What if the bad thing which recently happened to you was really a good thing? What if that setback was really a set up for something better you can’t see yet?
What if the good thing that recently happened is actually the beginning of a nightmare? What if that step up is really a step back in every possible way?
I know that sounds a bit confusing. You’re probably thinking… “Is he trying to encourage me or make me insecure?”
Our circumstances create the same confusion about the situations we find ourselves in. They tempt us to prematurely label an event as bad or good. The emotions we feel in those moments make us believe this is the end of the story. We think that what we are experiencing is all there ever will be, but it’s not. So much more lies ahead of you!
Who you are and will be is more than just one bad or good event. Certain events–like abuse, are always bad, and others–like the birth of a child, are always good. But lots of other events fall in the confusing territory and we often slap a “bad” label on it before we have any real perspective.
We love to label everything that didn’t go the way we wanted it to as “bad.” But what if the bad circumstance really went our way and we just don’t have the perspective to see it yet?
What if it wasn’t “bad” but just a sharp left turn?
Every great movie, every great story, and every great life has some sharp left turns. Things you never saw coming…losing your job, not getting the promotion, a friend moves, health challenges, parental struggles, a marriage falls apart…all painful events. But the story isn’t over. It may feel like it when you’re going through it, but the book isn’t finished.
Be careful which events you label as good or bad because the story isn’t over.
I remember when I first started out as a church planter we faced a big challenge of finding a new place to meet. Our current location wasn’t working because of the exorbitant rent. So we started looking for a new place to meet. We checked everywhere and nothing was working out…until one special place said yes! Finally God had answered our prayers! The “yes” turned my mourning into dancing!
That one special place was our local funeral home. They would let us use their chapel and surrounding rooms for the grand total of…FREE!!!
I remember leaving the meeting with the funeral home owner walking on clouds. God had heard our cries and had come down to deliver us! We would save tons of money, we had more room, this was the beginning of something good! What could possibly be the down side?
Two weeks later I received a call from the funeral home…it just wasn’t going to work out. We would have to find another place to meet. I was heartbroken. How could God let us down? Why had God forsaken us?
I can laugh about it all now, but in my 24 year old mind I was really confused about what God was doing. Now with a better perspective I understand what I thought was a huge blessing would have been a huge curse. What I confused as God’s abandonment was really God saving me and the church from certain death.
Be careful what circumstances you label as good or bad, because the story isn’t over yet.
A week later God opened up a much better location for us to meet in…the local senior center. (Yes, I know that’s one step away from the funeral home.)
I bet you can think of some painful events you thought you would never recover from but now you’ve found life on the other side. God was faithful and He brought good out of it in ways you could never have imagined at the time.
I hear it from people all the time who thought their story was over, but it was just a sharp left turn…that kept them from going off a cliff.
Maybe you are going through something painful now. If you aren’t, a time will come when you’ll be tempted to label a circumstance as “bad.” Just pause and remember this is just a sharp left turn. Remind yourself the story isn’t over. God is working in ways you can’t yet see. Trust Him. He is the only one who knows the future and He has your best interests in mind. Trust. Him.
As you gain perspective you’ll look back on this moment that you think is “bad” and call it a sharp left turn. You might see it as God’s protection or at the very least the strategic re-direction of your life.
