So you had a bad day...

Today is a good day. The 400 dollar tax return that I thought I was going to get on my taxes turned into a 650 dollar debt to the state of Oregon. (If you're counting that's a 1,050 dollar swing.)  Now after reading that you're probably thinking that the first sentence was intended to be very sarcastic. But you are wrong. Very, very wrong.

The details of what happened are pretty simple. I hadn't received my w2 from some unemployment benefits that I got last year, and just didn't really think about that when I did my taxes a couple days ago. So after typing the information into turbo tax, I watched the nice green number shrink and the ugly red number grow. Obviously I was very upset by this. Like I said before, I went from being incredibly excited, (I was going to pay off my credit card with that money), to immediately being devastated and trying to figure out where the heck I'm going to get 650 dollars from. Not a very good day. In fact a very bad day.

Let me tell you about someone else's bad day though. He was a very rich man. A very, very, very rich man. In fact he was the greatest man of the "men of the east." Last time I checked that's a good portion of the world. He had a huge family and was a very well respected man. He had everything. Probably had to sell his soul to get all this stuff right? Wrong! He was an upright man, fearing God, and turning away from evil! Wow, what a stand-up guy!

His name was Job. Yes, the guy from the Bible. And you know the story. He lost everything. All his sons and daughters were killed, he lost all his wealth, his wife ultimately turned against him. In other words, he had a bad day. A much, much worse day than I had today. And after all this happened, we get, in my opinion, the most incredible example of worship in the Bible! "He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD."  Every time I think about this story I am amazed all over again!

So yeah, obviously my day was nowhere as near as bad as that. But you would still think it's a pretty bad day right? And here's where I tell you again that you are wrong! (man you are really striking out today...)  Are you ready for the good news?

I learned some amazing things today! Basically two things: I don't need stuff to be happy, (in fact just the opposite sometimes), and God has blessed me incredibly! I guess it's semi-ironic that I am really struck by how incredibly God has blessed me when I am getting ready to sell most of my toys and pay a huge tax bill. But God has given me incredible peace and joy through this experience!

As I am writing this, I am sitting in the plasma donation center, looking at all the people around me, and wondering about their stories. How many times am I just too self-absorbed to care about others?  I think that most of them are in much tougher and more stressful situations than I am--who am I to complain? God has blessed me so abundantly and incredibly!!! I have a job that provides for my needs, one that I actually enjoy! I have what I need to live comfortably. I also have the most amazing people in my life, a girlfriend who is amazing, supportive friends, an amazing church family (with an incredible pastor, Dave Adams!), and the most wonderful family ever!

Next time you hear me complaining, slap me. No, I'm serious. Just slap me and remind me that we serve an amazing God who never fails to bless us, love us, and take care of us! That's why this is a good day, because I serve an amazing God! Yup, definitely a good day, and it's only gonna get better!


"Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me; For I am afflicted and needy. 
Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. 
Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long.
Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. 
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And give heed to the voice of my supplications! 
In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me. 
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Yours. 
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.
 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God. 
Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol." 
(Psa 86:1-13)