Isn't That The Way It Goes?

Things only break when you need them.

Like our air conditioner. It's starting to get warm here, and the allergens are horrible, so we decided to turn on the air. Everything was fine, house was cool, life was good. Until my wife called me at work yesterday and told me the AC wasn't working anymore. The house was 82 degrees, and climbing. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Sure, we can live without AC. We don't really need it, but it sure is nice. And like most things, you don't really realize just how nice it is until you don't have it. I could live without AC, just like I could live without electricity and running water. People did it for thousands of years. But for the sake of marital bliss and household peace, that's not going to happen.

It's not convenient when things break down, because they never seem to break until and unless you need them. That's the way life goes.

It'd be easy to get frustrated.

In fact, I did. I am. I'm hoping I know what the problem is and can fix it as soon as I get the right part. But what if that's not it? What if we have to replace the whole unit? What if that leads to a new furnace as well? We're also replacing our roof in a couple of weeks. Can we afford both? What if . . .

That's when things start going down hill. We start playing the what if game, and all the sudden the situation seems 10 times worse than it really is. That's not a Christian attitude. That's the work of the enemy.

You see, as Christians, we are not to have a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline (II Timothy 1:7). Worrying about the what ifs in life is neither powerful, loving, nor self-disciplined. It's frustration. It's fear

It's wrong.

There is a better way.

Considering the problem at hand, I'm pretty confident I can fix it. If not, then someone else can. It may cost more money than I'd like, but God will provide. He always does. That's the attitude of confidence we are to have. That's the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline we are to call on when times get tough.

Things will break. Life will go wrong. You can bet it will happen at the worst possible moment, too. That is the way it goes. When life happens, we have two choices: Live in fear of the what ifs, or claim the spirit God has given us.

That is the better way.