That's good....no, that's bad.....

Things are tough all over....our President elect said that things are bad and getting worse...this morning I found these lyrics to a song I've never heard before....

OH THAT'S GOOD, NO THAT'S BAD
Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs


SPOKEN:
(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Bad.
(Sam) No, That's Good.

(Verse 1)
Not long ago I was walking down the street
When a woman in a car knocked me off my feet.
(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Bad.
(Sam) No, That's Good.

(Verse 2)
My insurance paid me a lot of dough,
More money than I'd seen in a year's payroll
(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Good.
(Sam) No, That's Bad.

(Verse 3)
My doctor's bills is where my money went
And all I had left was a very bad limp

(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Bad.
(Sam) No, That's Good.

(Bridge)
Cause the way I walked, got me a role
as the marshall's partner on a TV show
Pretty young actresses started hanging round
and every night we'd do the town

(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Good.
(Sam) No, That's Bad.

(Verse 4)
I ended up back in a hospital bed
Cause my horse fell on my bad leg

(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Bad.
(Sam) No, That's Good.

(Verse 5)
Cause just when I was feeling my worst
I fell in love with a beautiful nurse

(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Good.
(Sam) No, That's Bad.

(Bridge)
Cause I found out she was the doctor's wife
Now I'll be in a wheelchair the rest of my life
Cause no matter how I pleaded and begged
He operated on my good leg.

(The Shamettes) Ohhhhh, That's Bad.
(Sam) No, That's AWFUL.


I learned a long time ago that we tend to have our own definition of success and happiness, the problem is, that definition may be different from God's. We tend to think that when everyone is healthy, the bills are paid and money is in the bank, then things are good. Otherwise, things are bad.

It is interesting though, that in several places the Bible discusses the benefits of trials.

2 Corinthians 8
1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.

2 Thessalonians 1
4Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

James 1
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

I Peter 1
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

It's difficult, but I'm trying to see this time as a trial, refining my faith by fire...