Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Christian and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

~ Erin Blair

When I was a child I remember having a book called “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” In this book, a boy named Alexander goes throughout his day and nothing seems to go right.  He went to sleep with gum in his mouth and woke up with it in his hair.  He accidently dropped his sweater in the sink filled with water.  Everywhere he turns, something goes wrong, even having to eat lima beans for supper.  I’m sure we have all had days like this where nothing seems to go right and we are met with more brick walls then doors.  I don’t know about you, but on days where nothing seems to work in my favor I tend to get down in the dumps and upset.  Who doesn’t have bad days where they just want to shut their bedroom door and shut out the world?  But is this the attitude that a Christian should have?  Should a person confessing to be a New Testament Christian be depressed and down about a “bad” day? 

I was recently discussing this very topic with my husband a few weeks ago, and he helped me in figuring out and studying what the Bible has to say about what a Christian’s attitude should be in “negative” situations.  As we look out into the world, we see so many bad things that we possibly think, “What can I do about it?”  Sometimes we feel so small and insignificant and don’t see how the problems in the world could be fixed.  We need to remember what Jesus told us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” What a conqueror!  Jesus has already overcome and mastered the world, so we don’t need to worry about what problems the world holds, it ultimately doesn’t matter.
But sometimes we are faced with problems that may seem too big, or too hard that we see no possible way to get past it.  It is easy in these situations to stress out or lose sleep over these problems, trying to fix them and not remembering our Lord who is our strength.  David knew this well when he wrote Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
  Sometimes we are tested with trials that seem too much to bear and we think, “Why would God allow this to happen to me?”  and we forget “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) 
Oftentimes when we are having a “bad” day, we are focused on us.  We oftentimes say things such as, “Why did this happen to me?” or “I’m having a bad day.” or “My day couldn’t get any worse.”  We are often selfish and prideful when we are focused on our “bad” day.  We are not thinking about those in need, the widows are who are finishing this walk through life without their spouse, those orphans who have no spiritual leader or guide, or those who have nothing.  It would do us good to sit back and zoom-out and see the world in a bigger picture.  When we are focused on our problems, we forget all the good things in life.  We forget that the sun is shining, or a much needed rain is falling during a drought, the birds are singing, we have a worldwide spiritual family that loves us, and (most importantly) we have a Savior that died for us.  After considering all these things, and there are more depending on your situation in life, are the “bad” days a really “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” day?  Considering all that the Christian has going for them, (a home in Heaven, spiritual family, etc.) we as Christians should be the happiest people on earth!  After all, we have a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7) and have a hope that those in the world do not (1 Peter 3:15).  
I am not saying that we will never have bad days, but the important thing is how to handle it.  We should handle our “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad” days as a Christian should, with joy (James 1:2-3) and with a positive attitude knowing that everything will be okay (Romans 8:28).
Erin is the wife of Jordan Blair who preaches for the New Madrid church of Christ in New Madrid, MO. Erin currently teaches the teen girls class and has helped with preparing and working with church activities like Ladies Days, Prom Alternatives, Youth Rallies and VBS. She is currently working as a paralegal for a law firm.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent post, Erin! I believe this is part of God calling us to be the salt of the earth, a city on a hill, a reflection of His light! Our bad days and how we handle them is a perfect opportunity for others to see God shining through us if we are willing to accept His peace and joy during our struggles. Thanks for sharing!

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