Life is full of ups and downs, we all know that. And when we sit down to think about it, we also realize that without some rain, we’d never see a rainbow. However, it’s easy to say that when we’re traveling along in a good spot in life. So what happens when the ride takes a turn for the worse and bad things happen? When we pop a tire, turn down an unknown road, run out of gas, or God forbid, we’re in a life altering accident. No matter the level of difficulty we stumble into, we must keep in mind that everyone goes through hard times, even seemingly impossible times, and that hope and an answer exists and you can have them.
Don’t despair.
There is beauty in the evilness of life & there is evil in the beauty.
There is good in every bad situation, you must look for it though. So I will help you open your eyes, change your perspective and hopefully assist you in turning down a different road where you can see the light through the tunnel. My goal through this post is that you will be able to answer, “Why do bad things happen”?
Why Do Bad Things Happen?
To Facilitate Learning
The first thing that happens after finding out about a difficult situation is shock and grief followed by acceptance of some sort. For some, this may take a while to come to terms with what life has dealt. Usually, the tougher the situation, the longer it will take. But, once the shock and grief have subsided long enough, you will take a step toward “figuring it out”.
If you or a loved one is ill, usually Dr. Google is the first to be consulted. If you’ve been laid off, finding something new is likely on the agenda. If your husband cheated and left (or vise versa) you will be faced with coming to terms with the “why”. These are all “next steps” that can be looked at in a positive light. The next step will take some learning; and learning is a good thing!
Life is all about learning. Learning lessons. Facilitating change. Growing. These things only better who you are…if you let them.
To Motivate You
Motivation segways perfectly from the above learning opportunity. Once you see that you can become a new person, attain a new skill, better yourself, or become an expert in something you never thought you’d accomplish or learn, you’ll start to see the original difficulty as something other than just a nuisance. You’ll see it as an opportunity.
To Change Your Perspective
And just like that, your perspective has changed. Don’t be fooled though, know there will be times when you’ll make a u-turn and head back down the dark road of despair. The wavering is a normal process. Come back and read this to remind yourself during those self-absorbed moments of, “Why me?” that there is hope. Hope of a perspective change. And if you can look for the opportunity in your problem, you’ll be able to get yourself back to the positive side of life.
Regardless of your perspective, your immediate situation may not change. A perspective that is self-wallowing will only keep the negativity surrounding you. But keep in mind, a healthy, open perspective has the potential to change your future plans and circumstances.
You have a higher purpose
When you learn that your life can be changed, you will become motivated to push onward. I’ll share my story with you to illustrate this. I first began this post when I was going through one of the roughest times in my life. I was a few months postpartum and was dealing with the most intense, chronic pain I’d ever experienced. On a daily basis, with a 3 year old and newborn, I was terrified that my body was failing me, that I’d end up passing away when my kids were young and that my life would be turned upside down forever. After an intense few months of doctors visits, reading all I could about the disease and how to heal myself, I finally calmed down. More on that story here.
Time has a calming effect, because you are able to see that you are surviving, despite what you may have thought.
Long story short, because of all my research, I’ve stumbled into a new career path and have become certified LEAP counselor for food sensitivities. I know more about adverse food reactions, allergies and food intolerances than I ever even dreamed I would. I also became motivated to began blogging again, something I was struggling with before.
I have grown so much in my self-development that I am actually thankful (in part) to my hardships.
I know one day you will have a story you can share and an opportunity to say thank you to the change the difficulty imparted.
Image by mikecogh via Flickr.
You Need Humbling Prayer
As the above story shows, my life was destined to go a different direction. Unfortunately, a “bad thing” was the driver of the change. When fumbling in the dark, it’s difficult to see anything, let alone an answer to why bad things happen or what your purpose in life is. But remember, one day, with hope and prayer, you will be shown.
And that brings up another good topic: prayer. If you’re not crying out, screaming out to God with tears rolling down your face, unfortunately, you may have more difficulty to endure. In my hardest times, I’ve realized that, sometimes, your spirit needs to be crushed and you need to hit rock bottom, before you can start to rebuild.
If you can humble yourself enough and give up all your tears, fears and worries to the one and only maker of you, you can then be on your way to achieving your higher purpose.
When you grow you can give
Growth cannot happen without initial breakdown. We see it all around. Workouts: muscles are broken down during weight lifting and then rebuilt to become larger and stronger. Construction: an old home on a large property is demolished to pave the way towards a new community. If you accept the demo and let healing and transformation flood your soul, you will be given the ability to then help others.
When you have gone through dark places, you then have the ability to lift others up to the highest places.
It may come in the form of some really great advise, time, money, knowledge, hope, etc. There are many gifts the spirit gives and not everyone receives the same. If you’ve never read 1 Corinthians 12, I encourage you to do so. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. I Cor. 12:7
To Become Appreciative
The second a close call happens that results in thoughts of losing a loved one, your brain completely shifts gears. You could be raging mad at your kids or spouse, then hear of a mass shooting and all of a sudden your anger melts. You realize the meaning of life is love and the relationships you hold dear. It’s a morbid and silly trick, but if you’re struggling to get rid of a bad attitude, imagining your spouse lying in a hospital dying can quickly shift your perspective and help you realize what life is all about. (For more tips on helping your attitude, read How to Get Rid of Your Toxic Attitude Once and for All).
Whatever you are dealing with right now, use it to see all the blessings you have. In a stressful situation, your brain is literally shifting neuronal patterns, so if you continue to focus on appreciation, your brain will be eternally altered for good.
There’s nothing like the realization of life’s fragility that opens your eyes to show you all that you really have.
Timing
Often times, prayers are answered no, because it just wan’t the right time. God’s plan for your life is better than what we could imagine. You know it and I know it, timing is everything. Everyone will depart from this earth and what determines that is timing. You’ve heard of the story how continuing through or stopping for a yellow light can change the course of your life forever. Kind of eerie, but it’s true.
I encourage you to look back through your life to find a situation where you were previously aggravated at your circumstances and then came to find out it turned out for the best. This just may be another one of those times.
You May be Sabotaged
I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it actually may be true. Evil does exist in this world. Most people believe this even if they aren’t necessarily religious. Let’s just look at this for a bit. In my world (and most others) God exists. And God is only good. So how is there evil in the world? Well, logically speaking, all things have an opposite. That means there must be something that exists who is opposite to God and good. If you believe there is a God, by default, you are accepting there is also a leader of something evil. Sounds silly, but all signs point to a devil of some kind. And if you believe that God is good and he facilitates good in this life, that means that there is a devil and he facilitates bad in this world.
If you ever feel like you just keep getting hammered down with bad circumstances, step back and take a look around. Have you been procrastinating doing God’s work? Have you gotten sidetracked from what you initially decided to do? Do you have projects sitting undone that would better this world? Do you feel a drawing near a certain hobby, job, friend or location that you’ve been pushing off? All these things could be callings from God and intentional sabotages from the devil to stop God’s work.
If you don’t have an aha moment when reading this, it may not be applicable to you. Or maybe just pray about it to be sure.
I truly am thankful for you reading this and I hope that I’ve helped to inspire you to feel better about what you’re going through. Remember,
…this too shall pass.
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