Mike Focht 9/18/2026
Have you ever wondered why your life is the way that it is? Why was I born into this family? Why was I born into this country? What am I alive in this day and age? Why couldn’t I have been alive in the time of Jesus Christ? Why do I face these pains, sufferings, trials, or circumstances? Why am I not safer, richer, more intelligent, or more beautiful? Why is my life like this?
I think we have all come to times where questions like these have haunted us. What does God have to say? Paul the apostle, in the book of Acts, gives us a good biblical summary of why our lives are the way that they are.
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:26-28).
Paul gives us a remarkable framework for understanding our lives. God has determined the times that I live in. I live in the year 2026 because God determined it. God has determined the boundaries I live in. I live in the United States, in the state of Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia area, because God determined it. God has determined all the present circumstances of my life. Why?
My life is the way it is to help me seek God and find Him. Every human life is sent into this world in the best possible circumstances to find God. The deck is stacked for us to help us know Him. That is what the Bible teaches about why my life is what it is.
As an individual, if my circumstances were safer or more dangerous, it would be harder for me to find God. If I were older or younger, smarter, richer, or better looking, it would be harder for me to find God. If I were born in a different day or age, it would be harder for me to find God. God has so determined my life—my personal individuality in body, mind, and spirit, my times and seasons, all the circumstances of my life—because those are the best possible conditions for me to seek Him and find Him.
The point of life is not simply to live a happy life here and die and go to hell. The point of life is to find eternal life through Jesus Christ. God determines life with that end in mind. Every wish for a life outside of our own is a wish to be further from God. I cannot answer why the specific conditions we live in are the best for our unique personality, but I can say that is what the Bible teaches. If there is a man alone on an island, I don’t have to worry about the salvation of that man. That lonely island is the best possible place for Him to find God. How do I know? God said so.
Some will not like this answer. They will want an explanation. The problem is that the explanation they want would have to unravel how their personal individuality, made in God’s image and likeness, responds to all possible circumstances from God’s point of view. How could God possibly explain to every individual how they fit into the life He placed them in, compared to every other life they could have lived? If that conversation happens at all, it will happen in eternity.
Instead of explaining everything, God has given us a promise. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God allowed Paul to give us a context for life. He has given us truth to place our faith in. We know this: God has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him.
Are you God’s son or daughter? Then you know why your life is the way that it is. Now focus on living, moving, and having your very being in Him. That is what life is all about.