Have you ever had "one of those days"? As the old song said, "Mama said there'd be days like this!" I am having "one of those days". Just as an example, the shut-in I visited today, in answer to my question of her accent, replied, "Why the h*%! do you care?!!"
The day got so bad, I was afraid to do anything of any significance, fearing that whatever I did would result in disaster. Now, my tendency when this happens is to BLOW and take it out on the easiest targets (namely my family). I hate it when I do this! So, today, I am acting differently.
Last night, K and I watched a movie starring Randy Travis (that's right, the country singer) called "The Wager". It is about a man who had everything, only to lose everything within a very short amount of time. And the character portrayed by Travis attempts to live out Jesus' Sermon on the Mount through it all. It was a great movie, and I highly recommend it.
Today, when my day started to go haywire, I thought, "Huh, it seems God had me watch that movie last night for a reason."
As I sat in my office after returning from my horrendous visit, I thought about a conversation I had with my wife just this morning where she said, "God uses difficult situations and people to bring to the surface any ungodly heart issues that lie hidden deep within us." Could it be that He was bringing ugly stuff in my life to the surface through this extremely bad day to dispose of it, kind of like a pimple? After all, I reasoned, until it ripens fully, there's nothing you can do about it; but once it is fully to the surface, He can "pop" away!
Then I thought of this passage from I Peter 1 in the Bible: "...now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
So, if it takes a no good, very bad day to refine me and bring to the surface all that is within me that doesn't glorify the Father, I'm gonna stand my ground in prayer and in the confidence of God's goodness and say, "Go ahead, God, pop my zits!"
The day got so bad, I was afraid to do anything of any significance, fearing that whatever I did would result in disaster. Now, my tendency when this happens is to BLOW and take it out on the easiest targets (namely my family). I hate it when I do this! So, today, I am acting differently.
Last night, K and I watched a movie starring Randy Travis (that's right, the country singer) called "The Wager". It is about a man who had everything, only to lose everything within a very short amount of time. And the character portrayed by Travis attempts to live out Jesus' Sermon on the Mount through it all. It was a great movie, and I highly recommend it.
Today, when my day started to go haywire, I thought, "Huh, it seems God had me watch that movie last night for a reason."
As I sat in my office after returning from my horrendous visit, I thought about a conversation I had with my wife just this morning where she said, "God uses difficult situations and people to bring to the surface any ungodly heart issues that lie hidden deep within us." Could it be that He was bringing ugly stuff in my life to the surface through this extremely bad day to dispose of it, kind of like a pimple? After all, I reasoned, until it ripens fully, there's nothing you can do about it; but once it is fully to the surface, He can "pop" away!
Then I thought of this passage from I Peter 1 in the Bible: "...now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
So, if it takes a no good, very bad day to refine me and bring to the surface all that is within me that doesn't glorify the Father, I'm gonna stand my ground in prayer and in the confidence of God's goodness and say, "Go ahead, God, pop my zits!"
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