Celebrate Bad Times (C'mon!)

Wow. If anyone ever had a doubt in his mind about God's power or even God's existence, the testimonies of people who have been saved by God would surly persuade him to think otherwise. To hear the stories of people who had once hit rock bottom, who had been abused on all levels by others or by themselves, who had come inches from death, who had thought once that they were worthless or useless, or who didn't care if they woke up the next day, is an amazing experience. When you see these people after hearing such stories, you are left wondering, "How could this person have ever been like that? They look as though they've lived this way forever."

I heard the testimony of a woman who had once been a heroin addict. She had been sexually and emotionally abused. She had gone to the hospital several times for overdosing on drugs and even flat-lined once. She had also been with child before, but lost the baby. While she spoke of these things, I was amazed because before me sat a beautiful woman. She was clean and healthy-looking, staying sober, and despite all she had been through, she somehow had the strength to talk about it. She was a follower of Christ and truly believed He was the Savior of her soul and the Lord of her life.

There are thousands of stories like that, all told by unique people, individual souls. Each story belongs to one person, but they share the same way to recovery. And the way to their recovery is Jesus Christ. Wow... if I ever have a doubt about the wonders of God, all I have to do is think of all the people who have been changed by Him. And when people say things like, "Why does God let bad things happen" it's easy to see through these people that everything happens for a reason.

God loves us all so much, even in our darkest times. It's when we believe the lies of this world that we don't see the good that comes out of bad situations. The evil one wants us to turn on God and see Him as the enemy, but really satan is the enemy. He fills ours minds with lies from this world, leading us to believe that we are worthless or that God doesn't care about us. It's garbage! No one in the world can love like God. He let His only Son suffer a horrible death so that we could be saved, so that we would have a chance to find the way to freedom. Jesus could have just as easily said, "I am your Son, Lord! Why would You let this happen?" But He didn't. And because of His sacrafice and willing acceptance of his crucifixion, we were saved, and He rose again to life. He is the Lord of death and the Lord of life. When we are dying, He is longing to make us whole again, to bring us back to life.

I love my Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him I am lost, incomplete, and weak. He has guided me through a divorced home and many other downfalls in my life. I will never be able to thank Him enough for saving my life and saving so many others. My God is an awesome God. No other being can even compare. Amen!