When Everything Goes Wrong

Frustrating Times

There are some times in our lives when it seems that everything goes wrong at the same time. This can be quite frustrating, as one crisis can be dealt with, but multiple crises can make us feel overwhelmed. For example, when you need extra money to pay an unexpected bill, the car will not start. Or when your child needs something special for school, the roof starts to leak. In the world, this has come to be known as Murphy’s Law.

Keeping Perspective

While such situations are very real, it is important for the Christian to maintain proper perspective in the midst of such crises. The world has sought various explanations for why such calamities befall, ranging from the concept of fate or karma (some kind of universal punishment) to the outright blaming of God (Whom they normally do not believe in).

The Christian should have a better understanding about the nature of life and its challenges. While it is true that many problems occur without cause and bad things indeed do happen to good people, it is dangerous to “read in” too much into such events. In is important to remember:

A lot of “right”

The right thing happens thousands of times every day. Our perception is greatly influenced by wrong occurrences rather than right ones, as right occurrences are what are to be expected.

Not everything is purposeful

While the possibility of Satan creating obstacles does exist (1 Pet 5:8), most difficulties we face in life are either random events or caused by our own poor choices.

We can take it

While the weight of multiple crises might seem devastating, we can take anything the world throws at us. God has promised to never allow us to be tempted beyond our ability (1 Cor. 10:13), and that includes the temptation to give up both on life and spiritually! Someone who feels overwhelmed is experiencing as much a crisis of faith as anything else, for God’s promise will not fail.

A Lack of Control

The real reason why the world seeks to find answers to the challenges of life is because the world realizes what little control it has over so many things in life. To blame karma or fate is to trust in a cynical understanding of justice. To blame God (especially when you typically ignore and curse Him) is to deny the very source of help in trouble. As Christians we should and do know better. How do you handle things when everything goes wrong at once?