Happy are People Who Have Broken Hearts

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. - Matthew 5:3 (CEB)

When a person is hopeless here on earth, it means they are ready for the eternal. When God wants to use a person, sometimes he needs to tear them down completely to rebuild them into a tool for eternal purposes. Having an eternal focus changes all the things that affect us here on earth.
My week hasn't been great, but I am blessed. I heard this secular song, I've put he lyrics here. The general sentiment is correct.

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100 Bad Days

By AJR

[Verse 1]
 Remember when we all got drunk?
I ended up with two broke thumbs
Oh my God, I felt so dumb, lucky me
I wrote a song that no one knows
I played a show and no one showed
Oh my God, I felt so alone, lucky me

[Pre-Chorus]
(Ah) When all is going wrong and you're scared as hell
(Ah) What you gonna do? Who you gonna tell?

[Chorus]
Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties
A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties, yeah
No, I ain't scared of you
No, I ain't scared of you no more

[Post-Chorus]
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da, da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da, da
No, I ain't scared of you
No, I ain't scared of you no more

[Verse 2]
Remember when she broke my heart
Waitin' for the waiter to return my card?
Right as I let down my guard, lucky me
We had to work a bit more hard
Only just to get a little bit less far
We could laugh about it all tomorrow, couldn't we?

[Pre-Chorus]
(Ah) When all is going wrong and you're scared as hell
(Ah) What you gonna do? Who you gonna tell?

[Chorus]
Maybe a hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties
A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories
A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties, yeah
No, I ain't scared of you
No, I ain't scared of you no more

[Post-Chorus]
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da, da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, da, da
No, I ain't scared of you
No, I ain't scared of you no more

---

This is a pretty optimistic song, you see there is still a sliver of truth in stuff of this world.  The real truth is God uses Bad things to make us better. 

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - C.S. Lewis

When we look at the bad things happening in our lives, and that's all we focus on, then our lives are awful.

Example:

My wife left me and took the kids

I don't have enough work

My car doesn't have Air Conditioning

My well broke, I have no water, I can't even do my dishes or take a shower

My house is falling apart

I owe a lot of money for medical bills my insurance won't pay

I owe property taxes and business taxes

I have pain in my hip and I can't stand up for more than 5 minutes

I need a root canal and fillings

But none of that stuff really matters! I'm happy because all that stuff doesn't matter, God the creator of the universe has a plan, and he will use all these things for His Glory!   I don't know how, I don't know when, But God will use it for His Glory, not mine.   

I know God uses all things together for His good.  One day I will spend eternity with Him, and not here in this fallen world!

Looking to 2012

2011 is almost over,  it's been an eventful year, a growing year, and a challenging year.  I found these questions helpful in looking forward to the next year:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression than I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what I was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy.?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrusting?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? I If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
   

like a Flower and Withers away

Life is short, it's really short. According to the CDC the average lifespan is 77.7 for anyone living in the US. That sounds like a lot, sure, but the older you get you will see how short life really is. As of today I've lived only about 13519 of my 28391 days, I'm young.. but still life goes by quickly. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 103:15 "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;". What a great word picture, a field of grass and each day. In Job 14:2 it says "He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." How true, when we think about our feeble lives, and how frail we will become. Eventually we all die, it's a fact, so what have we done with our lives up to now? What will we do with our lives going forward? How can we live each day with purpose and passion that it's going to be sooner rather than later we will die. If I had one request today, it's that each of my days have more purpose, more vision, and driven to Glorify God with each breath of that day. Will I fail, sure, will I fall into the the dry place, it's all going to happen, but will it happen with ambition and drive to live as if I was the only person left who is responsible for expanding the Kingdom?