Sermon Archives (May 27, 2001):

How to Handle a Bad Day, Part 2.

Today I am continuing speaking on the subject of “How to Handle a Bad Day.”   We know when a bad day comes.   It’s when the blue bird of paradise singing outside in the morning air turns out to be a buzzard.  That’s the beginning a bad day.   Then when you reach for your shoes, and you find they have already been stolen.   You know that at bad day.   Then your spouse turns to you and says, “I want a divorce.’   That is a bad day.   You see the Doctor, and he tells you it is Cancer.  That is a horrible day.   In this life there are days that are darker than dark.   How then should we handle our bad days?

Last week, we examined how Jesus Christ handled his bad day, the day of his crucifixion.  We examined three collections of words Jesus spoke from the cross, as an example of how he handled the worst day of his life.   Those first three words were these: 

(1)     Christ said from the cross, (Luke 23:34) "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."   Christ’s example for our bad days is this that in our bad days, we should forgive those that are ruining our lives.

(2)     Second, Jesus said, (Luke 23:43)  "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”    These were the words that Christ spoke to the criminal hanging on the cross next to him.  The lesson here was that the way you get through a tough day is not to focus on your pain, but as Jesus did on the pain of others.

(3)     Third Christ said (John 19:30) "It is finished!"   A statement of triumph.  The lesson here is this:  When you are in that storm, turn to God, and hold to the faith that there is a purpose and an end.

Today, we will cover the remaining four collections of words that Jesus spoke from the cross.

(4)     The fourth words Christ spoke were these,  (John 19:27)  “Woman, behold your son!"  Then He said to his disciple, "Behold your mother!"   The third key to living through a bad day is to be sure you have looked after those near you.   Jesus addresses these words to Mary, his mother who was there at the cross and to John, his disciple.   Imagine your son is on the cross.  As a woman Mary was probably thinking, “When he’s gone, what will happen to m?.”   Mary had other children, but Jesus was the oldest.   Here Jesus is on the cross, in incredible pain.   He could have said, “Mother look upon me and weep.”  But no he directs his Mother to look upon John as her son to care for her.   Then he says to John, the disciple he loved, “Look upon your mother.”    He is passing to John the responsibility of caring for his mother when he is gone.   What can we learn?  In our bad days, should we place our burden upon those we love?  No.  Instead seek to care for those you love.

(5)     Jesus said, (Matthew 27:46-47) "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"   When you are in trouble, aim you cries to God, not man.   Can you imagine the heart-breaking crack in Christ’s voice as He, the Son of God, experienced for the first time separation from his Father?  Why?  Why this separation.   (2 Corinthians 5:21)  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   Jesus at that moment became sin for us; a sinless candidate for our salvation to absorb the sins down through the ages of every one us.   Our sin was so great upon him that our Holy Father could no longer look upon his beloved son; because sin is the very opposite of the nature of our loving Father in Heaven.   There were other people around.   Christ could of cried out to them, but he didn’t.   He didn’t complain to others, “Why is this happening to me?”  He didn’t play the blame game as society does today.   When you have that bad day, in your heart sessions with God, remember (Psalm 142:1) “I cry out to the LORD with my voice;  … I pour out my complaint before Him.”   You may not get your answer right then, but you can count on two things:  First, your cry will never fall on deaf ears.   Second, there always will be an answer in time and the answer will be in your interest.  Always!

(6)     The fifth words, Jesus spoke, (John 19:28)  “I thirst.”   Let your need be known.  Ask for help.  Jesus spoke of “thirst” for one reason; the blood was coming out of his.  He was dehydrating.   But he had something to say.  So he was asking for something to clear his throat, to clear his voice.   Have the wisdom when you are going through a bad day to let your needs be known to someone who can help you.   Just as the water Jesus requested clarified the admission of faith that Jesus was about to say, you and I need each other; to encourage each other, to fortify each other, to give us the strength during bad days.

(7)     And here are the last words Jesus spoke,  (Luke 23:46)  "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."   Finally, surrender your day to God and let go.  You can come to the end of any day, and it may be a tough day, and the next day may not be much different, because the things that constituted its agenda may be a part of your life for a week, a month, or an extended season of time.   They may not go away.   You could come to the end of a day, and preoccupy your heart, and your mind, and lay there, and wheel it over and over, and wonder when will this cycle of pain stop and go away.   But No, the way to go through a bad day is to put it all in the hands of God, and leave it there.   Just leave it there and let go.