WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE ? : WHY DO THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER ?
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OUTLINE
1. SUFFERING
2. SURRENDER
3. SANCTIFICATION
4. SECURITY
5. SECRETS
6. SILENCE
7. STRENGTH
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE ? : WHY DO THE RIGHTEOUS SUFFER ?
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1. SUFFERING
The Lord is working in our lives to fulfill his purpose . The purpose of God in our lives is not only that we should beleive
on Him but we should also suffer for Him. Our love for God should be strong and deep rooted and no experience in life should
be allowed to seperate us from the love of God. By faith we not only accomplish great victories we also endure great trials.
The Hebrew children declared that they would serve God even if He did not deliver them from the fiery furnace. Job promised
to trust in the Lord even if the Lord slew him. The scriptures reveal that the last days would be days of great evil and
wickedness and all those who live godly lives would suffer persecution. Therefore we must be strong in our faith and
commitment to endure till the end.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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PSALM 138:7-8
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life;you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your
right hand you save me.
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands.
PHILIPPIANS 1:29
For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,
ROMANS 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword?
As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
HEBREWS 11:32-40
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,
who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became
powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might
gain a better resurrection.
Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
destitute, persecuted and mistreated-
the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
DANIEL 3: 14-18
and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the
image of gold I have set up?
Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall
down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing
furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this
matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand,
O king.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have
set up."
JOB 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.
2 TIMOTHY 3: 1-13
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,
unholy,
without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and
are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth-men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith
is concerned, are rejected.
But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
persecutions, sufferings-what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet
the Lord rescued me from all of
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
MATTHEW 24:4-13
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, ’I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is
still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
2. SURRENDER
The Lord wants us to live a surrendered life. We must be meek before God and submit to His perfect will in our lives. The
thoughts and ways of God are different from our thoughts and ways. We are like clay in the hand of the potter and we must
allow the Lord to work in our lives according to His will. The Lord assigns a specific role for each one of us and we must
accept it wholeheartedly .
Job faced a sudden and severe loss and suffering in his life . He did not know that God had challenged satan to test the
sincerity of Job’s devotion to God. But still Job submitted to the path that the Lord had allowed him to go through and did
not blame God for his suffering. The Lord rewarded him with a double blessing in his life because Job recognised the Lordship
of God over his life and he realised that the Lord had the right to work in his life according to His purpose .
King David wanted to build a temple for God. But God declined to allow him to do so and instead promised that his son would
be the one to do it. David accepted the will of God and expressed gratitude to God for all the blessings he had received from
the Lord . He did not get bitter against God for refusing to allow him to build the temple.
David sinned with Bathsheba and the Lord said that the child born to her would die. David fasted and prayed for the child to
live but when the child died he bowed to the will of God and did not rebel against God. The Lord wants us to be people who
are surrendered to the will of God because only then we can his disciples.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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MATTHEW 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
ISAIAH 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
JEREMIAH 18:1-10
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD :
"Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message."
So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.
But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as
seemed best to him.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so
are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,
and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,
and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
ROMANS 9:19-23
One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?"
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ’Why did you make me like this?’
"
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common
use?
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-prepared
for destruction?
What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-
1 CORINTHIANS 12:14-27
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part
of the
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be
part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of
smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!"
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated
with special modesty,
while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater
honor to the parts that lacked
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
JOB 1:1-22
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.
He had seven sons and three daughters,
and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large
number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with
them.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice
a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job’s
regular custom.
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back
and forth in it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and
upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied.
"Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that
his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,
a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,
and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to
tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and
the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on
your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at
the oldest brother’s house,
when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they
are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship
and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the
name of the LORD be praised."
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
JOB 42:1-17
Then Job replied to the LORD :
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ’Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things
too wonderful for me to know.
"You said, ’Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends,
because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.
So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job
will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what
is right, as my servant Job
So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted
Job’s prayer.
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.
All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and
consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a
thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.
And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.
Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance
along with their brothers.
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
And so he died, old and full of years.
JAMES 5:7-11
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how
patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord
finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
2 SAMUEL 7:1-29
After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around
he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent."
Nathan replied to the king, "Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you."
That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
"Go and tell my servant David, ’This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place
to place with a tent as my dwelling.
Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people
Israel, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" ’
"Now then, tell my servant David, ’This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the
flock to be ruler over my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name
great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth.
And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer
be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning
and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
" ’The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:
When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from
your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings
inflicted by men.
But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ "
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you
have brought me this far?
And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your
servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?
"What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD.
For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.
"How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own
ears.
And who is like your people Israel-the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a
name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people,
whom you redeemed from Egypt?
You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.
"And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised,
so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ’The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your
servant David will be established before you.
"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ’I will build a house for you.’ So your
servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.
O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.
Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD,
have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."
2 SAMUEL 12:13-23
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not
going to die.
But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."
After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill.
David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground.
The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food
with them.
On the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While
the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do
something desperate."
David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he
asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the
LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child
is dead, you get up and eat!"
He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ’Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and
let the child live.’
But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
MARK 8:34-35
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
LUKE 14:25-27
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his
own life-he cannot be my disciple.
And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
3. SANCTIFICATION
The Lord sanctifies our life through the furnace of affliction. We learn obedience and purity through the chastening process
of the Lord . The discipline of the Lord is an evidence of His lve for us . we must accept the correction that the Lord
brings in our life which will build our character.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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HEBREWS 5:8
Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
PSALM 119: 67 , 71
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
ISAIAH 48:10
See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
PSALM 105:17-19
and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons,
till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.
HEBREWS 12:1-13
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s
discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to
the Father of our spirits and live!
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in
his holiness.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace
for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
PROVERBS 3:1-12
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
4. SECURITY
The Lord wants to grant us security and prosperity in our lives . In order to give us a prosperous future , the Lord may lead
us in the path of wilderness and suffering . God sent Joseph to Egypt ahead of his family in order to preserve their lives
during the famine. Although it appeared as a great evil in the beginning , Joseph later realized that the Lord had led him
through that experience in order to grant them a secure future. Similarly the Lord led the children of Israel through the
wilderness through many difficult and fearful experiences in order to do good to them in the end. Sometimes the Lord takes
away the righteous from this world in order to protect them from impending danger. Therefore we must realize that sometimes
the Lord allows us to go through the path of affliction in order to grant us security and prosperity in our future.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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GENESIS 45:4-8
Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you
sold into Egypt!
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God
sent me ahead of you.
For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of
all Egypt.
DEUTERONOMY 8:15-16
He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He
brought you water out of hard rock.
He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end
it might go well with you.
ISAIAH 57:1-2
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the
righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
5. SECRETS
The Lord maintains His secrets and does not reveal them to anyone. Therefore we should not confuse ourselves trying to
understand and make sense of what the Lord has hidden from us . We must trust in Him and obey Him and follow His instructions
even in those times when we do not understand His ways.
When the disciples asked Jesus the reason for a man being born blind , He did not give the reason .Instead He healed the
blind man and gave him sight. When the tower of Siloam fell and killed 18 people , Jesus did not give a specific reason why
they were killed . Instead he urged everyone to repent and get right with God. When the disciples wanted to know if Jesus was
going to establish His kingdom at that time , He replied that He cannot reveal those things to them. Instead he commanded
them to receive the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses. When Peter wanted to know what kind to demise John would face, Jesus
told him that it was not his concern .Instead Jesus told Peter to focus on following Him.
Therefore we must realize that God has His secrets and He will not reveal them to us and hence we must concentrate on
obeying His instructions rather than trying to analyse and understand the things that He has hidden from us .
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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DEUTERONOMY 29:29
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may
follow all the words of this law.
JOHN 9:1-7
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his
life.
As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
LUKE 13:1-5
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their
sacrifices.
Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this
way?
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them-do you think they were more guilty than all the others
living in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
ACTS 1:6-8
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
JOHN 21:17-23
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,
"Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will
stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against
Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?")
When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would
not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
6. SILENCE
The Lord sometimes allows us to go through a period of darkness and silence when we do not see the light or hear His voice.
We may fear the Lord and obey the word of His servant . Yet we may go through a period of darkness without experiencing the
light of the Lord . At such times we must continue to trust in the Lord and rely on Him . We must not get discouraged and go
away from the Lord. Job experienced this period of darkness and silence in his time of affliction. No matter how much he
tried , he could not find the Lord. Yet he realized that even though everything was dark before him, the Lord is still
watching over him and knows the path that he is going through. He knew that when the Lord has tested him , he will come forth
as gold. Sometimes the Lord is silent because we are already in His will and there is no need for Him to speak to us . But if
we deviate from His will and turn to the left or to the right , then He will speak a word of warning to us to walk in the way
that He has set before us.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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ISAIAH 50:10
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the
name of the LORD and rely on his God.
JOB 23:8-10
"But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
ISAIAH 30:18
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
PSALM 13: 1-6
How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.
PSALM 88:1-18
O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? Selah
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction ?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.
FURTHER READING : PSALM 42:1-11 , PSALM 37:1-40 , PSALM 73:1-28 , MALACHI 3:13-18 , JEREMIAH 12:1-17 .
7. STRENGTH
The Lord wants us to receive His strength and His grace when we go through the path of affliction. When the Apostle Paul had
a thorn in the flesh which was not removed despite his repeated prayers , the Lord gave His grace which was sufficient to
sustain him in the midst of the thorn. When the Lord Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane , He was filled with great agony
and prayed that if it was possible let the cup of suffering be removed from him . But since it was the will of God that He
should go through the path of suffering , the cup was not removed . Instead an angel from heaven came to strengthen Him.
Therefore when we face trials and tribulations which we are not able to avoid and which are allowed by the Lord in our lives
, we must receive His grace and His strength in order to face them and endure them . We should not get bitter against God
for not removing them from our lives . Instead we should seek to be empowered by the Lord to face the battle as a good
soldier of Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
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2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a
messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the
more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when
I am weak, then I am strong.
LUKE 22:41-44
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
PSALM 18:39
You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
2 TIMOTHY 2:3
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
