WHAT IF THINGS GET WORSE?

By Richard Lineberry

An old story from my grade school years tells me of a man sitting in a dark room with his depression. He moans over his dilemmas but suddenly hears a voice saying, “Cheer up! Things could be worse!” So…… he cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse.

God always demonstrates unusual ways to get our attention and help us. We pray in a bad situation, and sometimes things do seem to get worse before they get better.

Setting a broken bone often hurts worse than the original break. Pulling out a splinter is no fun. A good surgeon knows he mustn’t be deterred from causing pain to his patient for he knows things won’t get better without causing some discomfort. He must look beyond symptoms and get to the root of the problem. To hurt more so you can stop hurting altogether just doesn’t seem like the easy way to alleviate pain and suffering. It is, however, part of life in this world.

When we suffer and ask God for help, He seems to walk with us for a while first. Then at the right time of hHs choosing, He begins to diagnose the problem and give us wisdom and power for relief. Perhaps God has something more in mind in such situations than we do. I think so.

Along the way, Jesus is building a bridge between us and Himself. He wants our total trust. Although uncomfortable at times, the Lord is with us and we can and do recover. This trust bridge is the most important thing we can have. God drives His will, His ways and His total concern across it during our darkest hours. Things sometimes seem to get worse before they get better. The darkest part of the night is just before the dawn.

My prayer for us is that the Lord’s healing and help be right on time for your situation today.