When things go well for us, our reaction is usually favourable: we enjoy celebrating; we may even remember to praise God for the good things and good times! When something bad happens, however, we are usually full of questions: ‘why has this happened to me? Whose fault is it? Does God even care?’
Life will inevitably bring us a combination of good times and bad times and how we react is vitally important, for these incidents become pivotal points for us, with our reactions reflecting who we are. Job 7:20 reminds us that Job struggled at times, feeling that he had become ‘God’s target.’ He felt that he was a burden to God and tha he had been thrown into the clutch of the wicked (Job 16:11), just as Naomi felt the Lord’s hand had turned against her when her husband and sons died in Moab (Ruth 1:12-13).
Jesus reminded His disciples that the Holy Spirit will never leave us and is our comforter (see Luke 11:9-13). In good times and bad times, God does not leave us and in all circumstances, the best response is to praise God. There is power in praise (see Rev 4:8-11) and as we praise, we find that we can cope with the unexpected and that God picks us up and carries us through the trials.
We also had a belated birthday to celebrate:
