Have You Ever Had a Bad Day?

That was the question I asked a group of children the other day as they gathered for some afternoon activities. Every child shot their hand into the air. It was not even, “Let me think about that…I’m not really sure...Let me ask someone what they think…” No, the response was immediate.

Bad days come to us all. There are times when we feel that we can’t endure, that we can’t face what’s ahead of us, that we can’t live with the disappointments and problems; that we can’t carry the heavy load. But these times come and go, as does our strength and courage, and we have to hold on until the shadows brighten and the load lifts. “No one could endure adversity,” said Seneca, “if, while it continued, it kept the same violence that its first blows had…”

There is more built-in strength in all of us than we sometimes suppose. What once we said we couldn’t do, couldn’t live with, or couldn’t carry, we find ourselves somehow doing and enduring as time, reappraisal, readjustment, and sometimes sheer necessity modify our sense of values and our attitudes. We find strength, endurance, and hidden resources within ourselves and the strength and grace of God.

Facing facts and adjusting to life aren’t always easy. But before we give up we should most seriously consider what we are giving up, and what we are going to do. “Out of the frying pan, into the fire,” is an old phrase that has much meaning.

When difficult times come take time to pause and reappraise, allow time for hope, faith and strength to return. These are the times when I find good meaning in going back to the comforting book of Psalms or some of my favorite Biblical texts. It is like a long cool drink to a thirst soul.

Someone said, “If everyone brought their miseries together in one place, most would be glad to take their misery home again…each one’s own.” John Quincy Adams put it this way, “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” I like better the words from Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Go with God,

Pastor Qualley