Have you ever had a stretch of time when things just seemed to go from bad to worse? It is very easy during those times to ask, “Why me?” or to say, “Life isn’t fair!” If we aren’t careful we can get discouraged, angry, frustrated, cynical and even vengeful.
For me, it all started while I was visiting the Tai-Kadai Project. After we got the obligatory meetings out of the way, I was able to spend some one-on-one time with the missionaries and discuss life, ministry and future plans. Overall, the visit went well. The student missionaries were healthy, adjusting to their new environment and excited about ministry. The career missionaries were also doing well and working to juggle life and ministry. I really enjoy visiting projects and spending time with my missionaries. (Please keep them in your prayers!) But after a couple of weeks on the road, I am usually ready to get home, spend time with my family and fix all the things that break. Sadly enough, I would have a lot of the latter to deal with.
About two days before I returned home, I got the first bit of bad news. “The Internet doesn’t work,” Hannah said. I asked if she had reset the modem or called the Internet provider. She had. Unfortunately, she was told it would be at least two weeks before a technician could come. It actually took four weeks for the repair to be made.
After I got home, my boys told me their bad news. One had a broken watch, and the other a laptop that wouldn’t turn on. I looked at both items but had no clue how to fix them. As if these weren’t enough, my daughter told me that the electric piano wasn’t working.
“What is going on in this house?” I mumbled.
After a quick examination of the piano, feeling like Sherlock Holmes, I figured out the problem. The piano was designed for 110 volts, but my daughter had plugged it directly into a 220-volt plug. (We were still in the Philippines.)
I don’t know if this was all the work of the devil or just coincidence, but I can tell you that it was a pretty frustrating time for me. I am not an electrician, and we don’t have a line item in our home budget for fixing electronics.
That Sabbath at church, we had a very inspiring African preacher, vivacious and humorous. With a magnificent accent, he shared very frankly about the recent trials he had experienced. In the face of adversity, his usual reply was “I’m finished!” But he had quickly learned that we aren’t defined by our successes or failures. We don’t live for the things we do, we live for Jesus. Regardless of the situation, we need to proclaim the glory of God. I left the church thinking to myself, We may be having all of these issues with electronic devices. But I don’t live for them. I live for Jesus, and with His help we can figure it out! So I made the choice to lay my burden down at the feet of Jesus.
Dear reader, if you are wrestling with a major problem or series of problems, I want to encourage you. God will help you! Don’t let problems define you or be the focus of your life. Stay focused on Jesus and live for Him no matter the situation.
