I was talking with a friend the other day and he mentioned that he was “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” Something good had happened in his life, and instead of fully enjoying what had happened, he was waiting for something else to happen that would put a damper on his joy. I find that many of us have that same feeling when something good happens; that there’s something just around the corner that’s not so good.

The phrase originated in the early 1900s in New York. Many people lived in high-rise buildings with small apartments and hard floors. When someone in the upstairs apartment would take off their shoes, the people in the downstairs apartment could hear them hit the floor. After hearing the first one hit, they would “wait for the other shoe to drop.” It was an annoying but accepted everyday occurrence. Negative thoughts can bring you down even when things are going great, but you don’t have to let them.

In Genesis we are told of two brothers, Cain and Abel. Cain had become angry because the Lord had looked with favor on the offering of Abel, but on Cain’s offering, He did not look with favor. The Lord asked Cain why he was angry and looking so downcast, and then made a very important statement to Cain:

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  (Gen. 4:7; NIV)

God was saying that even though sin was waiting for him, he still had the opportunity to rule over it. He could decide to do the right thing and sin would not be able to have him. As the story goes, Cain killed his brother and paid a severe price for it. The sad part is that it did not have to end that way. It was fully within Cain’s ability to make the right decision, he just didn’t do it. He was not content with what God had given him and paid the price for his discontent.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he writes that:

“the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Php. 4:8; NIV)

This is telling us that if we open our hearts and minds to the leading of our Lord, He will get us through anything the world can throw at us. There is no reason to worry about what’s coming around the corner. What’s more, Paul follows-up with something that we all need to remember:

“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  (Php. 4:12b-13; NASB)

Life is so much more fulfilling when you ask God into every part of it. He will strengthen you and give you peace, even when the other shoe drops.

Have a great week and God bless.