When Life Deals You A Bad Hand

Have you ever felt like you’ve been dealt a bad hand of cards by Life? Things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped or expected. You’ve had a lifetime of pain, and you don’t understand why. Your heart’s desire is to win, to be more than a conqueror through Christ, but you just feel like you have lost.

Some of the bad, painful circumstances that happen to us are out of our control, such as childhood sexual and physical abuse, the tragic death of a loved one, a natural disaster like a tsunami or an earthquake, or a company’s “restructuring” and consequently your job loss.

Some pain in our lives is the direct result of our sinful choices, such as Adam and Eve being driven out of Eden from their eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3) or David’s son dying because of his adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband killed in battle with Joab’s help (2 Samuel 12:14). Maybe you had an abortion, had an affair, or became addicted to drugs or alcohol, and the fruit of that choice was heartache, hurting those you loved, and life-time regret.

At other times, painful things happen to us because we are doing what is right before God, and as a result, we have become Satan’s special target of attack.  (Job 1:6-22)

Maybe you aren’t sure why life has dealt you a “bad hand.” I remember a song years ago that Kenny Rogers sang called, The Gambler. I don’t gamble, drink whiskey, or smoke, but I think some of the lyrics have merit and wisdom, like this part:

“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done

Now every gambler knows the secret to survivin’
Is knowin’ what to throw away
And knowin’ what to keep
‘Cause every hand’s a winner
And every hand’s a loser
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep.”

Maybe you’ve really been dealt a bad hand, whatever the cause of it.

Maybe it’s time to fold ’em. Maybe it’s time to run. Decide what to keep in your life, and what to throw out.

Maybe it’s time for a new life somewhere else.

Image Resource: Image: Graeme Weatherston / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Video – The Gambler

Comments

comments