From the moment he wakes up with gum in his hair, things just don’t go Alexander’s way. At breakfast, Alexander’s brothers, Nick and Anthony, reach into their cereal boxes and pull out amazing prizes, while all Alexander ends up with is cereal. His teacher doesn’t like his drawing of an invisible castle, there is no dessert in his lunch, the dentist tells him he has a cavity, there is kissing on TV, and he has to wear his railroad train pajamas (he hates wearing his railroad train pajamas). No wonder Alexander wants to move to Australia. But his mother assures him that everyone has bad days, even people in Australia. That’s the story of Judith Viorst’s children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
That’s not just the topic of a cute little children’s book. It was the theme of a hit pop song written by Canadian singer, Daniel Powter that reached the #1 spot in both the United States and Ireland in 2005. It’s a real catchy tune and the chorus reads like this:
Because you had a bad day
That’s not just the topic of a cute little children’s book. It was the theme of a hit pop song written by Canadian singer, Daniel Powter that reached the #1 spot in both the United States and Ireland in 2005. It’s a real catchy tune and the chorus reads like this:
Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
Have you ever had a really bad day? As we continue in the book of Esther we could call this part, “Haman’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” As chapter five opens (visit previous blog postings to see overviews of chapters 1-4), Esther is ready to break the law and go before King Xerxes to expose herself as a Jew and ask him to save her and her people from Haman’s diabolical plot of Jewish extermination.
Before she goes to the king, she spends three days in fasting and prayer. Remember, she literally is breaking the law of the land by voluntarily interrupting the king. To do so was to literally risk her own life. Before she took this step of courage she prepared herself spiritually. She knew she needed Divine help and guidance to succeed. If anyone could cause the king to look favorably on her it would be God. Proverbs 21:1 tells us that no one is any match for God. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord…the Lord causes it go whatever direction He desires. Is your spouse being cruel? Fast and pray…no one is any match for God. Is your boss being cruel? Fast and pray…no one is any match for God. Is your pastor being cruel (yeah, it happens)? Fast and pray…for even your pastor is no match for God. More tomorrow!
Have you ever had a really bad day? As we continue in the book of Esther we could call this part, “Haman’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” As chapter five opens (visit previous blog postings to see overviews of chapters 1-4), Esther is ready to break the law and go before King Xerxes to expose herself as a Jew and ask him to save her and her people from Haman’s diabolical plot of Jewish extermination.
Before she goes to the king, she spends three days in fasting and prayer. Remember, she literally is breaking the law of the land by voluntarily interrupting the king. To do so was to literally risk her own life. Before she took this step of courage she prepared herself spiritually. She knew she needed Divine help and guidance to succeed. If anyone could cause the king to look favorably on her it would be God. Proverbs 21:1 tells us that no one is any match for God. The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord…the Lord causes it go whatever direction He desires. Is your spouse being cruel? Fast and pray…no one is any match for God. Is your boss being cruel? Fast and pray…no one is any match for God. Is your pastor being cruel (yeah, it happens)? Fast and pray…for even your pastor is no match for God. More tomorrow!
2 comments:
Your sermon was awesome on Sunday -- Thank you for your dedication to making the Bible come alive and relate to us today.
Thank you so much, Anonymous! Youre comments and encouragement mean a lot!
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