Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

As I was going down my timeline on twitter yesterday, I saw a tweet "why do bad things happen to good people?" Of course that was not the first time I heard that question but this is my first time at attempting to answer it using strictly scripture. My question is who is considered good? What is the definition of good? Then what is considered something "bad" happening to you.

Luke 18:19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. (to me this scripture is self explanatory)

Mark 1:10-13 "10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[g] by Satan." (Immediately after his baptism, Jesus was tempted for 40 days and 40 days and he was blameless and without sin, later in his life and many know he was betrayed by a friend, beaten, flogged, hung, and crucified!)


Daniel was thrown into the lions den by the King. On the next day when the King called for Daniel, Daniel was still full of joy and said oh King live forever. (Daniel 6)

The three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fiery furnace. Daniel 3:16-18 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Now the three examples above some would consider bad things that happened to good people. However, there is one common denominator in all of these people of the bible. They remained faithful to God no matter what, they did not bow down or worship any other God, they kept their joy, and they only spoke the Word of God! In all of these situations God received the glory in the end.

If we stopped focusing on me, myself, and I and started focusing on we, us, and our, the Kingdom of God and building His Kingdom, staying faithful and full of joy despite our circumstances and speaking the Word only we could see greater things in our lives and draw more people to Christ.

So....my answer to why "bad" things happen to "good" people?

Matthew 5:45 "45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Matthew 7:24-27 " 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

James 1:2-4 "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Be a blessing and be blessed,
Epiphany Essentials

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