Today is the 11th anniversary of 9/11. Most Americans can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the awful news that airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center. I was at work when Gina called me to tell me what she was seeing on TV. I turned my radio on, and listened all day as the news reports came in. I think that most people wonder why God allowed something so terrible to happen.
There are many events that have caused people to ask, "why". I don't have the answers as to why so many tragedies happen. I do know that ever since sin came into this world through Satan there have been terrible tragedies. I suppose that Adam and Eve asked "why" when Cain killed his brother Abel.
The only promise that a Christian has in this life is that there will be trouble. Our trouble free existence will be in Heaven where God will wipe away all tears.
When a tragedy happens, God says ask your questions, but don't stop there. God has given a much greater opportunity. God challenges us to turn to Him for answers. God challenges us to argue with Him. God challenges us to trust Him explicitly.
Bad things happen in this world, to good people, and to bad people, although it seems like the good people get the worst. Murphy's law seems to be all too true. Why do bad things happen to good people? More specifically, why do bad things happen to me? God rarely answers that question. He would pour out only goodness on us all the time, if He could, but because we live in a sinful world, He can't. Men have free will, and God will not override it.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a sinful world. I know that's not the kind of answer we like, but there is no better answer available.
Once you have learned this and deepened your faith that God has everything under control, then maybe there is a better way to approach the bad things that happen. Don't ask "Why Me, Lord?" when something bad happens. Ask God how He wants you to respond, and then leave the consequences in His hands.
It is all in the response. God can always bring good out of bad, but He needs us to cooperate with Him to bring out the greatest good. This is why Paul can say "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." Rejoice when good things happen, rejoice when bad things happen, because we can trust God to do what is for our eternal best.
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I have been struck with the fact that 'His thoughts are not our thoughts' lately. We try to make God human but I'm so glad he's much more than that. So he doesn't view bad things like we do. He just says 'trust Me' and that's sufficient. I will be glad to get to heaven and be more like Him some day. Maybe then I will understand more.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought that if bad things only happened to bad people and good things to good people, everyone would choose to be good. We would try to please God, but for all the wrong reasons. We call that cupboard love. It certainly isn't genuine deep-felt love for God.
ReplyDeleteThe rain falls on the fields of the sinners and the saints, our ways are not God's ways.
ReplyDeleteGood post Richie.
We all have our journeys in life and we came here to learn so we bring the answers back .
ReplyDeleteWhy were Adam and Eve kicked out of Eden? They only had one law.Compare this to the millions of laws we have to live by on earth because man seems to not be able to survive without them.Adam and Eve wanted to learn on their own. So this is why we are all here, to learn, to fill in the missing links.So much easier to let God handle all these laws ins't it, than being free and not eating of the tree of knowledge whereby no one needs to suffer.
But even with all this pain and suffering, man doesn't want to die.He wants to be in touch with all the senses he was born with to enjoy this beautiful planet we live on.
I'm rambling but I too like to make sense of things . I am glad your son is better.