"The Worst Day Ever" -- part 2

Today, I would like to follow up with the "Worst Day Ever" series by considering the case of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, a Japanese writer of the early 20th century. If anyone had cause to have a "Worst Day Ever," it was Akutagawa. Shortly after his birth, his mom went insane. He was subsequently adopted by an uncle. When he was 28, in 1921, he interrupted a successful writing career to become a reporter in China, during which he became very ill.

So here is a young man, in the prime of life, who has no parents, no health. Furthermore, after his China experience, his mental and physical health started deteriorating. By the time he was 35, in 1927, he overdosed on prescription medication. This young man, who had so much going for him - a world-class author and reporter -- totally gave up!

Hiroshi Inamura, a specialist in youth suicide, says that youth frequently commit suicide as an attempt to somehow punish those, such as parents or the lack thereof, who slighted them by their death. Let me address for a moment the idea many in our world have that God has slighted them. Such people, if they don't commit actual suicide, may instead commit a form of intellectual or moral or emotional suicide, telling themselves that "God doesn't care what I think, who I am, what I do, how I feel, so why should I?" and totally give up on themselves and let themselves fall into all sorts of depravity, which is what exists in the absence of God.

I want to counter such assumptions today with the story of Gideon in Judges 6-7. The nation of Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites. Granted, it was as a result of their sin, and God allowed it to bring them to repentance. Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press at the time, in order to save it from the Midianites. We can think of the wine press as kind of a hiding place: a place of safety for both the wheat and for Gideon. He may have been thinking, "God has abandoned us to the Midianites, I'll just store up what little I have here in the winepress, and die. That will teach God for allowing the nation of Israel to be destroyed!" for such is the way of human despair. But God had other plans.

The Angel of the Lord, whom many commentaries and myself included believe to be a Christophany, an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament, calls out "The Lord is with you, O caliant warrior!" Gideon is so despondent that he argues with God, doubting what the Lord could do through him. But God loved Gideon and used him even through all his doubts and insecurities, to defeat the enemy, and even kept the land free from enemy control all the days of Gideon's life, even though Gideon again screwed up after he won the initial battle by creating an idol out of the gold the army captured. We know this because Judges 8:28 declares that the land had 40 years of peace during the time of Gideon.

So in closing let me encourage you, those who have gicen their lives to Christ, the Lord is with you! You are a mighty warrior! Throw off the sin that so easily besets you! Cast down your idols! Let God use you! Don't consider past failures or defeats!

And if you have not given your life to Christ, let me encourage you to do so, that you may have life everlasting and full of glory!

I will continue with part three with some practical solutions on how to overcome the worst day ever.