Making A Bad Situation Worse

My baby girl, age 11, experienced her first pimple bump, positioned perfectly, on the right side of her face, about an inch underneath the eye. Using motherly wisdom, I warned her not to pick at it because, it was too soon, and it could make it worse. When she came home from school the next day, there was a noticeable change in the blemish. What started out as a small, red bump, had now turned into a sore. She was devastated. Without caring how hideous she looked, she was putting band-aids on it, and applying globs of cocoa butter on it. Sounds familiar?

Have you ever had a small problem/situation that you were faced with—carelessly, you approached it the wrong way, and made it worse? Then, found yourself trying to bandage it up, and apply soothing creams on it, to make it feel better, or to reverse the bigger mess you’ve created. This could be as simple as a small bump, but for most of us, it’s life—our finances, marriages, friendships, raising our kids, our bodies, our health, ministries, goals, etc. And for those of us that understand the power of words, we don’t even have to put our hands on a situation to make it worse, we can just speak the wrong things regarding it, our lives, and things/people attached to us.

Sarah is a prime example of meddling—trying to fix a problem in her own way, and making a bad situation worse. I’m sure she thought to herself a million times, “What on earth have I done?” Every time she turned around, there it was; a reminder of what she had done. But in the end, God fixed it.

We can’t change what has already been done, but I’m confident, that there is absolutely nothing too hard for God, and he can definitely clean up, heal, and undo, some of the things we’ve done. However, from this point forward, we have to learn to be careful in how we approach a situation. Be careful what we do, and most importantly, watch the words that we speak, regarding our situations, and our lives.

Some things are just not for us to mess with, but in the result that we do, it’s not the end of the world. Although we can’t fix it, God can. Is there anything too hard for God—even the messes that we make for ourselves? Absolutely not!

I’m a true believer that this is what God meant by: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT) Yes, even what we consider bad, and mess-ups, God can use for a bigger and better purpose, and for His Glory! “I can see Him saying, she messed up, but I can use that later. Uh-oh, she messed up again, I can use that too!” Only God can make a mess, a message, and bless someone by it.

Disclaimer: Sometimes the consequences of our actions, leaves an everlasting blemish. These lessons should be used as testimonies for others. Don’t you remember someone older telling you that they are telling you this, to keep you from making the same mistakes as they did? Right; it’s a learning experience. So, don’t be sad about it, use it to help someone else.

Stay Hopeful,

Clarissa