There's a Chinese proverb that speaks plainly: 'Misfortune never travels alone.' This time around however, not only did it not travel alone, it brought friends and family and ran over you like a freight train, demolishing your hopes and ambitions for the future. You are flat on your back, and not necessarily in metaphor.
Following Christ does not exempt you from the troubles and trials of ordinary life. The path through the green meadows and by peaceful streams sometimes also passes through the dark valley of death. The bed of roses we lie on also comes with thorns. Worst of all, sometimes we do not feel God's presence. We echo the Psalmist's cry: 'My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?' (Psalms 22:1)
Well, know this. Despite the failure that has crushed you, God is still with you. While we might not feel His presence all the time, clouded as we are by depression and anxiety, faith whispers to our hearts that this failure will not be the end of us. God has promised that He will not break a bruised wick or snuff out a smoldering wick. (Isaiah 42:3) Fragile as we may be in our hour of helplessness, God will not let us be crushed.
Trouble sometimes happens with God's permission, to test and refine us. This sounds all well and good when you hear it from the pulpit while sitting in the pews, but when problems actually hit you in the face, you might catch yourself muttering, "Gee, thanks." No sane person likes trouble and difficulty, unless you're a masochist. Such trials, however, may be God's way of waking you up. I went through a tough time once, where well-laid plans and months of preparation culminated in one mistake that ruined everything. I felt terrible and shut myself in my room. But following a conversation with a close friend and my mother (thank God for both!) I realised that I had taken my efforts for granted. God was teaching me that 'we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.' (Proverbs 16:9) Man may propose, but only God can dispose. No plan or good effort will produce anything without God's help. Jesus said it: "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5) I was arrogant, thinking I could make it on my own without God. He was proving me wrong.
As a believer, how we handle the lemons that life throws at us is often more important than the crisis itself. It isn't hard to be at least passably good in everyday life. The true test comes when everything is going south. King Solomon wrote, 'If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.' (Proverbs 24:10) We need to take a good hard look at ourselves and see if we are reacting to failure or responding to it. Perhaps we can take a good lesson from Paul the Apostle. After casting out a demon from a slave girl in the city of Philippi in Macedonia, he and his companion Silas were mobbed, flogged, and thrown into prison. (Acts 16:16-24) With bleeding wounds and smarting bruises, and their rights clearly violated (Acts 16:37), they chose to open their mouths, and instead of violent curses, they sang praises to God! What happens next is well-known. The prison was broken open by a violent earthquake and they were set free. The jailer, who previously manhandled and bound them, fell at their feet and asked to be saved. When morning dawned, Paul and Silas were free, a public apology had provided a measure of security to the fledgling church (Acts 16:39), and a very happy man and his family had joined God's Kingdom.
Paul probably had this among many incidents in mind when he wrote:
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good to us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. (Romans 5:3-4)
So take time to acknowledge the problem. If it was your fault, recognise that you made a mistake, and accept the consequences. If it wasn't, realise that troubles will sometimes come your way without reason. But remember that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. (Romans 8:27) We need to be reminded of this every day and every time we face trouble. I might even be coming back to this page and reading my own words when life turns sour. But one thing we must know: God is always faithful.
And I'm sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. (Philippians 1:6)
Keep the faith and God bless!
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