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| Life's mishaps |
“Bad
times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not
miss.”~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Are you a good learner? I wonder
sometimes if I am. I often repeat mistakes before I learn from them. I trust
and extend goodwill, despite being burned in the past from those I’ve trusted. I won’t say it hasn’t made me more guarded, though, because it has.
Embracing bad times as valuable
means a willingness to walk through a trial instead of asking
God to remove it. Tough one, huh?
So maybe the better question is:
Am I a willing learner?
A
heart well prepared for adversity in bad times hopes, and in good times fears
for a change in fortune.~Horace, Roman poet
How do we prepare for adversity?
For a Christian, that means staying rooted in God’s Word and at His feet in
prayer. If we do that, we need not fear a “change in fortune.”
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
Would it help us to prepare for
the bad, if we knew our future? Probably not. As Horace observed, it would fuel
our fears and rob us of happiness during good times. God’s plan is always
better than ours. The ebb and flow of good and bad is something He has deemed
worthy for us to experience to grow deeper in our relationship with Him.
Are you ready to embrace
adversity as an opportunity for growth?
Do you have a prayer need? I’d
love to pray for you. Please share in the comments section below or e-mail me
confidential requests.
Betty asks for
prayer for her mother-in-law who recently lost her husband to Alzheimer’s. She’s
experiencing her own health issues now including memory problems and
fibromyalgia. Please pray for a return to good health and wisdom for the family
as they seek answers.
The permanent prayer list is at
the top of this blog, as well as Sgt. Jesse McCart’s updates. Would you take a
moment to lift up these folks in prayer? Thanks.J
Shalom,
Laura
©Laura Hodges Poole
Photo courtesy of Microsoft.com
free clip art
