Had any bad days lately?

Clayton Hayes is a lifelong resident of Dyer County.

I had a hard time writing a column for today, so I searched the web for assistance and found two inspiring columns on hard times in life. Credit is noted at the end of each column. They were a help to me and my prayers are those reading their columns.

Have you ever had a bad day? What do you do when you’re facing insurmountable, overwhelming problems?

Before you do anything else, you go directly to God. You say, “God, I am overwhelmed!”  And you ask, “God, what do you think about this situation?”

While your perspective is limited, God’s perspective is eternal—He can see the beginning and the end. He can see past, present, and future all at once. You need to get God’s perspective, the bigger picture of the problem that seems so overwhelming to you right now.

Too often we see prayer as a last resort rather than as our first thought. Prayer is usually something we do way down the line after we’ve tried everything else. People will say, “I guess all we can do now is pray!” like it’s their last option.

Prayer should be your first choice, not your last resort. If you want God to help you overcome the odds in any area of your life, you have to turn to him first.

2 Chronicles 20:1,3 says,

“After this the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat . . . Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance” . When verse 1 says “after this,” it’s referring to a great national revival, a spiritual awakening. There was great prosperity and blessing in the land. But soon after, there was war. 

With every high, there is a low. After every victory, there is a letdown. And with every blessing, there comes a testing. You may not be in a battle right now, but you’re going to be in one tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. You should expect blessing in your life, but you also need to expect battles in your life.

You’re going to have difficult times. But you should never let an impossible situation intimidate you. Let it motivate you to pray more and turn to God first.

The column above came from Rick Warren, former pastor of Saddleback Chuch in California

And now some comforting words from a website www.beliefnet.com.

Do you ever wonder why God sometimes lets a bad situation not only get worse but get impossible?

If this thought has ever crossed your mind, you’re not alone. When life gets hard, many things will not make sense.

In these circumstances, it can be difficult to trust in the outcome God is setting up for you. In the midst of this, we sometimes forget that God is right there, listening to us and addressing our needs. We may even have trouble hearing His voice.

Our circumstances can cause us to drift away from God and not trust that His plan is right for us. But God knows and understands the hopes and fears we keep in our hearts.

In fact, He’s the best listener. Even when we don’t shout or cry out loud, He hears even our silent prayers. It’s important that we trust Him, especially during our darkest hours.

It’s important that you remember these things when you’re feeling lost and alone for He knows exactly where you are and has a good plan for your life.