Why Bad Things Happen To Good People
We give our best, we do our best, and we try to be our best, yet often life rewards us with hurts, hardships, heartaches and headaches.
Rare will you find the faith of the little girl, who after being warned by her physician, she was about to lose her sight, prayed unto God, “if it will bring you glory, you don’t have to take my sight I'll give it to you.”
To you, today it’s a problem, but to God it’s an opportunity.
So why do bad things happen to good people? I’ve got few reasons. The first of which can be found in verses # 3 & 4.
I. In our struggles God comforts us so that we can comfort others.
The word comfort is related to the Greek term PARAKLEOS. The term PARAKLEOS means: to call aside, to join hand in hand with another individual, with the purpose of aiding the other in bearing their burdens.
Now it’s wonderful to know today that the Holy Spirit has no burdens, one of His jobs is to walk with us and help bear our burdens. You see when we invoke the power of God; we are inviting the presence of God's Holy Spirit. Therefore God Challenges us to use His comfort to strengthen others.
Yes, bad things happen to good people!
But let’s deal with the real question. I’ve heard the question we’ve asked, and let me tell you the question we ought be asking! We ask: How can I get out of this?
What we should be asking is: What can I get out of this?
You ought to have the faith of the Hebrew boys, who when being warned of being cast into the fiery furnace, said to the king, nawl king we won’t bow!! And if by chance our God allows us to be cast into the fiery furnace, King, let the record reflect, even if He chooses not to deliver us, make certain the record reflects He’s Able!
Abraham was told by God to take his son Isaac up to Mt. Moriah. Look, He was willing to give up a son and God gave him a whole nation in return!
Job said, “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him.” He received double of everything he had prior to his sufferings!
I was reading Chuck Swindoll’s book and he said, “When God allows bad things to happen to good people, He is creating within us the capacity to empathize.” In other words He is teaching us to feel for the next guy.
You see, God gives us some things that we might give away. Watch this, God brings joy out of our sorrow that we might give joy to others that are in sorrow. God brings peace out of our confusion that we might bring peace to others that are confused. The Lord brings hope out of our despair. He brings love out of our hate, He brings good out of bad, and He does so to empower us with that which is necessary to benefit others around us.
While you’re trying to keep joy and peace for yourself, you ought to recognize that the fruit of the spirit are all multiplied when they are shared among others. You see, the Lord allows us to go through suffering so that when others are going through we can slip our arms around them and say to them honey I’ve done that, I got the T- shirt, I just wanted to let you know that God is certainly a father to the fatherless, He is certainly a mother to the motherless. It’s just a matter of time honey and our God is going to bring you through. Your heart is broken, don’t worry baby, I’ve been there. The only thing that will fix a broken heart is God and a little time.
We are sitting on testimonies that can help others in procuring their deliverance. You’re sitting on your testimony; you ought to be the first one when you know what God has done, to embrace others around you. Here is another reason God allows bad things to happen to good people.
II. Our struggle motivates us to rely on God rather than Ourselves.
It’s right there in verse #9, don’t you see it?
Now, I didn’t write the Bible and I am not in any position to add to the Bible. But I did come up with a little proverb of my own…. And that is “He who relies on himself will always be disappointed.” In fact there are some things believers ought never say. There are some words that ought not ever flow out of the mouths of believers. There are some phrases that we should never use. I’m not talking about 4 letter words; I’m talking about things we say which curse the Power of God!!!!
For instance, here is one, “I can handle it.” Can I ask you a little something? How well are you doing? Here is another “I’ve got it under control,” “I can fix it,” I am persuaded if you could fix it you would have done so by now!! Here is another one “I did it.” What did you do? Do we really believe that? God wants us to rely on Him and Him alone. See, so He remind’s us of our inability to do anything ourselves.
And when we tend to forget that it is the He within us and not the I, he proves it to us. (old folks)
Our hands cannot measure up to God’s hands. Our hands are feeble and frail, finite and faint, our hands are falible and faulty, our hands are futile and frustrated. Gods hand is powerful, I mean there is literally nothing God can’t do. His hand is merciful, forgiving… Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to us to motivate us to rely on him rather than ourselves.
I don’t always know what I’m doing, I don’t always know what God is doing, but, I can rest well at night, because, I know, God knows what He is doing.
III. Our struggles afford us the opportunity to give thanks to God.
I know, that isn’t what you thought I was going to say, but yes I’ve come to tell you today, that even in the midst of your struggles you ougta be able to lift up your hands!!
Somebody e-mailed me something sometime ago that said, “If He brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it.” Listen, even if you can’t see your way, even if it’s cloudy, even if your life is filled with darkness, you ought to be able to lift your hands and say, “ Thank you!!!”
Reverend!!!!! Thank Him for what!, Thank Him, alright, thank Him that it isn’t any worse. You do know it could be worse don’t you. Thank Him!!! It can always get worse!
Fellow went to the doctor and the doctor told Him I have some bad news and some worse news. The bad news is you only have 24 hours to live, the man said what could be worse than that. The doctor said I forgot to tell you yesterday. Thank God it isn’t any worse!!
You ever felt like if it ain’t one thang its another, I mean when you get it nailed down on this end the other end pops up! But lift those hands and just tell Him thank you!!!
I mean Junebug got kicked out of school you get junebug back in school, and then your daughter runs away, you get her straighten out, and then the other boy gets hooked on drugs, you get him off drugs, and then your husband won’t come home, wife don’t want to talk, I mean look yall if it ain’t one thing it’s another!
But let me tell you what you do, lift your hands in the air and just tell him thank you! Look yall there are some things you can pray your way out of, but there are some others you can Praise your way out of!
I was talking just a minute ago about my friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the firey furnace do you know what they were doing in the furnace? I know what some folks would have been doing!! Some folks would have been popping pills, and crying and depressed and pulling their hair out. But the Hebrew boys were in the furnace leaping and praising God! In the firey furnace, let me tell you something, Praise God in it and I promise He’ll get you out of it!
Listen to what Jesus said this is John 16:33, “in this world you will have some tribulation, (that’s a promise yall, He didn’t say you might have, you may, but He said you will have, but thank God He didn’t put a period there and that ain’t the end of the sentence, He says) but, be of good cheer (everywhere in the bible you see where it says be of good cheer you can put in your margin shout right there, let me show you why right here because He says.), I have overcome the world.
Some of yall are old enough to remember superman, you know Clark Kent would just be minding His own business and some damsel in distress or some situation would pop up and Clark Kent would run to the telephone booth, we ain’t got’ em no more yall, we got cell phones now, but he would become superman and it would always just look like superman was in trouble, but if you are reading the comic book you gotta understand there are a few more pages left. When you look in the back of the book you see superman is gonna be alright so you…
It looks a little tough in II Corinthians, but I flip over to the back of the book and I heard John say, “I was in the spirit, on the Lord’s day and I saw a number” let me clarify a little something John said now the first number I counted them and all there were was 144,000, and I said now John that ain’t good news you mean to tell me ain’t but 144,000 folk going to Heaven. John said, No you got to understand Claude! That number represents the 12,000 for the tribe of Gad, and 12,000 for the tribe of Rueben, and 12,000 for the tribe ofNaphtili, and 12,000 for the tribe of Manassas, 12,000 for the tribe of Zebulon, and 12,000, for the tribe of Judah, and 12,000 for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Then John said, “I heard some noise and when I heard the noise I turned around and I saw some folk and I went to counting and 10’s became 100’s …I ran out of numbers and I saw a number no man could number. I said John who are these folk and John said, “These are they” the reason they’re shouting is because they’ve been through a little something, the reason they are shouting is because they’ve come through great trials and tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb!
You can gone on and shout because you already know how this thing is going to end.
I’m gonna leave you when I tell you, I’ve had many tears and sorrow, I’ve had questions about tomorrow; there been some times I didn’t know right from wrong, but in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation.
He let me know that my problems came to make me strong!!!
Ain’t God alright!
I’ve been a lot of places, I’ve seen a lot of faces! But there have been sometimes I’ve felt so all-alone! And in my darkest hour He let me know that I am His own. Anybody in here can say with me that through it all I’ve learned to trust in Jesus! I’ve learned to trust in God!
I thank a Him for the mountains, I thank God for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms! He’s brought me through, for if I never had a problem how would I know God could solve them. How would I know what faith in God can do? Through it all I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God!! Ain’t He alright.