Why Does God Allow Bad Days?

You know, sometimes I just have a bad day. Does that ever happen to you? Do you ever feel like your day just can't get any worse? Now, think quietly to yourself about the last time you had a bad day. Maybe you're not having such a great day right now! How did you feel when you had a bad day? Angry? Frustrated? Hurt? Embarrassed? Sad? I have felt all those things, and I'm sure you have too. But there is something I want you to think about the next time you are having a difficult day. I call it 'The three L's of Life'. Can you guess what they are?

First, remember that God allows us to LEARN.

Bad days teach us something. They teach us compassion. Think about this verse from Hebrew: We do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:15. Jesus has compassion on us. He had to endure terrible things, and he is able to have understanding on us. Jesus certainly had bad days, too!

Our 2nd 'L' is LESSON.

God is always disciplining us. Now that doesn't mean he is punishing us. He is making us better. He is improving us, training us. That's discipline. In each bad day, God has a lesson we can learn! What is the lesson God wants you to learn today? Maybe He wants you to learn that how to overlook an offense. Maybe He wants you to learn that you can trust Him to bring you through this bad day. I know someone who had a lot of bad days--David. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, it did! Was God there for David? God was right there the entire time. But God gave David difficulties to discipline him--to help David become better. David leaned many lessons in his life, and He trusted God through all those many bad days.

The 3rd 'L' to remember is LOVE.

Have you ever watched Clifford the Big Red Dog? It's about a little girl named Emily who loved her dog so much that he (Clifford) grew bigger than any other dog in the world. Do you think God loves you that much? He loves you so much more than that! Why does God let you have bad days? Because He loves you. God wants you to grow into a beautiful person. Just like Emily's love for Clifford made him grow Big, God's love for us makes us grow big too--we become filled with big, wonderful heavenly blessings. He wants blessings for you--not blessings like toys and candy, which fade away, but heavenly blessings that will last forever. Blessings like being a good friend, being humble and sweet, being kind, loving, compassionate and caring. Those kind of blessings you can't buy in a store. You have to become them. And you don't become those things without God--God gives them to you through difficult times, through bad days, hard weeks, tough years.

"All discipline at the moment seems painful rather than pleasant. But later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11.

How will you endure your next bad moment, or you next bad day? Will you remember that you can learn from it? That God can teach you a lesson about Him, or yourself? That God is loving you, even though it feels like you're all alone? Remember those things, and see how good is the Lord our God.