So You Had a Bad Day: A Blessing or a Curse for a Christian?

We've all been there. The car won't start. Your coffee spills in your car, leaving a stinky, soppy mess and no paper towels are in sight. You receive three once-a-year bills in the same month. You are in a fight with your friend/colleague/family member/significant other/pet/neighborhood squirrel. Your heart sinks and you feel frustrated, angry, depressed, or stressed. You've been triggered.

Everyone has bad days. Not only are they inevitable, for a Christian, they are guaranteed. John 16:33 says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." 1 Peter 4:12-13 says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

Usually, when this happens, we will tell a friend or loved one that we had a "bad day." What is a bad day? Usually this is the label we use when things aren't going the way we would have liked, hoped, or planned. We look at the way we are feeling and decide that we shouldn't have to feel that way. When we get what we want, we feel "happy" or "on top of the world." When we don't get what we want, we feel emotions which our culture has taught us are negative, such as sadness, frustration, or anger.

However, there is a great release in approaching our emotions as opportunities for growth. It is my belief that bad days are one way God highlights things we need to surrender more fully to him. If we didn't have these "bad days," we would lose the chance to change.

For instance, let's say that you arrive at work, only to have a customer or co-worker snap a rude remark at you. Instantly, you feel insulted and wronged. Your whole day has started on the wrong foot, and, of course, it's all your co-workers fault. However, you have the choice to let the remark sink into your skin like a cancer or to let it go. In this way, you can practice grace and forgiveness for your fellow man. You don't know what the other person has been through. Maybe they are in pain and aren't mindful of how they are impacting you. Through this interaction, God shows you your need for more grace for yourself and others. You begin to pray for that person. What an opportunity for positive growth! However, if the co-worker or customer hadn't made the remark and everything had been easy and trouble free, you would not have learned this lesson or had this moment.

This same rule can apply in more serious situations, such as loss of a job or serious illness. It is very easy to glibly roll off phrases about trusting God when everything is going smoothly. But during times of trouble, our faith is truly tested. We can begin to resent God because we don't understand what is happening. We feel out of control and resentful. Sometimes this causes us to ignore God or not talk to him. We don't want to tell him we are angry. We think it is wrong to be angry at God. But God can take our emotions. He is big enough to handle them. Look at the prophet Jeremiah, who said, "O Lord you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me." (Jer. 20:7) After Jeremiah wrote this, he tried to ignore God's call on His life and not speak truth as a prophet. Later, he found he could not keep silent. Read Jeremiah 20 for the whole story.

Just like Jeremiah, sometimes, we feel deceived by God. How could we, as Christians, get cancer, lose a job, be bankrupt, or not be able to conceive a child? However, we learn to trust God by leaning on Him during these tough times. During these "bad days," we fall deeper in love with God.

Bad days are truly God's spotlight. He shines his light on those areas we need to truly surrender to Him. Then he carves out the junk and makes us new creations in Him. Next time you catch yourself telling someone you are having a bad day, try to force yourself to say and think that you are receiving an opportunity to grow.