Why do bad things happen to good people? This has been asked by all and is one I'm sure God gets tired of us asking. It's almost like the cries of our impatient children when we are on road trip - "Are we there yet?" Just like the parent who is driving knows his destination, God knows why. Just as the child needs to trust the parent to get them there in time, we should trust God's reason is valid. We don't need to know why, we just need to trust in Him.
Easy to say, not so easy to do. When hard times hit, we never understand why. Sometimes we never get to know why. But often, over time, God reveals to us ways to learn from the tragedy we've faced or brings to light good things that have come from it. Job 12:13 says "True wisdom and real power belong to God; from Him we learn how to live and also what to live for."
I know that when I am upset or hurting over something in my life, I often act out in ways I should not. It's easy to try to blame God or someone else for our pain. It's natural to play the victim and feel abandoned. Even Job, who was considered a good man began to feel sorry for himself and felt like God had left him. And Job had friends who had no idea how to comfort or give Godly perspective. They fueled his fire. But there was one friend who gently reminded Job of God's incomprehensible power and purpose. Then Job realized where he had gone wrong in his suffering and confessed. God forgave of course, but He also provided. When Job finally humbled himself enough to rest in divine peace, God began to bless him again. God restored his wealth and family to prosperity like he had never known before.
No matter whether our bad things that happen are small or whether they are bigger than mountains, God understands our pain and knows we will act out. He expects it. But He also provides opportunities for us to recognize what we are doing and run back to Him. When we do that and give Him our pain and struggle, He uses our experience to shape and mold us and those around us according to His plan and purpose. We don't know His plans but if we trust Him, He will richly bless our lives.
So,difficult as it may be, I am choosing to be thankful for my times of adversity. This is what is shaping me into the person God wants me to be. It's more difficult when I see my loved ones go through strife, but I hope that I can be the friend who encourages and gently reminds of God's ever loving power. I *do* trust Him.... He is always there and always ready to catch me when I fall.
"Do you have any idea how powerful God is? Have you ever heard of a teacher like him? Has anyone ever had to tell him what to do, or correct him, saying, 'You did that all wrong!'? Remember, then, to praise his workmanship, which is so often celebrated in song. http://bible.us/Job36.22.MSG
Bad things must happen for us to not only appreciate the good things, but to simply recognize them in the first place. Imagine if everything were the color green. There would be no notion of color. Green only exists because we recognize it against the rainbow of other hues. If the temperature were always 72 degrees, everywhere, we wouldn't have a concept of temperature. Bad things happen so that we can have good things. Put another way, if only good things happened, we would never experience good.
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