The Good and the Bad

"On a good day, enjoy yourself;  On a bad day, examine your conscience.  God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won't take anything for granted."   Ecclesiastes 7:14


Ecclesiastes makes it known that there is a time on earth for everything.  If there is a time for laughter there will also be a time for tears.  If there is a time for happiness, then sadness must come too.  For me, there are times that seeing God is as natural as breathing.  He is everywhere (because He is everywhere).  However, due to my nature, there are times when I cannot see Him anywhere.  Sin, anger, sadness, frustration...all lead to blindness.  There are bad days, simply because those days have been arranged too.  However, before searching His word and His promises, before training my senses to see Him on the good days, bad days would have been the crumbling house of cards.  If I do not see Him, He is not here...crumbling.  But learning to see God becomes a deeper way of knowing Him.  Knowing God is rooted in His truth that He is always here, always everywhere (omnipresent).  Knowing this allows us to endure the bad days, to focus on examining our own hurtful ways.  Bad days make us so incredibly grateful for the good ones.  On these days we may not see, feel, or hear God, but we may still know Him.  In the very last part of Habakkuk, I feel this outspoken prophet said it best...
"Though the cherry trees don't blossom
       and the strawberries don't ripen,
  Though the apples are worm-eaten
       and the wheat fields stunted,
  Though the sheep pens are sheepless 
       and the cattle barns empty,
  I'm singing joyful praise to God.  I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
  Counting on God's rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.
  I run like a deer.  I feel like I'm king of the mountain!"  Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)
Taking heart and gaining strength not in the things of this world or in people coming through for us, but in God's rule prevailing...His promises, Him coming through.  Not being defined by the sadness, the ugly, or the bad the day may bring, but in His goodness alone...He always is, He always will be.  Our day may not be good, we may not be good, but we can sing joyful praise to God because He is always good...everyday, everywhere.