Why do bad things happen? #2

This post is not concerned  so much with events with Japan , my first post covered that in a better way.

Bad things happen, but God makes good come from it


Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.


I speak from experience in saying that in one of the most painful and sad periods of my life, God used for incredible benefits in my life. He showed Himself so much more in my life, brought me closer to Him and taught me so much. I would go as far as to say that without this bad event, I would probably be worse off in my faith.


We grow through bad times


Romans 5:3-5 - Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


James 1:2-3 - Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.


Hard times help us become more like Christ


2 Corinthians 1:5 - For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.


Suffering brings us together


1 Peter 5:9 -Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.


Our sufferings are worth it


1 Peter 4:13 - But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.


Just think of the verses in Revelation I shared yesterday, one day there will be no more tears or suffering! Hallelujah!

Why do bad things happen?

This is a question that just keeps popping up and popping up, perhaps understandably given recent events.

I watched the News earlier, I usually don't because I find it sad as they only ever seem to report bad news and it is just too much for me after a hard day of work. Tonight I caught some of it and I saw some of the horrifying pictures from Japan. I dislike all of the patronising, pointless comments by many of the media and the world, proclaiming how sad and awful it must be for them before they move onto another story and forget about it within a few weeks.

Anyhow it makes some wonder, why does God let these things happen?

I will try my best to answer this.

When God created the world He declared it 'good' (Gen 1:25). He had made everything perfect. As part of this perfection, His biggest and best creation...human beings were given a free choice to obey God or disobey God. This fitted in with everything because in a perfect world, human beings would choose to obey God rather than be forced (after all, wouldn't you rather friends & family who chose to love you rather than being forced to love you?). However, as we all know, the first humans disobeyed God and brought sin into the world. This sin has corrupted the whole world. The world wasn't perfect anymore and disease, earthquakes etc. began to happen.

Any pain on this world is down to sin, either our own sin..somebody else's sin or because of the sin that was brought into the world from almost the very start.

God doesn't stop any of this because He has given us free will to make our own decisions...to obey Him or disobey Him.

Of course, God also has a greater plan (Jer 29:11) one where those who, even though they have messed up, can be perfect in God's sight through faith in His Son who paid the price for all their sin...and go to a new world where there will be no death, mourning, crying or pain (Rev 21:4).

I speak this message not only because God has changed my life through it and commanded me to do so but because I genuinely want all to know the joy of knowing their Creator and join me in this wonderful place.

Revelation 21

A New Heaven and a New Earth

 ¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

 ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

If you want to know God and have a safe eternity with your sins forgiven, just ask Him for that tonight :-) Let me know if you do!

Romans 8:28 Moments

This is a post close to my heart. I think I am stating the obvious when I state 'Not everything will work out as you want it to in life'.

Last night with PCY we had our 'Lock In', where we sleepover at a random Church, play games, learn from the Bible and maybe sleep if we're lucky, and not everything worked out as I had hoped.

I don't want to go into details but we had issues with some of the young people which have been dealt with.

This is my hope in that situation.

That this will be a Romans 8:28 Moment!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I can remember Romans 8:28 moments in my life, where things have not gone as planned and even gone horribly wrong leading to much distress. I can honestly say that these times as Christians turn out to be such a joy. Why? Because even though God doesn't plan for bad things to happen (He gives us free will and some use it to make bad things happen) He will make GOOD things come out of it.

I can remember a time in my life where I was really upset and I can say that God was so close to me at that time and helped me grow in my faith so much. I also met some lifelong friends who were going through the same thing. I honestly now am glad it happened. I see many times in my life where I was wrong and God was right and am I glad He made sure His Will was done and not mine!

My prayer is that we all make our bad moments into Romans 8:28 moments and let God work through it :-) Let Him bring us closer to Him and make us more like Him, filling us with His peace, joy and Holy Spirit. Nothing beats that ;-)