What will you do? How will you feel? How will you react? If you receive news that rocks your world, will you knowingly and assuredly remember and proclaim the truth, that God is in control? Or will it send you into a tail spin and cause you to spiral downward into darkness and despair? Do you even know for sure? And if it does cause you to spiral, does that mean you’re not “a strong Christian?”
I know someone who recently received some distressing news. She has been a strong Christian for many years; faced and walked through many battles. Her faith has been strong and her relationship with Christ, solid. She has been a pillar of spiritual strength. She has taught others that they must hold to the Lord in the dark times as well as the good ones. She has told others that “God is good”, he only wants good things for you; he only gives you good things. That’s scriptural, right? Here are a few scriptures that address God’s goodness, if you want to look at them.
Despite knowing God’s goodness, we, like the woman I mentioned, sometimes find ourselves in circumstances that provoke us to ask that all too familiar question, “If God is so good, why does he let bad things happen to good people?”
Let’s consider Psalm 119:71 for a moment. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” And Genesis 50:20a, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.”
The bible also tells us in Matthew 5:45b, “he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Acts 10:34b says, “God is no respecter of persons.”
Simply put, the answer to that “all too familiar question” is: Life happens.
Consider this example: You have twenty people on your front lawn. Ten are Christians, following after the Lord. Ten are non-Christians, going about their own lives. They are mingling among one another, visiting. Suddenly, it begins to rain. Does the rain fall on all 20 people? Of course it does. And so it is with “good things” and “bad things” in this world.
Christians are not exempt from “stuff.” But the good news is, they have God’s strength, love, guidance, and peace to see them through it, whereas, a non-Christian has only his own strength and maybe the strength of other humans. Someone said to me long ago, in a derogatory tone, “leaning on Jesus is like using a crutch.” My reply was, “If that is so, give me two! I need all the help I can get.”
I feel a stirring in the depths of my being lately. And the Holy Spirit keeps bringing 2 Corinthians 12:9 to my mind: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” I don’t know what is around the corner in my future, but I do know who’s going to walk there with me. I know Jesus will be with me every step of the way and that I can lean on him. He wants me to.
In the second half of the above scripture, (2 Corinthians 12:9), Paul said, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
I find peace, strength, comfort, and joy, knowing that the power of the risen Christ rests upon me. He tells me in Philippians 4:13 that, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
