Even on the Best Days

I was blown away last Saturday when I got a phone call informing me that my father-in-law had been in a severe auto accident. I probably won’t forget that gut wrenching feeling for as long as I live. The sudden drop in my heart rate and instant feeling of nausea almost recurs at the thought of it. Although the doctors say he is somewhat stable, there is still much to be concerned about as we are incessantly praying and hoping for the best.
It’s been two days since Rachel left for Wilmington to be with her dad, but it feels a little more like two weeks. And although they say bad things happen in threes… I’m pretty sure that quota was filled Saturday. Yesterday, with all the chaos clanging in my mind, I thought I’d try drowning it out with a little music as I drove myself and two kids to church. I turned the radio up to hear Steven Curtis Chapman singing “…even on the best days He says to remember we're not home yet So don't get too comfortable ‘cause really all we are is just pilgrims passing through.”

The proverbial light bulb turned on in my head as the phrase “even on the best days” resonated. My mind immediately went to James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” It’s unfortunate that many people in the world only associate God with bad things. He usually gets brought up at funerals or when something catastrophic occurs. He’s the first person on our blame list, and the last on our fame list. But according to James 1, God is inherently good! After God finished creating the universe, He saw that it was “good.” Before the fall of man ever took place everything was good and that’s how God wants it still.

Everything that has ever been deemed “good,” from sex to food, has been contaminated by the fall. I can remember sharing the same misconception of God and heaven as a teenager. Every time I heard the Bible verse “Come, Lord Jesus, come” I would cringe at the thought of losing everything. I wasn’t ready for God because I thought choosing Jesus meant leaving all the good behind; when in reality, choosing Jesus is choosing “good” exclusively – without the bad.

Even our best days don’t compare to what’s ahead. Think of that (almost) perfect moment, when you’re sitting on the front porch with your spouse, watching the sunset, sipping on sweet tea, kids playing in the yard, fireflies are dancing to "What a wonderful world"…and then your toddler falls off the swing. The mosquitos declare a full blown attack and then reality sets in – the unfriendly reminder that we’re not home yet.

Amidst all the good in our lives – the small taste of things to come – there is still a spiritual war that is raging. There is still sin, a devil and a hell. But “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” Although we don’t understand why God lets things like this accident take place, we can trust that God is manifesting His greater good. It will be something we can look back on one day and say “oh yeah, God knew what He was doing.” So even on our best and worst days, as we hold on to our “blessed hope,” we can be reminded that we’re not home yet.