasn’t handled before. God’s faithfulness and sovereignty reign supreme over your past, present, and future realities. There is nothing you or I can come up against that God is not qualified to handle. Following Jesus is not just for the things we understand or can wrap our minds around, it is for the places where we feel like we have nothing left to bring to the table. This week, allow God to step into your uncertainty, your doubt, and your mess. God wants to show you and I that in the areas of life where we are powerless, He is still in control.