Have you ever felt like, even though you want to think of yourself as a unique individual with a special set of abilities and experiences, there's nothing about you that really stands out?
John Koenig, in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, has a term for that:
the standard blues - n. the dispiriting awareness that the twists and turns of your life feel new and profound but are not unique - marked by the same coming-of-age struggles as millions of others, the same career setbacks, the same family strife, the same learning curve of parenting - which makes even your toughest challenges feel harmless and predictable, just another remake of the same old story. [A riff on blues standards, the catalog of the most popular songs in the blues genre, which is itself famous for chord progressions that cycle through variations on a theme.]
Paul put it this way in 1st Corinthians 10:13 (CSB): "No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity." But then he adds this bit of encouragement: "But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it."
* * * * * * *
Truth is...This reminds me of the words of Jesus in John 16:33 (NIV): "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world"
No comments:
Post a Comment