What would you say to a Christian going

through a Mid-Life Crisis?Desiring God

October 28, 2009 | by John Piper | Topic: Fear & Anxiety

The following is an edited transcript of the audio.

What would you say to a Christian going through a mid-life crisis, someone who feels like

they've totally missed out on what their life should have been?

Well, if it's mid-life, I think they should be rejoicing that they have another half!

Yes, there are regrets. There are. And who has not had them, right? We could've done better.

"I could've married a Christian, and then I might not have had so much pain. But this is my

wife or my husband."

"I could've gotten more education, and then I might've been able to have a more

responsible job."

"Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are, 'It might've been.'" That's not true. There are

sadder words, like "Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are, 'It can never change.'" That

would be sad.

But here we have a mid-life crisis. We own our sorrows, we own our mistakes, we own our

regrets, and then we say—as I would say to this person—

You know, God makes no mistakes. I cannot explain to you why he ordained that the

first half of your life would be led in a way that looks like you wasted it. Maybe you just

lived for money, and you lost your marriage, and you lost your kids. And now you're

54 years old, and you are all alone and rich and miserable.

I don't know all the reasons why God would permit that, but he's got designs in that.

And what his offer to you right now is the next 20 years different, useful, forgiven,

clean, hopeful, heaven-bound.

That's what I would say. I would preach the gospel to them and say that God is willing to take you

with all your mistakes and turn it around.

And maybe from the perspective of 74 you'll understand some of why he permitted those 54.

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