Dennis' Disastrous Day
READ: Romans 8
Dennis was used to everything in the world going right for him. He had won a National Spelling Bee. He had completed a successful season as the starting defensive end for the football team. He had been elected Homecoming King. His grades matched his self esteem. Then it all came crashing down at once. After a grueling week of basketball tryouts, he was the last man cut. He scored a zero for his math track team. He was eliminated in the first round of the National Geography Bee by his arch rival, Melvin. His mom packed an apple in his lunch bag, crushing his favorite twinkie. He came up two hundredths of a point short of making the honor roll. And to top it all off, the girl he had been dating for two years dumped him for his best friend.
Have you ever had a day like Dennis'? We've all had our bad days, when it just seems like nothing can go right. Sometimes we like to take the blame out on God, thinking He forgot about us for a day or just wanted to make our lives rotten. That always seems like the popular thing to do. But, we are reassured by the text of Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those that love Him." In Dennis' case, maybe he was cut from the basketball team so he could find himself as a church ball star. Maybe he lost in the Geography Bee so God could teach him to work harder for his goals. Maybe his twinkie was smashed because it was unhealthy for him.
We'll never know why God puts these stumbling blocks in our lives, but we do know that in every case, God wisely directs them to us for our own benefit.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: How does the phrase, "even when you lose, you're a winner," tie into this passage? Identify situations when you felt as though God let you down, but you realized it was for your own good. How would you explain God working for our good, as in Romans 8:28, to a dying person?
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: Pray for help in seeing God's hand in every situation. Thank God for being with us through every situation. Praise God, a God of patience and long-suffering.