Bad News, Good News

Right now you may be experiencing the worst moments of your life. You are torn up inside from conflict, your body is physically sick, someone close to you has been lost, you have lost your job, you have no money, and your car won't start. You feel like no one understands you, no one loves you and your life doesn't matter. That's the bad news.

Hold that thought for a moment. The city of Lilburn made the Shell station take down the cross my son's friend had hand carved for him in remembrance of his death. My best friend here in Daphne and roommate has a rare form of prostate cancer. In the last month my house in Lilburn where Paul's wife lives with the kids has had a septic backup, the furnace went kaput, the side door started to leak and the attic has rodents running around chewing things up.  

All of the above in addition to many friends I have who are struggling with health problems and life trials. To top it off I got vertigo a few weeks ago, and through sheer fatigue my body is in full rebellion. That's the bad news.

Here's the Good News: God has better news!

Paul's wife now has that cross that will be saved for generations to come, and so many others have called me remembering him and wondering where that cross went, that makes me feel very good. My friend, Casey and I and his girlfriend have been studying the Bible, talking about spiritual things and he has decided to give his life to the Lord and we will baptize him in the next few days. And, his cancer is curable. That is really Good News!

The septic lines have been cleared, the furnace is fixed, the new door is hung and the rodents are being removed. That's better news. All of this has helped me to start feeling better along with some great doctor's advice and care. Grief can become less, people can heal, lives can be changed, and things can be fixed. And those rodents who continue to chew up our joy can be exterminated. That's really Good News!

But here is the best news of all, if God chooses us and our situation to teach us something about faith, which he does frequently, and we are humble enough to pass it on to someone else, this world will have much more good news than bad news. And our greatest honor is that our lives will change to honor him in how we handle the bad news when it comes our way. People will notice.

That's really, really Good News!