Chapter 9.7
Bad Things
Good People
Why me Lord? I keep your commandments - Victim or Player - Testing
Why do we have Evil? – Evil used for Good –
Learning to be Obedient
Your blessings Stolen – Balancing the scales of
justice – Chastisement
First
Word
Why do we see EVIL PEOPLE enjoying life, prospering and having fun?
Why would an all knowing and all powerful
God allow that to happen? CONUNDRUM; we now bring an accusation against God;
He is both NOT all-powerful and NOT all-knowing, OR He
is just NOT ALL-GOOD.
Perhaps we are experiencing painful
circumstances, broken relationships, being falsely accused or maybe being fired
from our job. Maybe we have an illness,
acute pain and physical problems.
How can a loving God allow such things?
Our struggle is the belief that because of
our Faith in Jesus Christ we are guaranteed a good life on earth, and the Bible just does not teach that, rather it teaches that
there will be a struggle on earth.
Bad things will happen to Good people.
Considering why BAD things happen to GOOD people,
the Holy Scriptures say that there are NOT any good
people, God alone is good.[1] End of Word Study.
There are people who we consider Good
because they don’t lie, cheat or steal, they are honest, generous,
compassionate and treat others well.
They are not perfect, but they are certainly trying to live out a
Christian life. Why does bad stuff happen to them?
My Friend Mitch Martinez took his whole
family to the Dominican Republic to be a missionary. When his daughter Ruthie finished college and
returned to be a missionary also, she was killed in an automobile accident. Why would God let that happen?
How good is
good?
Is there a line that you cross in doing good stuff that isolates you from the
bad stuff? Should a bad thing be stopped
if it leads to a Good thing, or should we just trust God?
Our salvation is not based on our good works, but on His good grace.
This is going to be hard to accept, but ALL THINGS work according
to the purpose of God’s Will; nothing happens without His permission.[2]
When you complain about your circumstances, you are complaining
against God.
Now that you are “in the pits” and have just learned
that you are not deemed a “GOOD” person, you
should reflect back over your lifetime and ask the question;
Why did so many GOOD
THINGS happen
to me that I did not deserve?
Why do we have Evil?
Misfortunes come in the form of bad
people,
bad luck and bad choices along with their inevitable consequences in a world of
inflexible natural laws. We can expect
to have heartaches,
disappointments, sorrow, suffering and tragedy, financial disasters, divorce,
death, abuse, and illness. We must deal with Moral Evil as
well as Natural
Evil in this world.
Moral Evil: We chose
to have two world wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, betrayal, and crime. We chose to be hateful, abusive, uncaring, selfish,
arrogant, and to tear up relationships. These are all choices
Natural Evil: Wild fires
ravaging houses; tsunamis flooding, destroying and taking lives; earthquakes,
tornadoes & hurricanes. There is Illness, injuries, death, famine, disease &
Aids.
The Earth is cursed,[3] but it was not that way at creation;
in the beginning the earth was not just good, it was VERY
GOOD.[4] It was Adam and Eve who rebelled against God’s
ways and allowed corruption to enter into our world.[5]
They mystery of Evil: God is NOT the creator of Evil and Suffering, but He DID create the POTENTIAL for evil through our FREE WILL. Through Freedom
of Choice, Sin was allowed in the world. We can choose to do the greatest good or we can choose
to do the
greatest evil.
Your hand can be used to take someone’s
life or to reach out and save a life, you can steal from someone or feed them; it’s a choice. Although pain and suffering isn’t GOOD, God can
use it to accomplish GOOD. [6]
From the worst of tragedies, EVEN YOURS, Good can emerge.
Satan is after your goods
You have promises of blessings[7] that Satan is
trying to prevent from reaching you. His greatest weapon is DISCOURAGEMENT; hoping you
will give up on God.
God wants to bless you in the city and in the
country; bless
you with children and increase your cattle. He will give rain in its season and bless
the work of your hands and give you good crops. He will bless your barns, and your basket of supplies
will overflow and you will have a full biscuit making bowl. He wants to bless you when you leave and bless
you when you come back. He will defeat
your enemies before you and you will lend too many and not have to borrow. It’s in the Book
The Response
I just hate it when you are sick and someone
pats you on the arm and says “God is just trying to TEACH YOU
SOMETHING”. (Well, what did
you LEARN?) Or when they say “God is just TESTING YOU”. (Well, did you pass the test?)
When you are hurting, you don’t need a
theological and intellectual response, what you need is relief and comfort.
Jesus said that in this world we WOULD have troubles[8]
and our understanding during these trials would be observed imperfectly; dimly
as in a fog.[9] We will not understand; His ways are past
finding out.[10] God
is not slack or slow in coming to your relief, just because He has not answered
your petition for relief does not mean that He won’t. God does not change, but has LIMITED HIMSELF by the laws of nature, the human
nature and man’s free will. The laws of nature will remain in effect
until He returns. The Earth is cursed and will remain cursed
until He returns. Our bodies are Sin
bodies and are cursed with sickness and will
remain cursed, until He returns, but in
His mercy and grace, He provides for us A
WAY TO ENDURE IT.[11] Pain awakens us to God.
In His Plan and in His Patience, He is waiting,
giving a little more time for all to come to His saving grace, [12] and He will make up for your time of sufferings with peace for eternity;
we cannot imagine what He has already prepared; one day all our pain and
suffering will cease.[13]
It’s in the Book.
Testing Learning Obedience
We should not be surprised at the
troubles, afflictions and suffering that comes upon us as some trials may be a
testing from God.[14] Job’s Testing was NOT for the benefit
of Job or for God; but for those observing; it was for Satan, the Angels and Job’s friends. Your testing is not for God’s benefit, your life is
the “EXAM” by which others
can know the answers to the test.
It brings believers into prayer and dependence on Him.
Scripture says that Jesus learned obedience through suffering.[15] Jesus did not need to learn obedience as He
was perfect, but He gave us the example to follow. Reaching out with heart felt tears, prayers
and supplications we can learn obedience through our suffering. Because we are His, we can expect to be chastised
and disciplined
with Course
Corrections for our lives.[16] It does not come in the form of punishment with sickness or tribulations,
but comes as the results of the CONSEQUENCES
OF OUR CHOICES.
When a hand grenade is tossed into a fox
hole,
some are killed, some are wounded and some walk away untouched; why is that?
Our Sin bodies are like that, they are
all different. My “straight walking”
Grandson died at the age of 21 from a car accident; my “wayward” Granddaughter
with tears in her eyes spoke at his funeral, asking God “WHY HIM”, that should have been ME. If we just knew the reason or purpose of a
tragedy or disappointment, we could bear nearly any pain. But
God’s ways are just past finding out.
King Solomon,
the
wisest man in the world said; TIME and CHANCE happens to all of us.[17] If you have Cancer or Parkinson’s disease;
it’s not God trying to teach you something, or test you or chastise you. You just live in a
sin body, which some folks will die early, some will just get
wounded and some will some walk away unharmed.
Satan is the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy;
it is Jesus who came to give us life and give it more abundantly.[18]
God is as outraged at your calamity as you are, and He will make
it up to you in eternity.
Evil used for Good
Joseph was sold into slavery by
his brothers, BUT God took what was meant for evil and turned it into
Good.[19]
Paul was whipped, beaten with rods, stoned, ship wrecked,
left adrift at sea, hungry, homeless, cold, rejected, imprisoned and in danger
at every turn,[20]
but God’s power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness.[21] We have his letters today to guide us in the
way we should live our lives. What was
meant for Evil, God used for Good.
Jesus was
despised, rejected, and held in low esteem, people hid their faces from Him, He was a man of sorrows, suffered with pain and was crucified on the cross.[22]
What was meant for Evil, God used to affect the entire universe for Good and gave us a way back to Him. God can
take the worst negative circumstance IN YOUR LIFE and bring GOOD out of it.
Paul said that the
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is
to be revealed to us;[23] our weeping may
endure for a night, BUT joy comes
in the morning.[24]
Victim or Player
Are you the victim of
someone else’s choices OR a player in
part of God’s grand design which is beyond your understanding. In spite of sufferings, afflictions and
reproach; we are to continue to ENDURE with compassion toward others with confidence of our great reward.
God will make it all up to you for eternity.[25]
Turn Bitter or Turn to God
We must decide whether to TURN INWARD with chronic rage,
never-ending despair, become hardened, sullen, angry and bitter toward our
circumstance or TURN TO GOD for courage and the peace to
endure, becoming gentle, loving, tender, and compassionate, reaching out to
bless others.
All suffering has the potential and
opportunity for Good, but it is up to us to choose. Run away from God or run to Him. Jesus has told us these things in advance so
that in Him we might have PEACE; He has overcome
the world.[26]
Now that something not so good has
happened to you, the question becomes, what are you going to do about it? Do you focus on the past, on the pain, on the sorrow and the blame, or do you focus on the
future; living
FOR something instead of AGAINST
something.
Pain is inevitable, but MISERY is OPTIONAL. Do we retaliate or
forgive; do we sink in selfishness and self-pity or do we rise to lift others up.
TRUST
IN THE LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD, and He will give you the desires of your
heart.
COMMIT YOUR WAY TO THE LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.
BE STILL BEFORE THE LORD and wait
patiently for Him.[27]
Answers, Explanations and Closure seems good, but
Ending Suffering is even better. Stop
looking for answers and start formulating a response. Turn your righteous anger into a force for
doing good for someone else.
Way of
Escape
This scripture is quoted over and over “God is
faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation He will also PROVIDE A WAY OF ESCAPE”.
But there is more… He says; “that you may be
ABLE TO
ENDURE IT”.[28] You
don’t escape out of your tribulation, you are given a way to ENDURE IT.
Can you say Hallelujah?
Turn bitter or turn to God
Pain is inevitable, but
MISERY is OPTIONAL
[2] Romans 8:28 - All things work together for good and for His
Purpose - Ephesians 1:11 – Nothing
occurs without God’s permission
[3] Genesis 3:17-19 – The earth became cursed with Thorns & Thistles. -- Romans 8:22 - All creation has
been groaning in the pains of childbirth even until now
[4] Genesis 1:31 - Everything that God made was VERY GOOD.
[5] Romans 3:23 - All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
[6] Romans 8:28 – God can use EVIL
to bring about GOOD
[7] Deuteronomy 28:1-14 – Satan is after your
blessings that God has promised and there is a lot of them.
[8] John 16:33 - In the world you will have
tribulation
[9] 1 Corinthians 13:12 - We see in a mirror dimly now, we know only in part
[10] Ecclesiastes 8:17 – Man cannot find out the
works of God
[11] 1 Corinthians 10:13 – God provides a way to
be able to endure it
[12] 2 Peter 3:9 – God is not slow, He is patiently waiting for you to repent
[13] 1 Corinthians 2:9 – No eye has seen, nor ear
heard or mind imagined what God has prepared for us -- Revelation 21:4 – No more death, crying,
tears, pain or suffering
[14] 1 Peter 4:12 - Do not be surprised at the fiery trials that come
upon you to test you
[15] Hebrews 5:7-8 – JESUS LEARNED
OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING as
an example for us
[16] Proverbs 3:12 - The LORD
disciplines the one He loves -- Hebrews 12:6 The LORD disciplines and chastises every son
[17] Ecclesiastes 9:11 - TIME and CHANCE happen to all of us
[18] John 10:10 – It is Satan that come to kill, steal and destroy
[19] Genesis 50:20 – You meant if for Evil, BUT
God used it for Good
[20] 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 – Paul was Whipped, stoned, cold, hungry
[21] 2 Corinthians 12:9 – In our weakness, His power is made perfect
[22] Isaiah 53:3 – Jesus; despised, rejected and suffered with pain
[23] Romans 8:18 – Our sufferings cannot compare to Glory that is to be
revealed to us
[24] Psalm 30:5 - Weeping may endure for a
night, But joy comes in the morning
[25] Hebrews 10:32-36 – Endure your temporary
sufferings there is a Great reward for
eternity
[26] John 16:33 - In me you may have peace, I
have overcome the world
[27] Psalm 37:1-11 – Be still – Trust – Delight – Commit your ways -- 1 John
5:13 – You can KNOW that you have Eternal Life
[28] 1 Corinthians 10:13 – God provides a way so you can be able to
endure it
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