ForgottenWoman

“I’m Blessed!”

Sometimes I’m convinced that those close to me are supposed to believe that I live in continuous happiness: good day after good day, constant satisfaction and peace because I am God’s child. I mean, haven’t you heard that Christians should always answer the question of, “How are you?” with the answer, “I’m blessed!” You know, isn’t that what is expected?

Don’t be fooled. God does tell us to rejoice evermore. He does tell us to give thanks in everything. He does tell us to “count it all joy!” And yes, we are incredibly blessed with the gift of everlasting life, and the beauty of every day given to us. However, the reality of this life is sometimes just incredibly hard. And, in His Word, God also makes it very clear that gratitude and joy do not guarantee easy, good, or even peace on all fronts.

Remember when He says that it rains on the just and the unjust? Remember when He allows us a peek into Paul’s struggles, into David’s despair, into Thomas’s doubts, and more? Throughout His Word, we see humans fighting through bad days.

So, sometimes when I’m battling discouragement or even despair, I take the time to ask some questions… It’s important to at least consider that I may have done something to cause it. It’s also important to understand that I may not have!

So, where do bad days come from? Or a better question is, “Why does God allow them within the lives of His children?”

While bad days may be the immediate result of our choices or even Satan’s meddling, NOTHING happens outside the providential and inscrutable hand of God (Proverbs 16:33). At the very least, God could have stopped or prevented the events and situations which result in what we deem a “bad day” but for reasons we cannot understand, He didn’t. So, during days of ‘adversity’ we strive to remember that “God has made the one as well as the other,” meaning that we remember God’s good and wise hands allow the existence of what we often call “bad days.”

Why does God allow you and me to have bad days?

In Ecclesiastes 7:14, when Solomon says, “so that man may not find out anything that will be after him,” he is speaking to a specific purpose as to why God allows hard days on our paths. The translation from Hebrew to English comes across a bit weird, but the phrase means that God does not want people to know or predict their future. (Maybe so that we will rely completely upon Him!)

Let’s be honest with each other: What we read in Ecclesiastes 7:14 does not make “bad” days any more enjoyable. Solomon’s words here are for believers and they give us consolation when life feels really hard. The consolation? No “bad” day is wasted in God’s providential care.

Even on our worst days God is not unconcerned and He is not distant. He’s as close as the mention of His name. We don’t see or understand all the ways that God is using difficult days to accomplish His purposes but we can trust that He is using them for our ultimate good.

These thoughts bring questions to some of our minds. One such question asked of me recently was this: “Do you think GOD is pleased to have the power to allow horrible heartbreak and loss in our lives for the single purpose that we rely solely on him?” I answered in the best way that I knew how in the moment, “I don’t believe He takes pleasure in our pain at all – nor do I believe that He actually causes some of the heartache we endure. I believe it’s part of the human experience in a fallen world, and He then takes those times and is trustworthy when we depend upon Him to survive each day.”

In all honesty, neither you nor I know the heart of God, nor do we have the ability to understand His ways. What we do know and can cling to is that when we cling to Him – choosing to walk with Him day in and day out – He promises to be our shelter in life’s storms. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to be all that we need when we face the inevitable bad day!

Psalm 91 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”