The Shift That Changes EverythingSample

Day 2: When Life Is Unfair

Life doesn’t always play fair. I learned that early. There were many days growing up when I wondered why I got such a raw deal. Why did I have to grow up in a dysfunctional home? Why was my father an alcoholic? Why was he so cruel to my mother? Why were we so poor? I didn’t ask for any of it, and I certainly didn’t deserve it.

Maybe you’ve felt that way too. Maybe you’ve looked at your life, your circumstances, or your past and thought, “This isn’t fair.” Psalm 73 describes a man named Asaph who felt the same way. He tried to live with integrity, but it seemed like those who didn’t care about God had it easier. He said, “Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain…for all day long I have been plagued” (Psalm 73:13–14). I’ve echoed those words myself.

But as I grew older, I began to see that even in unfair seasons, God was doing far more than I understood. My father’s story, for example, didn’t begin with him. It stretched back to his own childhood, where he claimed he was beaten by his father “until the blood ran down his legs.” Pain often has a history, and brokenness is usually passed down unless someone lets God redeem it.

That realization helped me stop seeing my life only through the lens of injustice and begin seeing it through the lens of God’s hidden purposes. God was forming resilience in me, compassion in me, and a deeper dependence on Him that I couldn’t have gained any other way.

The Bible is full of people who faced overwhelming unfairness; Jesus Himself endured the greatest injustice of all. Yet every one of them discovered that God was still faithful, still present, still working.

You may not understand the why behind your circumstances—and you don’t have to. What matters is the Who behind your story. God is just. He sees what you’ve endured. And He promises that one day, every unfair thing will be made right. Until then, trust Him, even when life feels unfair.