How To Handle It When Things Fall Apart
He’s alright, but he was complaining about his neck quite a bit on Sunday.
My husband Kenya was pulling out of the lot of a local strip mall on slushy pavement. In order
to get back into the flow of traffic, he had to slowly drive down a slope and wait for an opening.
Despite his efforts to stop, the ice beneath the wheels made conditions too slick for the brakes
to respond to his tapping. The downward pull of gravity, coupled with the slipperiness,
propelled him forward against his will.
Trying his best to pause, he kept on rolling.
“I was praying,” he told me.
Kenya knew if he didn’t come to a halt soon—some way, somehow—he was going to end up in
a major wreck.
Just before gliding into the middle of the road, he managed to yank the wheel and whip the car
out of the way of the automobiles whizzing by at full speed.
Though he avoided a full-on collision (Praise God!), invariably, the hard jerking motion that
strained a muscle in his neck, left him with some residual pain.
Oh the joys of driving in Buffalo winters.
I was just talking to a woman about this very thing last week while I was in North Carolina to
minister at a conference.
A resident of the south all her life, she told me she enjoyed the beauty of the snow, as long as
she didn’t have to get out there and drive in it. “Seeing it and being in it are two different
things,” she said.
She’s got that right!
Sure, I grew up in upstate New York and am somewhat accustomed to snowy roads. I don’t
even mind traveling through flurries. But it can be dangerous. There’s no doubt about that.
You see, no amount of skill or winter driving experience can stop certain things from
happening.
If the roads are too icy, pumping the brakes doesn’t always work. And if the snow begins
blowing, making it difficult to see, no matter how careful a driver is, an accident is highly
probable. One of my younger sisters was just in one.
I suppose that’s what scares most people about driving in the snow: there is an element of
control you lose when you get out there in the elements.
It reminds me a lot of the way life works.
Sometimes, you do everything you can.
You try to be careful, make the right choices, obey God’s word, and avoid obvious pitfalls. And
still, even with all your attempts to get it right, there are some seasons when things go terribly
wrong anyway.
No matter how hard you work to keep negative stuff from happening, the truth is,
circumstances work against you from time to time.
You look up and notice that the very thing you attempted to keep from occurring, comes to
fruition anyway. As Job 3:25 says, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has
happened to me.”
Have you ever had a moment like that?
Relationships falter; careers stall; businesses fail; sickness comes; crises manifest.
But because you did your best, you feel baffled and confused, right?
You ask why. You wonder if it was your fault in some way. You get shaken up and things stop
making sense. You consider what you could have done differently.
What’s the answer?
The answer is, it is not always your fault, my friend.
Life happens to all of us. We each go through setbacks, unpleasant surprises, unexpected
failures, difficult losses, painful upsets, and extreme situations that wound us emotionally.
Life can be unpredictable that way.
Bummer, I know.
But again, it is not always your fault.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV says it this way: “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is
not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the
brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”
Life is not a math equation.
There is no set formula that guarantees desired outcomes 100% of the time. Things don’t
consistently add up in a neat little row. We would all like them to, but that is just not realistic.
We wonder things like:
This can go on and on.
But let me stop you right there. Instead of questioning, which most often leads nowhere but to
more questions, do something else.
When it all goes wrong, call on the name of Jesus. Trust in God’s faithfulness, dependability
and consistency through inconsistent circumstances. Know that life has ups and downs, but
God will lift you up through all the downs.
I would love to tell you the road will always be smooth and if you’ll only do “A” and “B,” then “C”
will be the result.
That’s not true, but here is something that is true, which I’m about to stir into your cup of
inspiration today. Psalm 145:18-19 CEB says, “The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to
him, to all who call out to him sincerely. God shows favor to those who honor him, listening to
their cries for help and saving them.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup today, you will be empowered by this truth: you
cannot avoid unfavorable circumstances, but you can expect God’s favor in every
circumstance.
All you have to do is call on His name. As Psalm 46:1 tells us, He is “a very present help in
trouble.”
You can be sure that trouble will come, but you can also be confident that God will come to
your rescue in the time of trouble.
He will help you through.
Now let’s pray.
My husband Kenya was pulling out of the lot of a local strip mall on slushy pavement. In order
to get back into the flow of traffic, he had to slowly drive down a slope and wait for an opening.
Despite his efforts to stop, the ice beneath the wheels made conditions too slick for the brakes
to respond to his tapping. The downward pull of gravity, coupled with the slipperiness,
propelled him forward against his will.
Trying his best to pause, he kept on rolling.
“I was praying,” he told me.
Kenya knew if he didn’t come to a halt soon—some way, somehow—he was going to end up in
a major wreck.
Just before gliding into the middle of the road, he managed to yank the wheel and whip the car
out of the way of the automobiles whizzing by at full speed.
Though he avoided a full-on collision (Praise God!), invariably, the hard jerking motion that
strained a muscle in his neck, left him with some residual pain.
Oh the joys of driving in Buffalo winters.
I was just talking to a woman about this very thing last week while I was in North Carolina to
minister at a conference.
A resident of the south all her life, she told me she enjoyed the beauty of the snow, as long as
she didn’t have to get out there and drive in it. “Seeing it and being in it are two different
things,” she said.
She’s got that right!
Sure, I grew up in upstate New York and am somewhat accustomed to snowy roads. I don’t
even mind traveling through flurries. But it can be dangerous. There’s no doubt about that.
You see, no amount of skill or winter driving experience can stop certain things from
happening.
If the roads are too icy, pumping the brakes doesn’t always work. And if the snow begins
blowing, making it difficult to see, no matter how careful a driver is, an accident is highly
probable. One of my younger sisters was just in one.
I suppose that’s what scares most people about driving in the snow: there is an element of
control you lose when you get out there in the elements.
It reminds me a lot of the way life works.
Sometimes, you do everything you can.
You try to be careful, make the right choices, obey God’s word, and avoid obvious pitfalls. And
still, even with all your attempts to get it right, there are some seasons when things go terribly
wrong anyway.
No matter how hard you work to keep negative stuff from happening, the truth is,
circumstances work against you from time to time.
You look up and notice that the very thing you attempted to keep from occurring, comes to
fruition anyway. As Job 3:25 says, “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has
happened to me.”
Have you ever had a moment like that?
Relationships falter; careers stall; businesses fail; sickness comes; crises manifest.
But because you did your best, you feel baffled and confused, right?
You ask why. You wonder if it was your fault in some way. You get shaken up and things stop
making sense. You consider what you could have done differently.
What’s the answer?
The answer is, it is not always your fault, my friend.
Life happens to all of us. We each go through setbacks, unpleasant surprises, unexpected
failures, difficult losses, painful upsets, and extreme situations that wound us emotionally.
Life can be unpredictable that way.
Bummer, I know.
But again, it is not always your fault.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV says it this way: “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is
not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the
brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”
Life is not a math equation.
There is no set formula that guarantees desired outcomes 100% of the time. Things don’t
consistently add up in a neat little row. We would all like them to, but that is just not realistic.
We wonder things like:
- I was qualified, why didn’t I get the job?
- I love my children and am involved, so how did they end up on the wrong path?
- I gave everything to my spouse, so why did the marriage fail?
- I took care of my health as well as I knew how, so why did I end up sick?
- I have been faithful in my giving and responsible with my money, so why am I struggling?
This can go on and on.
But let me stop you right there. Instead of questioning, which most often leads nowhere but to
more questions, do something else.
When it all goes wrong, call on the name of Jesus. Trust in God’s faithfulness, dependability
and consistency through inconsistent circumstances. Know that life has ups and downs, but
God will lift you up through all the downs.
I would love to tell you the road will always be smooth and if you’ll only do “A” and “B,” then “C”
will be the result.
That’s not true, but here is something that is true, which I’m about to stir into your cup of
inspiration today. Psalm 145:18-19 CEB says, “The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to
him, to all who call out to him sincerely. God shows favor to those who honor him, listening to
their cries for help and saving them.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup today, you will be empowered by this truth: you
cannot avoid unfavorable circumstances, but you can expect God’s favor in every
circumstance.
All you have to do is call on His name. As Psalm 46:1 tells us, He is “a very present help in
trouble.”
You can be sure that trouble will come, but you can also be confident that God will come to
your rescue in the time of trouble.
He will help you through.
Now let’s pray.
Life can leave us parched, but Jesus can quench
our thirst.
Your Daily Cup of Inspiration is a blog designed
to shift your focus from the things that leave you
thirsty and unfulfilled, and redirect you to the
thirst-quencher, Jesus Christ, who can satisfy
every need you have.
Written by Empowering Everyday Women
Ministries Founder, Dianna Hobbs, thousands
of women from across the nation “drink down”
her inspirational posts daily, leaving them
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the God of their salvation.
The wife, mom of four, and multi-faceted ministry
leader prayerfully writes simple anecdotal posts,
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Whenever you’re dealing with discouragement,
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numerous life challenges, you're invited to have
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"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great
5:16b NLT
If you are struggling, suffering, hurting, and are in
need of a community of Believers in Christ to pray
for you, you're in the right place. Let the
Empowering Everyday Women Intercessory Prayer
Team stand in faith with you.
5:16b NLT
If you are struggling, suffering, hurting, and are in
need of a community of Believers in Christ to pray
for you, you're in the right place. Let the
Empowering Everyday Women Intercessory Prayer
Team stand in faith with you.
God, life is not easy. I have been dealing with some difficult circumstances and
wondering where I went wrong. I don’t understand why I am in this space, but I
know You know all things. So today, I am calling upon Your name, asking You to
be my strength. Though the road has been rough, I know that with You, I can
make it. Please comfort, heal, help and restore me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
wondering where I went wrong. I don’t understand why I am in this space, but I
know You know all things. So today, I am calling upon Your name, asking You to
be my strength. Though the road has been rough, I know that with You, I can
make it. Please comfort, heal, help and restore me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift,
encourage, and empower you!
If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with You. I
know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.
encourage, and empower you!
If you need prayer, don't hesitate to request it. I would be honored to stand in faith with You. I
know that prayer works. CLICK HERE to learn how to submit your prayer request.
JANUARY 20, 2014
HIGHLIGHTED POST
RECENT DEVOTIONALS
THERE IS GRACE FOR YOU
God never said life would always be easy, but
He did say He would not leave us comfortless or
by ourselves in the midst of storms. If you are in
a rough space today, there is grace available
to you.
God never said life would always be easy, but
He did say He would not leave us comfortless or
by ourselves in the midst of storms. If you are in
a rough space today, there is grace available
to you.
