So You Had A Bad Day

Last week I had a bad day. It started when we realized that we had no hot water because … our hot water heater had died. A few hours later our garage was flooding. A few hours after that we had spent $650 to have it replaced.

Then we discovered that our dog had gotten into a bag of chocolate chips and had proceeded to throw up (dozens of times?) (pounds of chocolate vomit?) all over the house. Hours of cleaning ensued.

Then my wife got the call. Her grandmother, who had been having heart problems for a week or two, was getting worse. She might not have long. Jen should come and say goodbye.

What do you do when you have a bad day?

A few months ago at Verve we talked about how we tend to fall into the same old bad ruts with trials and temptations. To change that we need to memorize Bible verses that we can recite to ourselves to help us change perspective (when hit by trials or temptations) by infusing truth into our situation, and thereby changing our response – providing a new (good) rut to fall into.

Last week we also read Romans 8 in our Verve bible reading plan, and that chapter gives us some great verses to memorize to create a new rut when bad days hit:

• “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (8:18)
• “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (8:28)
• “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:38-39)

Man, you memorize those three verses, and when the crap hits, you stop, you say them (with conviction), and your response to what’s happening totally changes.