When You've Had a Bad Day

First, accept yourself as human. Realize that it's all right to fail and not feel okay. It's all part of the human experience. You don't have to be perfect to be a worthwhile person. You just need to be you.

Second, when you fall, don't stay down. Recognize that the only real failure is not to get up one more time than you've been knocked down. So get up, determined with God's help that you are going to make something worthwhile of your life no matter what—and that you are going to contribute something of value to mankind.

Third, learn through your trials and failures. Turn them into learning experiences that you can use as stepping stones on your pathway to fulfillment and success. Problems and failures can be our greatest teachers.

Fourth, learn to trust in God. Accept your disappointments as his appointments, knowing that he is seeking to use these to draw you closer to himself and to enrich and mature your life. And even if you don't feel like it, thank God for the lessons he is wanting to teach you through your painful situations.

The only real failure is not
to get up one more time than
you've been knocked down.

Fifth, don't quit. A "parable" is told about a concert a famed pianist held. An air of expectancy filled the crowded hall as the audience anxiously awaited the entrance of the great musician.

A nine-year-old boy, impatient with waiting and fascinated by the magnificent Steinway grand piano on center stage, slipped away unnoticed from his parents and made his way to the platform.

After observing the beautiful instrument in great detail, and totally oblivious to the packed house, the boy sat down on the piano bench and began to play his rendition of his most polished piece of music—"Chopsticks!"

At first there was deadly silence as the audience gasped in amazement. Some began to snicker. Another called out in anger, "Whose kid is that?" followed by the not too kind directive, "Somebody get him out of here!"

Backstage, the pianist looked up to see what all the commotion was about. Quickly summing up the situation, he quietly slipped alongside the boy and began to play a beautiful counter-harmony around the child's "Chopsticks" melody.

"Keep playing," he whispered to the boy. "Don't stop. Play on. You're doing magnificently. Just don't quit!"

While this story is probably a fable, this is exactly what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does for each one of us when we surrender our hearts and lives to him. He sits down beside us, no matter what our situation, and whispers, "Don't stop. Keep playing. Don't give up. I'm here beside you to help you, to encourage you, to enrich your life. Just don't quit. Trust me and I will make something beautiful out of your life."

Back to Page One