Bad Things, Good People part 2
Why do bad things happen to good people? That's the age old question. That's what we're discussing. And here's the deal, as simply as I can put it: "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Life is life. Life happens. When God created the world He set out natural laws. And, yes, He is more than willing to ignore those natural laws when it suits His supernatual plans. But that's kind of the point. Things happen. To the evil and the good. To the just and unjust alike. That's just the world. And we always want to blame God for the "bad" stuff while taking all the credit ourselves for the "good stuff." But let me drop another memory verse on you. Genesis 50:20, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." It doesn't matter what it looks like. God can use it for His own purpose. Like the man who was born blind. No one was to blame for that. It just happened. It was also an opportunity for God to show Himself in His power. Let me say it like this: If nothing ever went wrong, we wouldn't appreciate it when something went right. If there were no storms, we couldn't have rainbows. There can't be joy without sorrow because you wouldn't know the difference. What do they say? Variety is the spice of life. There is a time and a season for everything. And when you can see the big picture, you can roll with the punches. Instead of fighting all the time you can give things a chance. Even if something doesn't look great, or feel great, you can trust that God meant it for good. Allowed it to happen because it needed to happen. When we face adversity, we learn and grow. That's something that I think gets lost a lot of the time. Sometimes we have to go through things in order to get to where we need to be. It's that journey that makes us who we are. So instead of always fighting, we need to look for the lesson. I believe everything can be either a lesson or a blessin'. And it doesn't matter how anybody else means it either. Even if someone's coming at you, you can still learn and grow from that. You don't have to fight back. You can turn the other cheek. You can be the bigger person. And, before I run out of room, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about our attitude when good things happen to (I'm not going to say "bad people" so let's say) other people. It's easy to get jealous. I've even seen a "prayer" in which the guy exhorts to do for him what God has done for others. Which, to me, I'm not saying God can't or won't. I'm simply saying, if you're focused on what other people are getting or doing, you're missing out on what YOU'RE getting and doing. Or what you SHOULD be doing. Mind your own business, I guess is my point. Don't worry about what other people have that you don't. In fact, do that opposite. Make sure people have what they need. See a need and meet it. But don't worry about what someone else has that you don't. Maybe they need it at that time. And maybe you don't. Wants and needs are very different things. Be content with what you have by giving what you've got. That, friends, is the secret of life!