A Quick Fix For A Bad Day
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7
Not too long ago, I found myself in the midst of a really bad day. Nothing seemed to be going the way I expected. One setback after the other kept popping up. Things that normally wouldn’t have gotten to me made start to cry. It was just one of those days.
In the midst of all of that, my best friend Melanie texted me to see how I was doing. And instead of giving her the normal answer of “Oh I’m doing pretty good!” I unloaded on her. I told her everything. And as I talked about all the stuff on my mind, I also explained that I was blasting worship music and trying to remember every Bible verse about trusting God and finding peace in Him and praying when my heart is heavy. In other words, I was doing whatever I knew to do to try to make things better as quickly as possible.
But in true Melanie fashion, she responded with a mix of empathy and truth. And her reminder is one that I won’t soon forget. She said, " I know it’s so hard, but it’s okay that it’s not just a quick fix of remember what’s true and then voila it’s all good again!”
I hadn’t ever thought about it that way before, but she was right. Just because we remember what is true, and inform our feelings, and recite all of the Bible verses we’ve memorized, that doesn’t mean we’re instantly going to feel better. It doesn’t mean all of our problems are going to go away. After all, if you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, you know that there aren’t very many quick fixes when it comes to faith.
God doesn’t promise to make our lives smooth. He doesn’t promise that we won’t face hard times. He doesn’t promise that we won’t have difficult days that make us want to cry. But He does promise to give us peace in the midst of what we’re going through. And while what was bothering me on that hard day didn’t disappear, and while my circumstances didn’t change immediately, I did begin to feel peace as the day went on.
So if you’re having a hard day today, or if you face a hard day in the days to come, my hope is that you remember what Melanie said. Yes, you should fill your mind with truth. Yes, you should run to the Lord when you’re facing difficult situations. But you shouldn’t expect that doing those things is going to be a quick fix. I’ve learned first hand that the Lord takes His time, and He uses that time to grow your faith, develop your trust, and increase your hope in Him.