Jessica Albritton, Children and Family Connections Minister, LHBC

1 Peter 5:6-11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

In 1972 Judith Viorst, a well-known children’s author, wrote “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” It’s a cute book about a little boy named Alexander who, from the moment he wakes up, has a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! From waking up to bubble gum in his hair to tripping on a skateboard getting out of bed. In the bathroom he drops his favorite sweater into a sink full of water and when he makes it down stairs he finds that there is no prize in his cereal box. That was all it took to set him over the edge, “I’m moving to Australia!” he exclaims. The running theme throughout the book becomes Alexander encountering more and more hardships and him responding with the solution of moving to Australia, where he  believes life is better. Thankfully Alexander has a wise mother who reassures him that everybody has bad days, even those who live in Australia.

We have all been there, haven’t we? Nothing seems to go right and everything seems to be falling apart? I know I have, and I would be lying if I told you that moving to Australia didn’t cross my mind at least once. But thankfully, like Alexander, I have wise people in my life to help remind me that a change in zip code won’t take away life’s troubles, you just find new ones when you move. In 1 Peter we are reminded, “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” In the very next verse we read, “the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” So in this life we will have some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. That’s the bad news, and if we stop reading right there we can really find ourselves in a bit of a rut, but praise God for verse 10! We are assured, in just one verse to the right, that our suffering is not experienced in vain! There is hope available to all believers and that hope has a name, Jesus! We see in verse 10 that “after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” I don’t know about you, but that is good news to my ears! Friends, we are going to have some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, but our hope is not in the circumstances of this world, our hope is in the one who overcame sin and death, our hope is in Jesus! He has kept His promises thus far and we can rest in knowing He will continue to keep His promises!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Heavenly Father, thank You for all the days that I get to experience here on this earth, even the ones that are terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad! Help me to focus on You and not the stressors of life that distract me from Your goodness! Thank You for the assurance that we can have as believers! Thank You for the fact that this world is not the end, but we can look forward to eternity in glory with You! And give me boldness and courage to take that message of assurance to others around me! In Jesus name, amen!

MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK:

1 Corinthians 15:56-57-56 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.