When the Bad Thing Happened

Have you ever heard the quote "...Into each life, a little rain must fall"?  It basically means that at some point in EVERYONE's life, something bad is going to happen.  It happens to us all.  At some point, something really lousy – crappy – crummy –awful –etc  is going to take place in your life, in my life, in all of our lives.

When this happens, you may find yourself asking this popular question:  “Where are you God and why aren’t you rescuing me IMMEDIATELY?!”  It’s a valid question.  In fact, I believe sometimes it’s a question the Lord wants us to ask.

Recently something very bad happened in my life.  The details of what happened aren’t important to this blog.   What happened as a result of the bad thing is what I want to share:

1.       When the bad thing happened I acted just like a child acts when he or she falls down skins a knee and runs to a parent to make it better.  I RAN to God.  I didn’t crawl.  I didn’t walk casually.  I RAN (in a spiritual sense) to the Lord crying (literally) begging for help.  At the time, I remember feeling terribly alone – this was completely false as I’ll discuss in a later blog.  I learned I was never alone…not for a minute. 

2.       When the bad thing happened I asked God to fix everything immediately.  Isn’t it interesting that often our
idea of a miracle or a miraculous act by God needs to be immediate?   It seems that miracles (acts of God changing things in our lives) are sometimes instant, sometimes take place over a short period of time, and sometimes take what we think is a LOOOOONNNNGGG time.   I learned that my sense of timing is not necessarily the Lord’s timing. 

3.       When the bad thing happened, I suddenly realized there were a lot of “things” in my life that had been distracting me or keeping from having a close relationship with the Lord.  When I was on my knees begging for help, I reminded myself of all the times and things I had done that drove a wedge between me and God.  I remember the little “pet sins” and selfishness I had held onto.   Those things became repulsive to me because all I wanted to do was be near the Lord.  I learned that sometimes it takes something major to “burn away” all of the junk in our lives.  It’s only when I open up all the dark closets in my life and turn on the lights to God, that I am finally in a place where he can do some serious healing and work.  I basically prayed and said “God…I’ve got nothing left…” and I feel like He said, “OK.  Now I can finally do something in your life!” – more on this in a future blog 

4.       When the bad thing happened, my family and friends responded in a HUGE way.  They responded by coming over and just sitting with me.  They responded by calling me.  They responded by texting me to check in.  They responded by bringing food over.  They responded by emailing me.  Most importantly, they responded by covering me in a blanket of prayer.  I learned that the Lord uses people in a powerful way to help in times of crisis.  I further learned how important family and friends are.  It made an impact on me that I will never forget and I have pledged to be a better friend in return.


5.       When the bad thing happened, and I had given everything over to Him, I began to see amazing changes that I honestly didn’t expect.   I learned that Jesus has the power to turn ANYTHING around.  I do mean ANYTHING.  I’ve seen it.  I’ve heard about it.  Now I’ve experienced it for myself!

There is a whole host of things that I learned during this time and I believe I will share them in future blogs.  The question for you is this:  How do you respond when the bad things happen?  How will you respond in the future when they DO happen (because you know they will)?  Will you choose to run to the Lord and have Him turn defeat into an amazing victory?  Or, will you be defeated by the bad thing and live in misery?