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Question: I am struggling to find peace in my life. I am angry, frustrated and have a disbelieving attitude toward life. I believe this life is pointless. I need a reason, a point to being here. Is God the answer?
P.T., Sheffield, England
Answer: You are certainly not alone in your feelings. Many struggle with these same thoughts. And without God in the picture, many would certainly conclude that life is pointless and without real meaning.
God's Word, however, offers a considerably different and much more hopeful perspective.
Near the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus Christ promised His followers that He would leave them with His peace: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27, emphasis added throughout).
He spoke these encouraging words on the night just before His arrest and the crucifixion that followed.
It might seem strange that someone could have real peace while anticipating
the most difficult and horribly agonizing trial of His life. But Christ
knew and understood the great purpose for which He had come to this
earth—a purpose that superseded everything else. Without His sacrifice
for our sins, there could be no salvation.
How do we find the peace Christ promised—the peace that overcomes
our natural frustrations and troubling anxieties? We find one key to
discovering true peace in Psalm 119:165: "Great peace have
those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."
Loving God's law clearly implies obedience to it (1 John 5:3). And this in itself leads to another blessing found in Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments."
In contrast, "'There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked'" (Isaiah 57:21).
As we begin to obey God, we learn about His way of life, the way He thinks and His great plan of salvation for all humanity. If we then submit to God's will, truly repent of our sins and are baptized, thereby receiving forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), that Spirit will begin to lead our thought processes to conform to those of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Philippians 2:5).
The apostle Paul described this process as one of being "transformed
by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). This mental transformation
of our thinking and outlook on life then enables us to enjoy "peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Paul
went on to explain: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [truly converted],
he [or she] is a new creation, . . . all things have become new. Now
all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through
Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
If we truly seek it in accordance with God's will, Christ will
provide us with the same peace that allowed Him to willingly face such
great adversity. He will do so through living within us to change us
(see Galatians 2:20). And what is the point of that? Paul referred to "Christ
in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Other verses
show that the glory here is that of God Himself. That is to say, the
great God intends to share His own divine glory with His spiritually
transformed children.
The supreme glory of everlasting life in the divine family of God is mentioned in many places in Scripture. King David refers to it in his psalms. In Psalm 17:15, for instance, he says to God, "As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness." Centuries later Paul adds that the truly converted will be given the gift of immortality in God's Kingdom (1 Corinthians 15:50-54).
But the immortality God promises will not be anything like the popular idea of heaven, an eternity of endless leisure. God has something of far greater meaning and purpose in mind!
Those who have truly and faithfully followed God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ will reign with Christ on earth for 1,000 years as kings and priests (Revelation 5:10; 20:4-6). Serving under Him, they will have the priceless opportunity to help teach and educate the entire world in God's truth and ways.
Beyond that, God has given us "the stars [and] all the host of heaven" as an inheritance (Deuteronomy 4:19)—with all the glory, might and power that entails. Indeed, God has promised us a future and level of existence so awesome and transcendent that we can't even begin to fully grasp it (1 Corinthians 2:9).
In summary, the Bible reveals that the knowledge of God and Christ remains the only avenue to real peace in this life. However, that knowledge requires action on our part! Just as Jesus overcame this world's society, Satan the devil and the pulls of His flesh while He was on the earth (Revelation 3:21), so must we with the help of God's Holy Spirit (Revelation 2:26; 12:11).
The process of building righteous character into our lives through a dynamic relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ will ultimately bring us real spiritual peace. That peace is available today, but the fullness of this promise will be realized in the culmination of God's plan. As Revelation 21:4 tells us: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
To help you discover more about the true meaning and purpose of life, be sure to request or download our free booklet
God also recognizes that continued instruction in His way of life and regular contact with other believers is crucial to our spiritual growth and development and a positive outlook on life. For this reason He tells us, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day [of Christ's return] approaching" (Hebrews 10:25, New International Version).
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Keywords: reason for life purpose of life human destiny human potential
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