One of my all time favorite quotes comes from a man who used to be an atheist, C.S. Lewis. “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done.”

That’s how I look at life.  Sure, we hear people say, “Today is a new day” or “Each day is a new beginning to become who you want to be”.  While I can’t argue with those inspirational quotes, I believe C.S Lewis hit the nail on the head with his simple, yet profound description of a new day.

Here’s why. We are not in control of our lives. I, like most people, try my hardest to make each day go my way.  Don’t hear me wrong, to some extent we do have control.  We make the decision to have a positive attitude, undeterred by days where everything seems to be going wrong.  We choose to forgive those who may have hurt us.  And sometimes, we have to wake up and forgive all over again because forgiveness can be hard. We smile and pick ourselves up, even when all we want to do is complain.  We commit to dinner plans with friends who need our love, despite our exhaustion from work.  It would be easier to ditch all of that, and sometimes I do.

This is where relying on God comes into play. Romans talks a lot about our broken human desires and the inability to overcome them without the help from God. Let’s face it. It’s true.  When I’m not consist in my walk with the Lord, I find myself dwelling, selfishly more negative and self righteous. It makes sense when you look at passages like Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  But thankfully, that passage is followed up with hope. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

You see, there will be bad days. There will be bad weeks. Heck, maybe even bad months. But I promise you, if you focus on what God is trying to teach you in the moments that, for a lack of a better word, suck, you’ll realize there is a purpose behind all of the pain.  At times, it’s okay not to be okay…but you can’t sit there.

You can’t remain paralyzed because you’ll miss too much.  You’ll miss the comfort that comes from choosing to be happy when the world would understand if you were sad. You’ll miss the blessing you have on someone when they see how you embrace loving well in the face of being treated poorly. You’ll miss the beauty in changing your habits, which lead to a better way of thinking about life.  And most importantly, you’ll miss all of the ways that God has intended for you to grow through the trials and tribulations of this life.  So next time you’re having a bad day, hard week, or serious struggle…look around.  There is a genuine blessing somewhere in that mess.

All messed up,