Can Good Things Come From Bad Situations?

Can Good Things Come From Bad Situations?

Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."

Have you ever had something happen, and even though you know it was a bad thing that happened, what came out of it was good?  This happens a lot in romance movies.  Something bad happens to the main character, for instance her car breaks down, and then the man of her dreams stops to help her and they live happily ever after.  Another example is from wedding planner.  The main character gets hurt and a really cute doctor stops to help her.  It is not great that the car broke down, but the outcome, of meeting your future husband, is great.  I know these examples are from movies, but they happen in real life too.  I know people who got cancer, and had to go through chemo and radiation and it was truly terrible.  And also, it made them slow down and learn to appreciate what was really important to them.  Sometimes when something bad happens it can be the wakeup call or the second chance we needed to get back on track.  

I think that is what this verse is talking about.  It says all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called to his purpose.  It doesn’t say all things are good, it doesn’t say all things turn into good things, it says all things work together for the good of that person.  Does this mean nothing bad will ever happen? Nope! Does this mean you life will be smooth sailing if you love God and are called according to his purpose? Unfortunately, no, it does not.  What does it mean?  It means that no matter what happens, good or bad, God can use it for your good.  He can take the crap of you life, and use it as fertilizer to make fruit grow in your life.  Good things can grow out of bad circumstances, if you let them.  

We all know the pandemic was a bad thing.  Over 6.5 million people died from that awful disease.  So many people lost their jobs, lost their loved ones, lost their businesses.  There was so much fear and anxiety during the last 2-3 years of life.  We lost a lot during that time.  It was really hard on so many people.  It will take us a long time to recover in so many ways from this pandemic.  As awful as this pandemic was, so good things did grow out of it.  Families were forced to slow down and spend time together.  I know that wasn’t good for everyone, and yet it was great for some.  My husband had to leave the house for work at 5 am just to beat the traffic and then he wouldn’t get home until 5 or 6 because of traffic on the way home.  Now that he is working from home we get to have breakfast, lunch and dinner together most days.  There were some positive things to come out of these last two years.  

Last night I received an email from a friend in my prayer group.  Another friend from our prayer group had sent her a page from her prayer journal around this time 2020.  This prayer journal entry talks about a really good thing that came out of a bad situation.  It was Advent time in 2020 and a lot of people weren’t able to be with their family like they usually would.  A lot of people had small Christmas celebrations that year with only those that lived in the same house as they did.  I know it was a sad holiday season for so many.  It wasn’t any different for my friend.  She wanted to be with family and that wasn’t going to happen.  God showed up for her and provided her with a truly special experience during a time that could have been really lonely.  Here is her journal entry:

Lord Jesus,
It is amazing that this terrible pandemic has provided me with an opportunity that I have longed for. (This is Romans 8:28 in action). And what is it that I have longed for? A Christmas spent completely with You, alone with You, asking You to be born anew in my heart.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for using this Advent season to open my eyes to parts of the Salvation story that I hadn’t considered. Each day lately I have stopped to meditate on Mary and Joseph’s long, difficult 80 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. How many miles could they travel in a day? Were they short on supplies? Did Mary walk much of the way? Surely, she could not have worked to stay balanced on a donkey for the whole time. How did she not go into labor while being jostled about on the donkey? How hard dear St. Joseph must have worked to try to keep Mary, the holy Mother of God, comfortable! And how sad he must have been to watch her suffer silently. What people did they meet on their journey, people who couldn’t know that they were in the presence of the soon-to-be born Messiah? Were there robbers on their journey? And did angels of God take on human form, to be seen only by the thieves, to frighten away any threat to the Holy Family?

Thank You, Lord, for inviting me this year to make that journey with Mary and Joseph. Thank You for stopping me so often in my daily tasks to question, “Where are they now? What are they doing? Resting? Walking? What are they talking about? What prayers are they saying?” Jesus, my Lord and Savior, teach me to pray and trust as they did. Oh, dear Jesus, thank You for using this time of quarantine to invite me on this intimate journey.

Thank You, Jesus my dear Lord, for asking me to set my dining room table for Christmas early this year - on the first Sunday of Advent - setting it with places for You, Your Mother and Saint Joseph. I have been graced in 2 ways by this. First, it has provided me with a tangible way to express my longing to welcome You to be born anew and more deeply in my heart. That longing grows each time I look at Your seat at the head of the table.

Secondly, it has made me more aware of Your constant Presence. In the evening, when I light the candles on the Advent wreath and Walter and I sit at the table to pray the rosary, I am more aware that You , Mary and Joseph are quietly hearing our prayers and are honored by them.

While I know that my heart will be so sad that Walter and I cannot be with our family this Christmas, I am so grateful for the invitation from You to spend this holy time focused only on You and welcoming You to come and be more fully alive in and through me for the glory of Your Holy Name.

May I ask one thing this year, Lord? Grant to each member of my family the grace to experience Your Presence in a life-changing way this Christmas. Amen.

I share this with you because I think it is a really great way to spend advent.  Advent and Lent are two times out of the year that we are called to do something different.  These are two seasons in the year that are more heavily dedicated to our Lord and Savior, His birth and His death.  Both require us to prepare ourselves for these events.  Meditating on Mary and Joseph’s journey can be a great way to set aside some time to grow closer to the holy family.  There are some great questions in this meditation.  Listen to it again, or read the transcript in the show notes, or on Facebook and spend some time really thinking about their journey, what they must have gone through, what it was like for them.  Maybe set a place at your table for Jesus, or for all three of them, Jesus, Mary & Joseph.  How would your dinners be different if you set a place for them?  How would the conversations be different?  I pray you are all having an amazing advent season, and if you were looking for something special to do this advent, try this meditation and see how it changes you.  

Dear heavenly Father, please bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we are so grateful you gave us your only son.  You are amazing!  It still blows my mind that you love us that much.  We are flawed, and we mess up all the time, we turn away from you and deny you all the time and yet you still sent your son to die on a cross for us.  It is hard to fathom that kind of love.  Help us to remember it during this season and every day of our lives.  Help us never forget how much you love us and how much you sacrificed for us.  We love you Lord, you are so awesome.  We are so grateful and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.  

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I!  Have a blessed day!

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