Ever had a Bad Day?

I read the following a few years back and have hung onto this to remind myself that we all do have bad days from time to time.

How to Tell When It's Going to be a Rotten Day

You call Suicide Prevention & they put you on hold

You see a "60 Minutes" news team waiting in your office

Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles

You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes out of the city

Your twin sister forgot your birthday

Your car horn goes off accidentally & remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway

Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat

Hopefully none of these things have happened to you, but bad things do happen to good people.  Sometimes describing them as bad just touches the tip of the iceberg.  And we often ask why?  As Joni Eareckson Tada says, we often ask, “Why me?  Why now?  Why this?”; as if we should be immune to trouble. 

There are reasons we suffer and hurt.  All of our pains cannot be explained, but they will usually fall into one of the following categories:

1.)       The Sin of Adam – Because Adam and Eve sinned, this world was cursed and the penalty for sin was death.  We live in a fallen world of sinful people and death, pain, and suffering came as a result of their failure.

2.)       Our own sin – we do reap what we sow.  Our lifestyles and the decisions we make all have consequences.  God doesn’t shield us from the effects of our decisions.

3.)       Sin of Others – You’ve probably heard it said that no man is an island and that is certainly true.  Our sin affects those around us, from our homes, to our communities, to our nation.  If you don’t believe it, look around at how many children are suffering today because of the sins of their parents.

4.)       Because of Satan – Luke 13:16 says, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”  It doesn’t give us a lot of details other than to say Satan was the cause of her infirmity.  Job was living a righteous life when Satan challenged God to allow him to afflict Job.

5.)       Sometimes it’s the trying of our Faith that puts us through the storm.  Check out Job, Abraham, Isaac, David, Paul, or just read Hebrews 11.

6.)       And there are always the times that we suffer for God’s Glory.  Remember in John 9:2 when the Disciples asked Jesus why a man was born blind?  In John 9:3 Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”  Sometimes God is working in ways we do not understand to show Himself and His Glory to an unbelieving world.

You don’t know why you’re going through the trial you are right now?  As my dear friend Pastor Tom James says, “When you can’t see His hand, trust His heart”.  I concur.  He will not let you down.