Ever have a bad day? Oh, yeah. How about a string of bad days? Or a bad month? Or a bad year? I know I have. There was January 1982 when I was laid off from the paper mill. I didn’t get any permanent employment until October. And then it was for minimum wage. At a box store. Then there was 1988. Late that winter we made the momentous decision to leave our native city, all of our family and friends, basically our whole lives, and move to Minnesota so that I could attend Bible College in August. The uncertainty, the tears, the anger and rejection, was something I wouldn’t want to re-live.
So, the answer is yes. All of us have bad days. Or stretches of bad days. And maybe even bad months or possible even a bad year. The problem comes when our attitude goes south. When we begin to indulge in a pity party. Woe is me! My life is so terrible! My problems are worse than anyone elses. Well, not quite, but our lives are still no picnic. Of course, having a bad attitude can make bad times even worse. The thing to remember is that, as bad as it is, it could always be worse. Consider the French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil. (I know. I can’t pronounce his name either. Just call him ‘Gentile’!)
In 1760 Le Gentil wanted to observe a Venusian transit. (I knew you were going to ask what it was!) This is a rare occasion when the planet Venus passes directly in front of the sun. This meant making a trip to India to observe it. As you can imagine, travel in the mid-18th century was much different than today. It was expensive and time-consuming. We’re talking months of travel. In primitive conditions. So Le Gentil set off for India. But the Seven Years’ War was going on throughout much of Europe. (And around the globe too.) The result was that Le Gentil arrived in India too late for his observation.
Rather than turn around and go home, he decided to wait for the next transit. This wouldn't be for another 8 years! June 3, 1769 to be exact. (I told you that travel was rough back in those days.) Le Gentil traveled to Madagascar and the Philippines during this time before arriving back in India with a year to spare. Making good use of his time he built a small observatory. On June 2, 1769 the sky was sunny and cloudless. On June 3, the day of the transit, the sky was overcast. Le Gentil saw nothing at all. The next transit of Venus would not take place for 105 more years! 8 years of his life right down the drain. It almost made him insane. I suppose I would have reacted the same way.
Well, Le Gentil decided to go back home to France. On the way back home he was shipwrecked. Not once but twice! He landed in Cadiz, Spain and had to cross the Pyrenees Mountains, on foot, in order to get home. He finally made it back to Paris in 1771, 11 years after he had first left. When he arrived, Le Gentil found that he had been declared legally dead. (News didn’t travel very fast in those days either.) His wife had remarried. All of his belongings had been split up among his heirs. And he lost his seat in the Royal Academy of Sciences. At this point I guess you could say that his life was pretty much ruined. Fortunately, Le Gentil remarried and regained his seat in the Academy. Amazingly he lived another 21 years after his return.
So, still feel like you’re having a bad day? Or week? Or month? I would dare say that for most of us, our problems pale in comparison to what Le Gentil went through. That is precisely the point. There is always someone around who has it worse. Our problems are not as bad as they seem. We just need to patiently endure them. In Psalm 30:5 we are reminded that “weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.” This, too, shall pass. Better days will come. They are just beyond the horizon.
Let’s keep this in mind during those times when life is bad. When nothing seems to go right. When no one seems to care. For us, as Christians, the future is always bright. And in the midst of our bad days we still have many things to be thankful for. Most of all, we have Jesus. Our Savior. Our Rock. Our Shepherd. Our Coming King.
Lord, when bad times come my way help me to remember that things will not always be this way. Bad times won’t last forever. Help me to remember that even in the worst of times I still have so much to be thankful for. And I have a wonderful Savior who will walk right beside me. Someone who will never leave or forsake me. May I be encouraged by this. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, the answer is yes. All of us have bad days. Or stretches of bad days. And maybe even bad months or possible even a bad year. The problem comes when our attitude goes south. When we begin to indulge in a pity party. Woe is me! My life is so terrible! My problems are worse than anyone elses. Well, not quite, but our lives are still no picnic. Of course, having a bad attitude can make bad times even worse. The thing to remember is that, as bad as it is, it could always be worse. Consider the French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil. (I know. I can’t pronounce his name either. Just call him ‘Gentile’!)
In 1760 Le Gentil wanted to observe a Venusian transit. (I knew you were going to ask what it was!) This is a rare occasion when the planet Venus passes directly in front of the sun. This meant making a trip to India to observe it. As you can imagine, travel in the mid-18th century was much different than today. It was expensive and time-consuming. We’re talking months of travel. In primitive conditions. So Le Gentil set off for India. But the Seven Years’ War was going on throughout much of Europe. (And around the globe too.) The result was that Le Gentil arrived in India too late for his observation.
Rather than turn around and go home, he decided to wait for the next transit. This wouldn't be for another 8 years! June 3, 1769 to be exact. (I told you that travel was rough back in those days.) Le Gentil traveled to Madagascar and the Philippines during this time before arriving back in India with a year to spare. Making good use of his time he built a small observatory. On June 2, 1769 the sky was sunny and cloudless. On June 3, the day of the transit, the sky was overcast. Le Gentil saw nothing at all. The next transit of Venus would not take place for 105 more years! 8 years of his life right down the drain. It almost made him insane. I suppose I would have reacted the same way.
Well, Le Gentil decided to go back home to France. On the way back home he was shipwrecked. Not once but twice! He landed in Cadiz, Spain and had to cross the Pyrenees Mountains, on foot, in order to get home. He finally made it back to Paris in 1771, 11 years after he had first left. When he arrived, Le Gentil found that he had been declared legally dead. (News didn’t travel very fast in those days either.) His wife had remarried. All of his belongings had been split up among his heirs. And he lost his seat in the Royal Academy of Sciences. At this point I guess you could say that his life was pretty much ruined. Fortunately, Le Gentil remarried and regained his seat in the Academy. Amazingly he lived another 21 years after his return.
So, still feel like you’re having a bad day? Or week? Or month? I would dare say that for most of us, our problems pale in comparison to what Le Gentil went through. That is precisely the point. There is always someone around who has it worse. Our problems are not as bad as they seem. We just need to patiently endure them. In Psalm 30:5 we are reminded that “weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.” This, too, shall pass. Better days will come. They are just beyond the horizon.
Let’s keep this in mind during those times when life is bad. When nothing seems to go right. When no one seems to care. For us, as Christians, the future is always bright. And in the midst of our bad days we still have many things to be thankful for. Most of all, we have Jesus. Our Savior. Our Rock. Our Shepherd. Our Coming King.
Lord, when bad times come my way help me to remember that things will not always be this way. Bad times won’t last forever. Help me to remember that even in the worst of times I still have so much to be thankful for. And I have a wonderful Savior who will walk right beside me. Someone who will never leave or forsake me. May I be encouraged by this. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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