When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Acts 9:32-43
Introduction: The Bible teaches that we live in a fallen world. This is not the world as God originally created it. It is not the world as it will be one day. But when Adam and Eve sinned everything changed. The Bible says that creation itself fell, and as a result our world became warped, and pain and suffering became part of the human experience.
It is inevitable when living in such a world that bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to people of faith. Jesus didn’t sugar-coat it. He said, “In this world, you will have tribulation!”
The mere fact that people suffer in this world doesn’t bother us all that much; it doesn’t cause us to doubt God’s goodness or power as long as the “people” doing the suffering aren’t close to us.
But when cancer, or birth defects, or a financial reversal, or a debilitating car accident comes to our house, that’s when we struggle. That’s when the doubts come. That’s when we say,
“God if you are good, you wouldn’t allow this to happen! If you are really all powerful, you could have stepped in and stopped this! Therefore, either you’re not good or you’re not all powerful!”
Faced with the crushing force of personal suffering, these seem to be our only options.
Today, as we open the book of Acts, we are going to meet two “good people”, two “people of faith” to whom bad things happened. And we’re going to catch a glimpse of God’s heart towards those who suffer.
Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 9. In the passage before us, Luke, the author of Acts, is going to shift our attention away Saul’s ministry and back to Peter’s.
According to verse 31 of Acts chapter nine, the church in Jerusalem is now enjoying a period of peace and growth. Persecution has died down and the Apostle Peter finally feels free to leave Jerusalem so that he can visit and encourage the various churches that have sprung up in Judea, Galilee and Samaria through the ministries of people like Phillip and Stephen-- whom we have read about earlier in our study.
I’ll be reading from Acts chapter 9, beginning at verse 32.
32 Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.
Let me show you the route that Peter traveled. (See map on screens)
Peter leaves Jerusalem and travels about twenty-five miles to the city of Lydda. There he finds a community of Christians.
Did you notice the term that Luke uses to describe these believers? He calls them “saints”. It is an important term because it tells us something about “who” and “what” we are to be as followers of Jesus Christ.
Behind the English word “saint” is the Greek word “hagios.” It is sometimes translated in the New Testament as “holy”. The root meaning describes something that has been “set apart” for special use.
For example, in our house we have our everyday dishes, and then we have our fine china. You might say that our fine china is “hagios”. We have set it apart for special occasions—a special guest, a birthday or anniversary.
The Bible says that as Christians we have been “set apart” by God to represent Him in the world. But it is one thing for God to set us apart. We need to set ourselves apart so that we live out our God given purpose in this world.
The apostle Peter elaborates on what being a “saint” looks like in a letter that he wrote that was circulated to various churches in this very area we are talking about today. I’ll be reading from 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning at verse 13.
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
1 Peter 1:13–16
The Bible calls Christians “saints” because the expectation is that our lives will be distinctively different from our non-Christian friends.
• Our values should be different.
• How we spend our money should be different.
• How we conduct business should be different.
• How we raise our children should be different.
• How we deal with interpersonal conflict should be different from the way the world does it.
Well, Peter travels to Lydda, and there he finds a community of believers who have set themselves apart for God’s purposes. Verse 33…
33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed.
Luke gives us very little detail about this man. The assumption is that he is a Christ follower, a saint. And he is paralyzed. He has been confined to his bed for eight long years. He once led a normal life, but some tragedy left him paralyzed.
A bad thing happened to a good person—Now of course, no one is truly good, as God is. We’re all fallen. Bu t relatively speaking, Aeneas is a good man; he is a man of faith.
Now when bad things happen, the question we often find ourselves asking is “Why?”
The truth is, we don’t know why. The Bible doesn’t answer that question for us, at least not on an individual case basis. Broadly speaking the Bible teaches that all suffering can be traced back mankind’s sin.
But on a case by case basis, we don’t know why one person gets cancer and another one doesn’t. We don’t know why one person dies tragically in a car accident at age 18, whereas someone else lives to the ripe old age of 95.
The Bible doesn’t answer that question. To be honest, I’m not sure that if God were to answer that question, we would be satisfied with His answer.
For example, in John chapter nine Jesus and his disciples come upon a man who has been blind from birth. His disciples asked,
2 …“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 9:2–3
And Jesus goes on to heal this man.
Let me ask you a question. How many of you are parents, or will soon will be parents? Let’s suppose that your son or daughter were born blind. Understandably that would be upsetting. Every parent’s prayer is for a healthy child. And in your devastation you cry out to God,
“Why Lord? Why have you allowed our child to be born blind?”
And suppose God were to answer your question as Jesus did in John chapter 9. He replied,
“Your son, your daughter was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in and through his life thirty or forty years from now when the Messiah comes along.”
Would that response satisfy you as a parent? Life is still going to be difficult for your child. He or she will probably be ostracized some growing up. They will probably have a difficult time making and keeping friends. They won’t see a sunrise or a sunset for a long, long time.
Would that response satisfy you as a parent? For some of you, it might. For most of us… “No.”
When it comes to the problem of suffering we must come to grips with the fact that God’s ways are higher than our ways. He is working out a grand purpose in the world.
And although we are included in that purpose, we have a limited perspective of what is good and best. We are finite beings, and consequently we are incapable of comprehending the intricacies of God’s plan. His ways are good and wise, and yet they are inscrutable.
Sometimes it is God’s will that we endure suffering, for suffering can serve a redemptive purpose. We know this from the cross. At the cross, God himself suffered in the person of his Son.
Listen church, God is no stranger to suffering, and although He allows us to suffer, He comes alongside us to comfort us in our suffering.
Listen to these words from 2 Corinthians chapter 1…
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3–5
And so here is Aeneas, a believer, who has been confined to his bed for eight long years. Apparently his paralysis hasn’t caused him to “give up on his faith”.
He seems to be very much a part of the faith community. I like to think that his suffering has actually drawn him closer to God. That is often the experience of God’s people.
And so one day Peter ambles into town and meets Aeneas. If Aeneas ever doubted God’s love, if he ever wondered, “Does God care about me?,” those questions would soon be answered.
34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up.
Just as quickly as the ability to walk left Aeneas eight years before, so it returned at Peter’s command. Listen, there is no question who is responsible for this healing. It was Jesus. Peter was just the vessel God used.
Now, I think Luke includes this story because he wants us to see the role that miracles played in the church’s infancy to verify to those who witnessed them that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
The Apostles didn’t perform miracles to entertain and wow people. Rather miracles served to authenticate both the messenger and the message as coming from God. Miracles demonstrated God’s power and drew people to faith in Christ. And this is exactly what happened here in Lydda.
35 And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they cturned to the Lord.
By the way parents… If you have ever wanted a verse for your children that talks about getting up and making your bed, it is right here in verses 34 and 35!
34 … get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up.
35 And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
I suspect if more children would immediately get up and make their beds, more parents would turn to the Lord! “It’s a miracle!” But I digress..
Luke goes on to relate another story where a very bad thing happened to a very good person who lived in the city of Joppa. Back to the map real quick.
Joppa is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea located about 12 miles northwest of Lydda. It was from this same city that the prophet Jonah set sail many years earlier when he was trying to run away from God.
Verse 36…
36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.
Luke wants us to know that Dorcas was no ordinary person. She was “abounding” with deeds of charity and kindness, which she “continually” did.
She was a first century Mother Teresa! Her actions demonstrate the strategic place that social ministry can play in showing God’s love to others. We should imitate her example. In fact, I’m going to talk more about that in our application/challenge.
37 And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room.
38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.”
39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.
Dorcas was a woman of great faith, and her faith demonstrated itself through acts of compassion and generosity. Apparently she was a very gifted seamstress. And she dedicated this ability to God’s service.
And so here is what she did. She made beautiful clothing which she donated to the needy widows in her midst. Through this benevolence ministry, she bore witness to God’s love and compassion to a very vulnerable group in first century society.
Dorcas’ life epitomized something that the apostle James once put into writing. James wrote,
27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
James 1:27
Dorcas not only visited the widows, she brought a gift of clothing when she came!
Well soon the news of Dorcas’ death reached the ears of the many widows who had been touched by her generosity, and they solemnly gathered to mourn her death.
Surely if we had been living back then, we would be asking the “Why” question. Why would God prematurely take the life of someone like Dorcas? She was beloved. She was having such a fruitful ministry…
Who would take her place? Who would be as passionate as Dorcas about meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of disadvantaged widows?
And of course, not just her ministry would be missed, Dorcas herself would be missed. Why would God take someone like her? Why her, why now.
As Peter arrived on the scene, he was touched by what he saw, and he sensed that God wanted to demonstrate his great power and compassion —even in the face of circumstances that we deem to be irreversible.
Last week we talked about the God factor—we are about to see another powerful example of it!
Now remember, Dorcas, or Tabitha as she is alternately called, has been dead for at least two days! Her body has already been prepared for burial.
We know this because it took one day for the messengers to travel from Joppa to Lydda, where Peter was staying, and it would take another day for them to travel back.
Anyway, Peter finally arrives in Joppa, and he makes his way up to the upper room where Dorcas’ body was being stored.
Now as I continue reading, I want you to try to picture this scene in your mind. Ok?
40 But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now raises Dorcas.
• Can you imagine the joy in that room?
• Can you imagine the fear of God in that room?
• You think that would make an impression on you?
• You think that you might live differently, more “set apart”, had you witnessed that resuscitation?
• You think that you might be bolder in your witness for Christ?
I suspect you would! I suspect those who witnessed this scene were were much bolder in their witness, for Luke tells us that God used this miracle to draw many people in Joppa to himself. Verse 42 says,
42 It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
From the vantage point we enjoy now, looking back on the story, God’s purpose in Dorcas’ death makes more sense to us.
After all…
• Now we know that God planned to raise Dorcas from the dead all along.
• We know that her ministry to the widows would continue.
• We can see how this miracle testified powerfully to Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
And who can argue with the results? Many came to faith in Christ, who may not have otherwise.
Knowing all this makes God’s actions more DEFENSIBLE… I use that term on purpose, because when bad things happen to good people we want to put God on trial.
We want Him to justify his actions. We want him to defend his decisions. We want to haul God into court and put him on the stand.
We want God, the INFINITE ONE, to answer to us—the finite ones. We want God, the HOLY ONE, to answer to us, the fallen ones!
When you put it that way, it’s almost laughable, isn’t it? I’ll tell what is is, it is arrogant!
Listen… Might it not be, that just as there was a purpose in Dorcas’ death, so there is a purpose in the suffering that we endure?
Church, God doesn’t obligate himself to answer the “Why” question, although we persist in asking it.
Rather, God wants us to be content with the “Who” question.
Who is this “Sovereign One” who allows bad things to happen to good people?
• He is the same God who, because of his great love for you, took on human flesh and died on the cross in your place, bearing the guilt of your sin.
• He is the same God who has sovereignly worked in your life to draw you to himself, and to adopt you into his spiritual family.
• He is the same God who promises in Romans 8:28 that he is able to work all things together for your good.
• He is the same God who will return one day to put an end to all sin and suffering.
• He is the same who will create a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness will dwell.
• He is the same God who will one day raise you from the dead, just as he did Dorcas, and you will dwell with Him for all eternity in a place where there will be no more sickness, no more suffering.
And so when you suffer, ask the “Why” question if you must, but be content with the answer to the “Who” question—for God has answered that one.
God wants you to trust him. He wants you to walk by faith and not by sight. He wants you to look beyond your personal suffering to the suffering that he himself endured on the cross.
If you ever doubt God’s love, look to the cross. If you ever doubt God’s power, look to the resurrection.
Yes, God raised Dorcas from the dead. But you know what? She eventually died again. And God was no less good when he allowed her to die a second time. One day, she will be raised again, this time to live forever. And that is our destiny as well.
Church it is a mistake to fix our hope on this world. Peter knew that. That is why he said in 1 Peter 1:13,
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13
In this world bad things happen to good people. But behind it all there is a good, all-wise, all-powerful God, and he wants us to trust him when life’s trials come our way.
Let’s talk application/challenge
Application/Challenge
1. When suffering, focus on God’s character.
Three attributes in particular:
• God’s love (John 3:16;1 John 4:8)
• God’s goodness (Luke 18:19)
• God’s sovereignty (Job 42:2).
2. Seek the comfort of God’s fellowship. (2 Cor. 1:3-5)
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8
3. Seek to be an agent of God’s comfort to others. (Follow Dorcas’ example)
"How do you think Tabitha settled on making tunics and garments for widows? Why not something else? Here’s why: she knew how to sew, and she saw a need! It’s as simple as that.
Had she been a gardener, she would have grown vegetables and given them to the hungry.
Had she been a potter, she would have made cookware and given it to those who had need".
Do you want to show God’s love the needy around you? Why not make a list of the things that you’re good at. And then, if you’re willing to serve others with those skills, just e-mail Pastor Dan about it.
He gives leadership to Outreach at TCC, and his e-mail address is simple: DanClement@tcc.org.
He’ll be back in touch with you and together we can touch lives with the skills God has given us.
Let’s pray together…
