A NO GOOD, TERRIBLY BAD, TRULY AWFUL DAY
- Key Verse
- "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil." (Job 3:26)
READ THE CHAPTER
Central Truth
Some days, some seasons -- well, everything just goes all wrong. As Christ-followers, we sometimes think we're guaranteed continual bliss. Life's not like that, though. Where is God in all of that? Can we really trust Him with our litany of anguish and frustration?
Reflections
In November of 2006, I was shot in the chest during a carjacking attempt just a few miles from our church. The ensuing weeks of recovery were full of roller coaster rides of emotion: thrilled to have miraculously survived and to be healing ... then desperately anxious about how this randomly insane event had changed our lives. I had to heal physically. I also had to heal mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and the questions I asked God were not too unlike those that Job asks in his lament. There were lots of "why's" and "what ifs" and "how could this have happened?"I am normally a very positive person. My glass is always half, sometimes even three-quarters, full! Being shot though, surviving a violent crime that terrified an entire community, was at times too much. I distinctly remember crying into my husband's shoulder one day and lamenting, "Will life ever be normal again? Will we ever be normal and will we be okay?" I had a few nightmares. I had a panic attack or two. I had to get some professional help, but mostly I sat on my deck with my Bible, my coffee and my dogs, and I asked God tough questions as the healing penetrated my body and soul.
As I asked God those tough questions, I heard Him saying, "Ask away...I am big enough." During this extraordinary season of my life, I learned that He is big enough for my anger, my confusion, my pain, my bouts of depression and anxiety. Whether that "no good, truly bad, terribly awful" time is a day or a lengthy season, He is willing to walk through it with me when I will humbly trust Him.
Later, we'll read that Job truly understood how great God was. He did not understand His ways, but he comprehended God's character and faithfulness, even in the midst of his incomprehensible trials. God can handle our questions. He can handle our frustration. When there is no peace or rest, only turmoil, He is still there. We just have to look, and listen.
Discussion Questions
1. Can you describe a time when you wanted to ask God very tough questions?2. What were some of the hard questions you asked God about your "terribly bad" time?
3. How did He reveal Himself to you?
4. How have others' stories inspired you to look for God, even in the midst of very difficult times?
Comments
The views expressed under “Comments” are solely
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Hill Country Bible Church NW.
Mark Sutton
March 3, 2010 05:19 AM
Amy, Thanks for sharing. Our God reigns and truly cares about details of my life. He grants me peace when I seek him, turn from sin and listen to what he has for me.
Chip Smith
March 3, 2010 06:35 AM
Good morning Amy. It is interesting how those terribly bad times define us isn't it? Everyone who reads the Bible identifies Job with suffering and loss as well as faith. As I saw it was you and Job 3, I was hoping to hear more about your ordeal and how you dealt with it. Sometimes when your name comes up in conversation, I'll hear someone say, "Oh yeah, isn't she the one who was shot by a carjacker?" I'm sure you would rather have skipped earning that moniker just as Job laments in chapter 3, but as your last paragraph reveals Job's ultimate outcome, so I also hear, "Wasn't it amazing how Amy held onto to God during that time and recovered?" Job is not my favorite book to go through, but his story does help me hold onto faith even when it all just doesn't make sense. The story of your ordeal in 2006 does the same. Thanks not only for today's log, but also your life's testimony.
Melinda Fritschle
March 3, 2010 07:09 AM
Hi Amy, We moved here early in 2006 and I will never forget the shock and disbelief on Hope's face when she told me about you and what had happened. We were praying for you throughout and growing in our faith by the example of grace you showed through this most difficult time. This morning I found something I wrote when our family was suffering through lose of loved ones. "It is not HOW we get through......It is WHO gets us through. HE does!" Thank you for this mornings devotional.
Tim Hawks
March 3, 2010 08:38 AM
Amy, you certainly did go through a very dark valley during and after the shooting. I see the parallel with your story and Job's lament. Sometimes healing begins with an honest expression of the depths of our disappointments. God can work with a honest, humble heart.
David Redding
March 3, 2010 10:02 AM
Amy, thanks for your personal devotional this morning. After the sermon on Sunday, I struggled to figure out what lamenting really looks like and how that could play out in my life. Thanks for providing such a clear picture of what a lament looks like. It think it is so cool to see how God has weaved the relationships brought into your life during that time and the relief effort in Haiti! Full circle and God was there all the time and knew the outcome. How much it must grieve him to see us endure the tough times - he crys with us. I apprecaite you very much!
Lisa Shaw
March 3, 2010 10:46 AM
Amy, Job isn't a fun book to read through but one that I have certainly turned to many times in my life. I just forwarded this on to Michael, our son who had open heart surgery last week. Your devotional today is inspiring.
myra
March 3, 2010 10:47 AM
Amy Although I've never met you, I remember praying for you as I'm sure countless others did. I am so sorry for your no good, terribly bad, truly awful day. And so grateful that God proved himself "big enough".
Linda Jean Butler
March 3, 2010 02:43 PM
Whenever I am tempted to despair of life, I remember people like you who have overcome such traumatic experiences and realize it could always be worse. God has used your experience so many times to help so many. Although you had to go through that deep valley, I'm sure you had no idea what a blessing it would truly turn out to be.
Bob A
March 8, 2010 12:17 PM
Great insight and remedy, Amy. You communicated the truth of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 very well. Glad you are still with us!!