What's this really about?

      I think we've all been there at one time or another. Something in life is kicking the snot out of you with great enthusiasm, and you're just trying to survive the day, week, month,(you get the idea). In times like these being an inspiration to anyone is the last thing on your mind. You don't have time to be a light, just getting out of bed in the morning is enough.
      But what if I told you, the simple act of surviving the storm is actually very inspiring to a lot of people who are drowning in whatever muck they're dealing with? What if your ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other is more than someone in your life is able to do?  The guy at work who knows you're a christian is trying to figure out where your strength comes from. The youth who looks up to you not because you're perfect, but because they see you still crawling towards God after you've screwed up. They want whatever it is you have that keeps you going in the midst of failure, frustration, heartache, or hardship. You may not think much of your ability to still be standing after the storm, but to a world aching for the love of God, it's everything.
     I was thinking of Edmond Dantes, from the Count of Monte Cristo. He was thrown in prison for (to him) no reason, and during his time there met an old man who had been trying to escape for years with no success. The old man may have been imprisoned, but he was alive. He still had heart, passion, and drive when most of us would have long since given over to despair. During their time together he taught Edmond much more than book learning, culture, and fighting. He gave the young man life, and the ability to live. The old man never escapes, he dies in the prison. That may seem a sad ending to a lot of people. But if the old man had not gone through what he did, Edmond would never have met him, and his story would have ended there. Edmond's life hinged upon his meeting with, and learning from the old man.
     When Joseph was sold into slavery, and imprisoned, I'm sure he didn't see how it was all going to turn out until the end. But because he did, thousands of lives where saved. He would never have been in a position to interpret Pharaoh's dream had life been "fair". Egypt's salvation hinged upon Joseph's suffering.
    We are often so focused on our own misery, that we think our trial, valley, situation is all about us. But what if it isn't? What if we give our pain over to God, not just for Him to move in our lives (which He will), but to let our season be used for His glory? We may not get to see the lives being changed, we may never know how far the ripples of our faith and actions go. But I believe that if we ask God to use our trial for His glory and the benefit of others He will.
     After all, there's no sense in letting a perfectly good "bad day" go to waste.