GOOD FROM BAD

A man bought a home which he felt would suit his needs. It was a fine house in a good neighborhood, the soil was rich and there was even a small area in back which he was sure would be good for a garden. But when he began spading his garden, he struck rock! He soon discovered his entire garden area had a rock layer just a few inches under the surface, so the soil could grow little.

And because the man had always wanted a garden, he was very disappointed. “Why me?” he wondered. Yes, the house was nice and the lawn mostly green, but he was sad. Even when he hauled in more soil, his garden grew hardly a thing. Then he discovered it was because that surface rock was a vein of coal on which little could grow. He would have no garden, and so he was very sad.

When bad things come our way, our first response usually is, “Why me?” And yet, when good things come our way we hardly ever ask, “Why me?” It's because we believe good things should be the norm and bad things should be the exception. Most people expect life should be mostly always good, and rarely bad.

We humans are very adept at labeling events either “good” or “bad.” But are those labels correct? For instance, we call business success “good,” but don't consider that it can lead to excessively long work hours, or separated families, or exhausted bodies, or the temptation to love money. And we call disease or trouble “bad,” but forget that such events can also teach us perseverance, or a source of inner strength, or cause us to seek God, or even draw families closer together.

We need to try viewing “good” and “bad” through God's eyes. He has a longer view of our life than we do. God has promised to make all things work together for good for those who love Him. He can make "good" come out of our "bad." Disease, disappointment, troubles, even death can and will touch each of us. But when we havea faith and trust in our Lord Jesus, God can make it turn out for our good.

I suppose I could finish the story by saying the man made a fortune from his vein of coal, but that would miss the point. In the midst of our pain and trouble we need to realize that God can smooth the rough edges of our life and even make a diamond out of our lump of coal.

What “bad” things in your life can God make “good” for you?