Still Beautifully Letdown...

I first heard Switchfoot's album The Beautiful Letdown in 2003 (my sister gave me the cd for Christmas).  I didn't know much about the band at the time, but I was diggin' their style right away.  The album appealed to me in terms of its musicianship, but more than just the hip, engaging rock riffs, I found myself indentifying keenly with Jon Foreman's lyrics.  The album contains a slew of noteworthy tracks (Meant to Live, Dare You to Move, Gone, Twenty-Four), but the tune that grabbed me right off (and has since become one of my all time favorite rock songs) is the title track.  Upon first listen, it seemed to express my deepest feelings about faith as seen through the lens of my particular worldview.  The thing about Foreman's lyrics is, he taps wonderfully into the duality of the Christian faith.  I can't speak for everyone, but as a believer I find Christianity simultaneously hard to accept on the one hand and unspeakably beautiful on the other.  What Foreman seems to be saying in his song is that when we first come to faith we must face the reality that this world isn't designed to bring us happiness.  We can never find our true selves if we are looking only at what we can understand physically.  His recurring phrase, "I don't belong here," is a telling one.  God has in mind for us so much more than the world alone can offer.  Still, it's a disappointing thing to realize that we aren't sufficient in ourselves, that contentment can never be found in life despite the many false promises that are constantly whispered in our ears.  It's a letdown to find that happiness on our own terms will never come to be.  Of course, Foreman taps into the brighter side of faith as well.  God doesn't reveal His higher truth for the sole purpose of showing us how insufficient our reality is.  He doesn't create a longing or desire in us that He is not willing to satisfy.  But God's terms are such that we must leave behind that which cannot fulfill us in search of that which brings hope and the promise of peace.  Over time my life has reflected, and still does, the truth of Foreman's words.  It hasn't always been easy for me to admit that I need God.  When life is going smoothly, it almost seems harsh that God insists that I stop living on my own terms.  But the thing is, whatever is good in this world is but a fragmented reflection of what is truly good, and all of that comes from God's eternal reality.  We may find moments of peace, times of acceptance, real successes and joys from time to time as we trod through this life, but the deeper, more resonate truth is that this is not our home.  Accepting that as truth comes with a price, but the freedom to be found in God's arms as we turn our gaze from this world and onto Him is priceless.  I'm still 'letdown' when I face difficulties and life runs me down, when I try to make sense of circumstances that leave me with a bitter "why" on my lips.  I want things to be easier.  I want to succeed.  I want life to make more sense.  Thing is, you can't expect to find the answers where they do not exist.  We want this world to satisfy us, desperately at times.  We don't see that God has specifically made us to be letdown, that we may look up to see (and dare to desire) that which is far more beautiful.