Bad Things Happen To Good People

For those of you out there who may be under the mistaken assumption that a Christian's life should go smoothly with no bumps in the road, that Christians should never suffer evil, or that if adversity should come, Christians should immediately be delivered of it's negative effects, this message is for you. Maybe you happen to be a Christian yourself and believe this. If so, I am here to inform you that you are in for a rude awakening at some point in time in your life. As much as we would like to believe that we are totally invincible, eventually something is going to hit us and ruin the ideal world we have created for ourselves. Most of the time it makes no sense and rarely has anything to do with who we are. It's just life and sometimes it stinks. Let's face it. Bad things do happen to good people.


There are many biblical examples of good people who suffered dark moments in their lives, yet stood the test and came out victorious in the end. They had no idea, at the time, that what they were experiencing had much greater purpose than they could have ever imagined. People like Joseph, whose forgiving spirit and obedience to God granted him favor with Pharaoh and saved his people from extinction. Daniel, who, because he would not follow popular opinion but chose to obey God instead, walked out of the lions den unharmed, convincing the King that his God was the one true God. Job, who suffered untold grief, financial loss, and grave sickness, was restored ten fold because he trusted God through it all and did not charge God foolishly. And, who can forget our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered much affliction in both body and mind, that he might purchase our eternal salvation?


God has never promised the children of God that bad things would not happen to them. The singer Lynn Anderson once sang a song that said "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometimes. " So it is with the Christian walk. God has told us in his word that "it rains on the just and the unjust". It is not what we go through in life that separates a believer from a nonbeliever. Bad things happen to Christians and non-Christians alike. It should be our attitude and outlook on the situations we go through that differentiates us from the rest of the world. It's our faith and endless hope that we have in our God to be there with us in the fiery furnaces of our trials, and to deliver us when his will has been done and his timing says it is finished.


As a Christian, we are on display to everyone around us. People watch to see how we react to trouble--either for strength or to ridicule. So, for this reason, it his essential that we remember who we are, even in our darkest moments. We are not to render evil for evil, but contrary-wise blessing. We are to follow that which is good and hold fast to it, rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks to our Lord and Savior...for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. That said, it is important to remember, if we become onlookers of the sufferings of others, that it is not our responsibility to ask why things happen to certain people or why tragedy skips some and hits others. There may be a reason for their suffering that we can not see. We don't always see the big picture because we as humans have impaired vision. We see only so much, just the here and now. God can see the entire picture and how everything fits together like a giant puzzle.


We must always remember, our response to trials, pressures, and tragedies in our lives is an opportunity for God to get the glory. When we respond appropriately, God is glorified. Those who witnessed the apparent ruin of the above mentioned biblical patriarchs, denouncing them as fools for believing in their God, were in the end shown to be fools themselves. Those patriarchs' response to pressure brought glory to God in the end. It was an opportunity for God to show his power and abilities through their time of adversity. God desires to do so through ours as well. When we trust Him, the rewards are out of this world, and worth all our suffering in the end. So, if, as a Christian, we find ourselves in the midst of extreme adversity and dark trials, it is our great privilege to glorify Christ in our bodies through it. We do not have to understand why. We must remember that the whys are not always apparent. We just have to trust God and persevere...for we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.