Most of us have heard the term “Murphy’s Law,” which is better stated, “If anything can go wrong, it will!” The term was alleged to be born at Edwards Air Force Base’s North Base in 1949.
Captain Edward A. Murphy was an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981. This project was designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash. It is rumored during the project after finding a transducer was wired wrong, he cursed the technician responsible and said, “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.” The contractor’s project manager kept a list of “laws” and added this one, which he simply called “Murphy’s Law.”
Murphy’s Law Moments
We’ve all had times when we became firm believers in Murphy’s Law. These are times when seemingly everything that could possibly go wrong in our particular situation goes wrong! It is the day your spouse of twenty years gives you the news he or she no longer wants to be married. It is the day you had your follow-up doctor’s visit and found the test results revealed cancer.
In one way or another, we’ve all had our Murphy’s Law moments! The Bible tells us it rains on the just as well as the unjust; but when the rain pours, we all sometimes ask, why me?
Can’t Top This Bad Day
The Bible speaks about someone who experienced the personification of Murphy’s Law, complicated by one bad experience after another. He experienced the pain of betrayal by one friend and denial by another. At the end of his worst day, he felt the loneliness of desertion, the brutal agony of beatings, and the slanderous accusations of false witnesses who appeared before him in a kangaroo court, sentencing him to death on a cross. Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
But the Bible tells us Jesus “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8) And through what seemed to be Jesus’s worst day on earth, God brought a day of victory. Through His death we have salvation. Instead of calling it a day of dread or dismay, we gratefully call it Good Friday.
Power Stronger Than Murphy’s Law
As believers go through the “Murphy’s Law” moments of life, we have hope that this same Jesus is with us during our worst days and has promised never to leave nor to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5b). What does this mean in our Murphy moments? It means we still serve a God who, in our worst experiences, is able to do above and beyond all we can think or imagine in our lives so ultimately He is glorified (Ephesians 3:20).
During the challenging moments in our lives, even when we make mistakes, Jesus is right there with us. He is our Advocate (1 John 2:1b); and as stated in Hebrews 2:18, He is one who is familiar with our sufferings and temptations. He is able to provide the strength to be victorious in every bad situation so we can know “All things work together for good to them that love God . . . .” (Romans 8:28a)
Your circumstances may not be nearly as horrific; your day may not be half as bad as Jesus’ Friday was! Nevertheless, whatever your day may hold — whether Friday, Monday, or any other day of the week — our Lord is able to turn it into a good day! Our celebration of Resurrection Sunday, which the world calls “Easter Sunday,” is a reminder to us no matter what we are going through, we can celebrate in the knowledge our Friday’s lead to Resurrection Sunday.
By Dr. L.W. Edwards
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