We all feel it. Most of us feel it at some point every day. Even the stoics who suppress it still feel it. I’m talking about that sense of dread, dullness, sadness, emptiness, aimlessness, or general “What’s the use?” that washes over every human soul.

Marriage issues, cash flow problems, alienated children, trouble at work, lack of purpose.

It’s helpful to know that we’re not alone. Everyone feels it.

But even more important is to not try to pin down the cause of it. Here’s why. Our tendency is to focus our blame on a person, and usually the one(s) with whom we have the most contact–wife, children, co-workers.

Sure. Sometimes we know why we’re sad (even then there are multiple other factors).

Most of the time, however, sadness comes in a fog of ambiguity. The reasons are complicated–father wounds and mother wounds among them.

So sit with it. Don’t press the reason for your dread into an oversimplified answer. Get yourself straight, not someone else. If you are not content where you are, a change of scenery isn’t the answer. It’s inside of us. Give the Holy Spirit free reign to tutor your heart. Otherwise, our flesh will inevitably mislabel the cause of our sadness, and often with catastrophic consequences and loss.

It’s hard to think clearly when you’re feeling fragile.