August 19, 2020
One of the most common questions I have found people asking is, “Why is this happening to me, I am a good person?” Have you ever asked this question? I have. Have you come up with an answer to the question? I have in part. What makes a person good? Am I a good person? What makes a person bad? Am I a bad person? Is it true that bad things never happen to good people? Is it true that bad things should only happen to bad people? Are people always rewarded for being good? Is there a difference between being good and being righteous? These are some of the difficult questions that arise out of tragedy. These questions come when we are grieving. The answers to these questions are sometimes difficult to believe even when the Bible answers them very clearly.
Let us look at how the Bible answers these questions. The supposition is that there are good people. “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Luke 18:19 (ESV) So, let’s get rid of the concept that we are good people. I am sorry to say I am not good and unfortunately neither are you. Therefore, the initial supposition is false. The assumption that there are good people is false so in truth bad things happen to bad people like me.
One of the passages that helped me understand why God allows bad things to happen. John 9:1-3 says, “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’” (ESV) This passage is an example of several things. It tells me bad things do not necessarily happen because of my sin or my parents’ sin. It does tell me that bad things happen to allow for God’s works can be seen. So, how can bad things show God’s work. I have found and would say that how I respond to “bad things” in my life can show God’s work in me. If I respond with faith it shows God’s work. If I do not it can show the contrast that God is not a factor in the world.
There is a passage that is true but sometimes difficult to handle for someone is in the throes of difficult time is Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (ESV) Most people stop after verse 28. However, this passage points out that all things work for the good. But it seems to me that bad things lead believers in Jesus to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. It also tells us that they happen that we might be justified and glorified.
I still struggled with my wife Laura’s mental illness and suicide. It took me seven and a half years to struggling to really believe the situation was something I could be thankful for. James tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 (ESV) The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart at a men’s prayer retreat, He pointed out that I did not believe this passage. He pointed out that if I truly believed that my struggles were to make me perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, I could have joy in my circumstance. Even though at times I struggle with being joyful in my everyday life all of the time, for the most part I now live with joy. But there are times when I sink back into the lack of joy that God wants for me.
James does not say that we must be joyful for bad things that happen but rather that we must be joyful despite the bad thing that happen. Not only can we become more perfect, but He is asking us to believe in His plans to make His glory known in us and turn it into a “display of his glory.”
Isaiah 61:1-3 says The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified
In conclusion, God allows bad things to happen to reveal how He works in us ways for it to help us become perfect and complete. If you are experiencing bad things in your life, lean into God and ask Him to reveal how He can work it for your good. For you to lean into God you first need a relationship with Jesus so you can repair the broken relationship with God caused by sin. If you do not know Jesus then you need to learn how to know Jesus.
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