When You Feel Like Everything In Your Life Is Wrong

Job 1:12-22, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.  So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them:  And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

I want you to notice the oft repeated phrase, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another.” While one of Job's servants was telling him the BAD NEWS, while they were yet speaking another servant came with more BAD NEWS! And then as unbelievable as it may seem, even another servant came to Job bearing VERY BAD NEWS! The last servant told Job the horrifying BAD NEWS that his 10 children were all dead, killed by a sudden tornado which made the house fall upon them! Poor Job! Can you imagine? I think not. Unless we've been in someone's shoes, we truly CANNOT fully understand what they are suffering through.

Many years ago, while I was still married, I remember talking with a divorced man from Minnesota on the phone. He told me that he was divorced. His wife left him and filed for divorce. It was a done deal, sadly. I was in my 20's then, and thought I understood what he was going through. But it wasn't until 2006 when my own beloved wife divorced me against my will, that I truly understood the absolute inexplicable feeling of betrayal, and the staggering financial loss, and how close I came to taking my own life in despair and loneliness. My legal bills skyrocketed to $64,000, money gone forever. We lost our home. I lost most of my personal possessions. I was surviving out of a suitcase in a cheap hotel, turning food on the stove in my frying pan with needle-nosed pliers. I lost my pets, everything. I was absolutely devastated. Friend, the difference between knowing someone close to you who is going through a divorce, and going through a divorce YOURSELF; it is the same difference as having a close friend get hit by a truck, versus YOURSELF getting hit by a speeding Mack truck!!!

But there are times now, 16 years later, when I still feel like everything is wrong, but I can't think of anything that is so wrong that I should feel that way. I mean, good night, my name is written in Heaven (Luke 10:20). I am a redeemed child of the King! I have been set on high as God's child with princes and kings (Revelation 5:10). Why should I feel down and discouraged and defeated? Yet, I often feel so weak, so vulnerable and so helpless to do anything. I am just a voice! Yet, God can use my voice to help others. And when I say “a voice,” I also include my fingers and keyboard by which I have been diligently typing day and night for the past 20 years, so that God can use my voice online to preach the Gospel truth to the lost.

I once read something that Pastor Charles Spurgeon said that made an impression on me. Spurgeon said that he too at times felt nervous, unable to account for any reason why. But then he remembered a passage of the Bible from Hebrews 12:28-29, “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” Spurgeon read that sentence: “Our God is a consuming fire,” and then realized that he had been praying and draw close to God. James 4:8 promises that if we draw near unto God, He WILL also draw near (nigh) unto us. Could it be the very consuming fire of God's presence that makes us nervous as believers when we draw near unto Him? Yes, I do believe so, with all my heart.

Dear reader, when you feel like everything is wrong in life, humble yourself before your Creator. Seek His face! Wise men still seek Him!!! 2nd Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Seeking God's face in the Old Testament simply meant seeking God's approval. When a parent was proud of their child, they turned their face toward the child, to show that they are proud of them! But when their was shame, a parent looked away. Likewise, God turns His face away from the wicked, and rebellious children. If you want God's face toward you dear friend, then you need to obey Him. I am not speaking about salvation here, I am speaking to believers about obeying your heavenly Father.

God doesn't expect you to be perfect, He just wants you to GROW! That is all God expects. Are you growing in grace dear friend? As Christians we don't grow in strength, we grow in God's grace. Christ is our strength! Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” When you feel weak, just rest in your blessed Savior. Rest in the written promises of God in the Scriptures. Remember, Jesus and the Bible are twins! Jesus is the Living Word (John 1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13); but the Bible is the Written Word (Matthew 4:4; Hebrews 4:12). This is why Jesus could say in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” The Word existed before the world was created, and is God, and became incarnate (in the flesh) as a man, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3, 14).

When you feel like all hope is gone, and the walls are closing in around you, at first JUST EXIST. Don't do anything. Don't make any decisions. Go watch a movie and chill. Don't make any decisions when you're decision-maker is broken! Seek the Lord in all your ways. Simply humble yourself at Jesus' feet and seek His guidance, comfort and love. Hang in there! I have been at the bottom of life more times than I can remember!!! There were times when I had no strength at all emotionally. I didn't want to be around people. I needed to be alone.

Since 2004 I have suffered from horrible chronic neck pain. I have burning throughout my entire nervous system. The whole right side of my body feels half asleep ALL the time! It feels like dead weight after sitting for a few moments, and then I get up. Both of my arms feel inflated with air. This is a result of my second neck surgery in 2010, which made me 100% worse! That surgeon never should have cut into me, but in hindsight, he just wanted the money. I have been victimized by people in the medical industry umpteen times. I have met some monsters in the medical profession, who had zero love or compassion. In 2010, I wanted to jump out a window and die! Nobody cares. Nobody took my suffering seriously. They were selfish and just wanted their paychecks! But God was always with me, every step of the way (Hebrews 13:5). Oh, how I cried a river of tears!

When you feel like everything in your life is wrong, first realize that it is just that... FEELINGS. More times than not, my feelings deceive me! Usually the next day, I'll realize that the horrible emotions that I felt the preceding day were just that... EMOTIONS. There was never anything to fret or worry about, but I let life get me down anyway, and it felt so real at the moment. Our human feelings can really take us on a rollercoaster ride!!! Kindly, you know what I say is very true. And if you take prescription medications like I do, they also affect your emotions. My pain medications tend to make me feel like crying. Drugs can have a major effect on your body.

I've been doing a test recently on my body by eating different foods, to see how I feel. I have proven to myself that when I eat beans, oatmeal, cottage cheese, nuts and seeds, vegetables and other healthy foods, I feel better overall. Certain foods have anti-inflammatory healing properties. Onions, olive oil, nuts, cherries, fish (omega 3 fatty acids), fruits and certain other foods, help reduce inflammation that causes arthritis pain. My neck pain is always there, but it seems that when I eat healthy the bad isn't as bad. Then again, on some days nothing helps, and the pain is intolerable. It doesn't help that my doctor in Florida refuses to prescribe the 80 mg a day that I need of Oxycontin. She has me on 40 mg. per day, citing clinic policy as the reason why she cannot go higher. The United States is not so great for pain sufferers!

Dear reader, I just wanted to share how I deal with grief. Like most people, I tend to engage in comfort eating, and I gain weight. Yes, I struggle with that too! What really helps me to relax when I'm feeling down is to write. I love to type blog and website articles. That is because I am intrigued with the thought that God is using me as a redeemed sinner to help other people. That is why I went to Hyles-Anderson College for 8 years (1985-1993), because I wanted to spend my life living to help others for Christ. ...

Lord, let me live from day to day

In such a self-forgetful way

That even when I kneel to pray,

My prayer shall be for others.

Others, Lord, yes, others;

Let this my motto be.

Help me to live for others

That I may live like Thee.

I am so glad that God is still using me. I am very thankful to God for giving me this website ministry. God put the idea and the desire into my heart, in 2002, to start this website ministry. Although Google has taken away 90% of my web traffic by censoring my ministry, God is still blessing my work. I have been attacked by many enemies over the years, men lacking faith and others who had a perverse faith in a skewed gospel.

Job is our example to follow, which is why God shared Job's life with us in His inspired Word. After losing everything (his wealth, his health, his children, and his wife's encouragement), Job refused to curse God. Perhaps you have cursed God at the darkest times of your life. Don't forget the story Jesus told about the two sons. Their father had sent both sons to go work in his field. The one son was angry and refused to go. The other son said he would gladly go. But the first son who was angry and bitter repented (changed his mind), and he went to work in his father's field. But the other son who said he would gladly go, also repented (changed his mind) and decided not to go work in his father's field after all. Jesus asked His disciples which son pleased the father? The correct answer is the son with the bad attitude, who got angry, but then afterward repented and went to go work in the field.

In other words, God is ultimately please with His children who obey Him. Okay, so you blew it and cursed God when things were bad. Okay, so you cursed God and quit church for several years, for whatever reason. But now you can repent (change your mind) and get back to serving God, and your heavenly Father will be well pleased with you. It is never too late to serve God, just so long as you are still alive here on earth. I am serving God right now by typing these blog articles, laying up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).

When Isaac in the book of Genesis felt the hairy arm of Esau, he was deceived. Had he gone by the voice of Jacob that he heard, he wouldn't have been deceived. I learned that truth from Dr. John R. Rice. You remember the story, don't you? Isaac was Abraham's son promised from the Lord. Isaac and Rebecca were married. They had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Esau was a hunter, a hairy man. Jacob was a mama's boy, who hung out in the kitchen. 

God had said at their time of birth that the elder would serve the younger. Esau was born first, among twins. Isaac was stubborn and wanted to give the birthright to Esau, his favorite son. But Rebekah favored Jacob, and knew of God's promise that the elder would serve the younger. So she sinfully took matters into her own hands. Dear friend, anytime that we take matters into our own hands, instead of trusting and waiting upon the Lord, we will make a mess of things.

That is what is sinfully going on in The Middle East today. God has promised to restore true Israel, but only when Jesus Christ returns (Hosea 3:4-5). But wicked people have taken matters into their own hands, as did Rebekah and Jacob, reforming the secular state of Israel in May of 1948. Almost immediately, there were demands for the Christian world to honor and financially support the restoration of Jews to their Homeland. This is called Zionism. But friend, impatient men are doing this, not God! Present-day Israel is NOT the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, it is a counterfeit. Satan is an imitator, a counterfeiter. Satan will imitate 3 things:

1. Israel - Satan's counterfeit is the present-day rebirth of Israel since 1948
2. Messiah - Satan's counterfeit will be the coming Antichrist, the False Messiah
3. Kingdom of God - Satan's counterfeit will be the New World Order

Please don't be deceived.

I have learned the hard way in life not to go by how I feel, or what seems to be the case; but rather, go by the VOICE of the inspired Word of God. Go by THE FACTS. Everybody has a right to their own OPINION, but no one has a right to their own FACTS!

I love the Old testament book of Esther. “God” is not mentioned even once in all 10 chapters. Yet, throughout the entire true story we see the hand of God at work. The truth to be learned is this: WHEN YOU CANNOT SEE THE HAND OF GOD, TRUST THE GREAT HEART OF GOD. Sometimes you and I are just going to have to TRUST God to make the sun shine again in our lives. The best thing we can do when we're down, confused and depressed is to STAY BUSY serving God. Don't ask, just do! Find some work to do for the Lord and then DO IT!

Enjoy Your Troubles While You Can (Pastor Jack Hyles)

There will be times in life, when you simply cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel ahead. I have been there! There will be times when you FEEL like nothing will ever return to normal in your life, and it may not. But if you have Jesus by your side, you will make it! John 17:12, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” Jesus never loses even one lamb!!! I am already on the winning side. I am going to Heaven. I don't have to fret or worry or wonder where I will spend eternity. God promises “TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE” (1st Corinthians 1:21b).

Some Day The Sun Will Shine Again

(Mrs. Beverly Hyles sings)