Maybe you’ve been frustrated over a failed marriage – or Perhaps you feel trapped in a world of addiction, anything from drugs, alcohol and gambling to eating, sports and entertainment. Conceivably, you suffer from some disabling illness or some chronic mental disorder. Any of these personal world-imploding matters can seem overwhelming; but when we clutch tenaciously to a self-centered perspective on life, this is when our inner voice may in desperation cry out, “Why was I ever born?”
I was there once. All I desired was to be separated from my physical and emotional pain. A ruptured disc in my lower lumbar, adjacent to a totally degenerated disc. Bone spurs and arthritis sending lightning bolts up and down my spine. Yet, this physical pain couldn’t keep pace with my emotional torment. I had lost my spouse and my house, my job and my career. Though I had never lamented the day of my birth, I did plea for the day of my death. I didn’t murmur, “Why was I ever born?” but I did silently scream, “Why can’t I die?”
Ever feel like that? Probably. Upwards of 80% of all Americans are blindsided from clinical depression at least once during their adult years. I invite you to come this Sunday to hear the 2nd sermon in our new series on the Old Testament Prophets. What will we glean? That God can use even people undergoing some of the most intense physical and psychological torture, who have cried out, “Why was I ever born?” to inspire all of us to find reason for living and hope to inspire.