Does my life have any meaning? Is this all there is to it? If life happened through a freak accident of nature, then what’s the point? It doesn’t matter whether I live or die, does it? When I die, I will just go into oblivion and be no more, right? So why should I go through such miserable times?

We’ve all asked those questions, especially in times of despair. But, most of us go on with life, because, somehow, we know that there MUST be a reason to do so.

Actually, I think if we search our hearts, we instinctively know that life is worth something. It does have meaning – although sometimes we don’t know what it is, or why we think that. We fight to keep it, and we expect that it should be good. Why is that?

What should life be like?

Let’s break that down for a moment…First of all, we do feel that our life matters, or should matter. Why do we feel that way? Truly, if life itself is all accidental, then why would it matter? The Bible, in fact, answers that question. It tells us that God created us and we are important to him. And that he has an overall plan for this world – and for us. You get this by reading the whole book, because it is the story of God’s plan. But we also see it spelled out specifically for us in places like this:

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11

“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:18

So, we do have a purpose. And our life does matter. Because God says so.

Second, why do we expect things to be good? Instinctively, we know that the way things are, is not the way they are supposed to be. What do I mean by that? There are three reasons why I say that:

Why we expect things to be good

1) We are surprised and disappointed when life takes an unwelcome turn. Unlike animals, we get depressed, anxious, and angry when things go wrong. When a loved one suffers – we suffer too.  When a child dies, we know that this is not the way it should happen. (Side note: I have met people who pretend that they expected bad things – but I don’t believe them. Even though they go around expecting the worst, it’s only because they have been greatly disappointed. I think maybe they are actually expecting things to be good even more than the rest of us.)

2) We are constantly amazed at how “bad” the world is, like we expect it to be otherwise. We shake our heads and say, “What is wrong with people?” Somehow, we expect them to be nice to each other – and we strive for that. I’m not saying we shouldn’t strive for that, but my point is that it amazes us that they are not.

3) We always want good to prevail over evil. Every good story has a hero and a villain; good vs. evil; someone who rights what went wrong; someone who rescues the victim.

Why are we like that? It’s because things are not what they are supposed to be. The Bible tells us that God created everything good. When the deceiver, Satan, came and convinced Adam and Eve to rebel against God, all hell broke loose. Literally. Satan gained a foothold in this world and evil entered into everything, including us.

We know something is wrong. We want to see things put right again – and it’s because that is God’s story. The world has gone very wrong, and God has a plan to make it right again.

What is the meaning of your life? You are part of God’s plan to make things right again. Your life matters because God has a plan for you – you have a critical job that only you can do. It may be small or it may be large, but it is important.