One Bad Day

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” John 1:5 (NLT)

When I stop to consider it, it really is quite incredible how one bad day can completely derail our attitude and focus.

So I’ve started potty training my 23 month old daughter. For those of you that are mothers, I can stop here. For those of you that are not mothers, suffice to say, it’s been rough.

Circumstances weigh so heavily on our emotions and, consequently, our attitude. And, it seems, all it takes one bad day, one bad situation or event, one bad argument, one negative word, to change our praise into lament.

I was listening to the radio yesterday and the DJ shared that on his way to work he was praying for his wife. In the middle of his prayer another vehicle cut him off and his prayer was immediately halted as he became enraged at the other driver. His purpose for sharing was because he realized how quickly our focus can switch from God and His ability to our physical circumstances. Who can relate? I am the first to say “I can!” I admired him for sharing his story because as Christians, we often feel an even greater sense of pressure or responsibility to put on an image of perpetual joy and perfection because the Bible tells us to be like Jesus. Consequently, when we fail or feel anything other than love and happiness, often it sparks negative self-talk. Subsequently we often feel too ashamed to share our failures with anyone because we’re not living up to the “standard” of Christianity. This creates a lonely, downward spiral and, try as we might to suppress our feelings and do our best to begin anew, negativity and guilt begins to dominate our thoughts and depression is right on its heels.

I believe that Christians are often susceptible to depression because we rarely talk about our failures, our shortcomings, our personal struggles. We don’t want our ‘community’ to see that side of us (and we ALL have that side).

The expectation of never feeling or expressing emotion other than joy, sunshine, and rainbows is unrealistic. It’s not real life and it's not the example that was set for us. We don’t have to look any further than Jesus to realize that everyone has bad days and that, even as Christians, it's not 'warm fuzzies' all the time and it’s OKAY. It’s real. Jesus had hard days of persecution, he got angry with self-righteousness and hypocrisy (Matt. 7: 4-5, Mark 3:5), he was indignant with unlove (Mark 10:13-15), he got annoyed with unbelief (Mark 16:14, Luke 9:40-41), he was angry with dishonoring God (Mark 11:15-17) he grieved loss (John 11:33-35), and he cried in desperation (Matt. 26:37-39, Luke 22:44). However, I believe that what set him apart were the actions that followed his feelings - he submitted to God. He let his actions reflect his heavenly father instead of his current state. When the bible says to be imitators of Jesus, THAT is what we need to reflect. We will experience the full spectrum of emotions and seasons of life, but it's our response that makes us stand apart and testifies to others.

My hope is that this post serves as an encouragement to let you know that you are not alone. Your circumstances, whether they warrant emotion for others or not, are your circumstances that you must walk through. Your feelings, right or wrong, are your feelings. These circumstances and emotions need to be addressed/recognized, whether it’s just an immediate, quick moment between you and God to refocus, or you seek Godly counsel from a trusted friend so that you are able to choose a response that glorifies God and blesses your heart.

"In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short." Proverbs 24:14 (NLT)