11/1/2025
When Life Doesn’t Go as Expected
What do we do when life doesn’t go the way we expected it to go? I recently watched a movie called “Soul on Fire” which is about a man named John O Leary who when he was a young boy suffered terrible burning in a house fire. This certainly isn’t how he thought his life would go and this event drastically changed the trajectory of his life. Despite all the odds he would later become a famous motivational speaker inspiring many with his story. If you have time take a moment to learn more about his life and how God used him to help thousands of people.
There's one thing I want to focus on that I took from watching this movie and it comes from a quote where John and his father are talking together about life and its difficulties. His father Denny shares with John how he learned a valuable lesson from watching him overcome his battles as a kid dealing with severe burns, learning to walk again, and losing his fingers. His father shares, “You can’t always choose the path you walk but you can choose the way you walk it.” I thought this was a powerful statement that could help all of us respond differently to life’s difficulties. Instead of growing angry, frustrated and bitter for not having the life we thought we should have, we can learn to find joy in the life that we are living now. You might be given a path that is bumpy and filled with difficulties but you can choose to maintain a spirit of joy and learn to love the path you’re on.
There are many examples of characters in the bible that also experienced life changing circumstances. Jospeh is a prime example of that. He experienced dreams where he was a powerful leader and God was using him but then suddenly he was left for dead by his own brothers. Things didn’t go Josephs way either but he kept on the path that God had him on and he ended up becoming the man he saw in his dreams. Joseph had an opportunity to respond to his brothers with hatred and to be bitter towards them but instead he chose to forgive them and take care of them in a time of need.
The question is not what do we do when life doesn’t go as expected because ultimately there are going to be some bumps in the road, the question is how do we respond to those bumps? You can either give up and choose to complain about every little thing or you can learn to find joy even in the midst of adversity. Lastly, we can be reminded of what James tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4). So how are you going to walk the path that’s been set before you? Will you drag your feet? Or will you rejoice wherever the Lord might take you?
God bless all of you and happy holidays,
Pastor Ben Shade