WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
- Read 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
As we look at this passage, we wonder, "If God is in control, and He is; and if God is all powerful, and He is; why did He let all of this stuff happen to His man Paul? If God is in control, why do bad things happen to good people?
This past Thursday, July 8th, my family and many others, gathered at the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office to do 2 things. We gathered first, to recognize those in the Sheriff’s Department and in the community who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, this past year. We celebrated with them as they received the medals and awards they so richly deserve. 2nd, we gathered also to remember those in law enforcement and around the world, who have given their lives to protect our lives and our freedom.
It was 6 years ago, this past Thursday that I received a phone call, telling me that my dad had been shot and killed in Geneva, in the line of duty. Thursday night, as we again listened to the honor guard firing their 21-gun salute, as we listened to the sad wail of the bagpipes and the lump-in-the-throat producing sound of “taps” being played and echoed by trumpets, I thought of the many times I have heard those sounds in the past few years. I thought of the many times those same trumpets are played for our soldiers each day. I thought of the volunteer firemen who died in the town neighboring ours, just weeks after my Dad’s death. I thought again of the teenage girl from our church, a young girl who, with a friend, had prayed to accept Christ in my office. I thought of her phone call and heart-breaking cry as she told me she had been raped. As my mind replayed those events, the question again came to mind. The question asked by so many, both inside and outside of the church. “If God is in control, why do bad things happen to good people?”
Now, I do not know the mind of God, I cannot share all of His reasons, but this morning I would like to share with you, 7 reasons from God’s Word, why bad things happen to good people.
I. WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
1. Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world
– Read Gen. 3:1-19
If you remember, in the beginning chapters of the Bible, man and woman lived in the Garden of Eden, a virtual paradise. There was no pain, no suffering, no heartache, and no death. Then Adam and Eve sinned. Because of their sin, the whole world was cursed. The deaths we have waiting for us one-day, the loneliness, sickness, pain and disease we endure today, all come because of man’s sin. People ask, “How could a loving God let people get sick? How can He allow cancer, and strokes, and Alzheimer’s?” My friend, if you buy a brand new car, and go out and rear end someone and wreck it. You don’t blame it on the manufacturer. It is broken as the result of your actions. The sickness, and disease we endure today, the hurricanes and tornadoes, the droughts and floods, the struggle at work and pain in childbirth all came as a result of man’s sin. They broke it. The world is not like God created it.
Why do bad things happen to good people? They happen because we live in a fallen world.
2. Bad things happen to good people because of the sins of others.
– Read 2 Samuel 11:14-17
If you remember, King David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife and she became pregnant. When David found out, He tried to cover his tracks by having his faithful soldier Uriah come back from the battlefield. David welcomed him, and then sent him home to be with his wife, thinking Uriah would sleep with his wife and then not know that he wasn’t the father. But, Uriah didn’t go and sleep at home. He would not enjoy the pleasure of a roof over his head and his wife’s company when his fellow soldiers were still on the battlefield and while the Ark of the Covenant was there as well. Was there ever a more innocent and committed man than Uriah?
Since his first plan failed, David had Uriah, an innocent man, killed, to cover his tracks. My friends, bad things often happen to good people because of the sins of others. Think of the families who go without food, because their fathers are addicted to gambling, drugs, or alcohol. Think of the innocent who are killed on our highways each year because others were driving drunk. Think of those killed in the Twin Towers because of other’s sins. Bad thinks happen to good people because we live in a fallen world, they …
3. Bad things happen to good people to teach and prepare us.
- Read 1 Samuel 17:31-36 If you remember this account, you will recall that a giant named Goliath, would go out every day and stand in front of the Israelites and challenge them to a fight. Everyday, the soldiers there would tremble in fear. That is, until a young boy came and said he would fight the giant. When King Saul heard about the boy’s offer, he called David in and told him he was too young and inexperienced to fight that giant. David told him, “I have already fought a lion and a bear. God protected me then and He will protect me now.”
I imagine there were times, as he watched the sheep, that young David wondered why God didn’t protect he and the sheep from attacks by those wild animals. I imagine he had trouble understanding why God allowed those problems to keep coming his way. Little did he realize that God was preparing him for an even bigger challenge later, when God would use him to destroy Israel’s greatest enemy. The Lion and the bear were only part of God’s boot camp, designed to prepare David for bigger challenges later.
My friend, God sometimes allows bad things to come your way, so you will be equipped to work in bigger ways later.
4. Bad things happen to good people to bring glory to God.
- Read Job 1:8-12
Do you remember? God was bragging to the Devil about Job. The Devil said, “If you let me attack him, he’ll turn his back on You.” So God allowed bad things to happen to Job, and innocent man, so God would be glorified. It is easy, sometimes, to begin to think that the world revolves around us, to believe that God was made for us and not the other way around. We often believe that God owes us pain-free lives. Think of the glory God has received because of the testimony of Joni, the Christian quadriplegic. Think of the glory God has received through the life of David Wring. My friends, we need to get over the idea that God exists for us, and remember that we are called to bring glory to God.
Bad things happen to good people …
5. Bad things happen to good people to remind us to trust God.
When I was very young, I remember swimming at a lake during a Gregory family reunion. I know, the thought of such a reunion is more than some of you can stomach. At the lake, there was a dock. I would walk a little ways out on the dock, jump in the water, and then walk back to shore. Each time I was inching further and further out on the dock. Finally, it happened. I jumped into water that was over my head. I began floundering. I couldn’t breath. It was then that the lifeguard jumped in and pulled me to safety. Up until then, I depended on my own abilities. Finally I reached the point where I needed someone else. My friend, it is mighty easy for us to begin to feel self-sufficient. It is mighty easy for us to believe we need nothing and no one, until disaster comes our way. It is then, when we can no longer handle things ourselves, that we often find ourselves forced to turn to the God we’ve ignored. It is often then, that we begin to pray with words we really mean. Sometimes, God allows bad things to happen to good people, to remind them to trust Him. He often allowed that to happen to the Israelites.
It is easy to talk about how great God is. It is easy to talk about how we trust Him, but it is often only when we have nowhere else to turn, that we begin to mean what we say.
6. Bad things happen to good people, to help other people.
I told you about my father’s death. I was able to preach his funeral, and at that funeral I was able to share the Gospel with hundreds of law enforcement officers, many who never darken the door of a church.
When I preached that funeral, there was a man in the audience by the name of Bob Martin. Bob had been a Christian for many years, but his testimony was not the best in the world. He says, that seeing me preach my father’s funeral gave him the courage to preach his father’s funeral when he died some months later. He invited a number of his co-workers to attend his dad’s funeral. When he did, though, he realized that his testimony at work was not the best in the world, so he began seeking the Lord and cleaning it up. Since that time God has used Bob to lead a number of his co-workers to the Lord. Bob started a prayer ministry and now when people at the sheriff’s department have struggles, many of them go and ask Bob to pray for them.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Sometimes they happen so other people can be helped.
7. Bad things happen to good people to remind us we’re not home yet.
– Read John 16:33 In this verse Jesus says, “You will have suffering in this world. I want you to underline that word “this.” Often we get so busy building houses, taking care of our families, and working our jobs, that we forget that this place is not our home. We often forget that Jesus is even now preparing a place for us. Of my friends, we’re not home yet.
The place we are going has no pain, it has no suffering, it has no separation, and there are no tears. The place we are headed to has streets of gold, gates of jewels, and joy filling the air. My friends, we’re not home yet. This place is not even a pale shadow of what God has waiting for us.
There is a better place waiting for us, but in this world, bad things will happen to good people. Now, one question remains to be answered. When bad things happen to good people, how do good people, how do God’s people respond?
II. GOOD PEOPLE RESPOND TO BAD THINGS BY:
1. Trusting God –
Read Romans 8:28, 31-32
Often, when pain and trouble comes our way, the first thing we need to do is to remember that God is in control, and then trust Him. I remember, some time back, I was going through some struggles. We encountering setbacks and for a season it felt as though the world was beginning to unravel. It was then the Lord drove me out of my office and I began to walk up and down my driveway singing, “God is in control, we believe that His children will not be forsaken. God is in control, we will choose to remember and never be shaken. There is no power above or beside Him we know. Oh, oh, oh. God is in control.” Again and again I sang that song, and as I did, the tears began streaming down my face as I remembered and began to trust again.
Let me ask you my friend, are you trusting this morning that God is in control?
2. Remembering God’s Love –
– Read Romans 8:35, 37-39
Remember that God loves you more than you can imagine...
3. Looking Ahead
- Read 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Something better’s coming. Think of the home that’s waiting. Think of the reunion we’ll have.
The story is told of the preacher who went to visit an elderly woman from the church, just hours before she passed away. As he leaned over her bed, she whispered something in his ear. The lady later passed away. Those who attended the funeral were surprised to discover that the woman, had in her casket, a spoon, grasped in her hands. When the preacher stood to preach the funeral, he explained.
“Shortly before our dear sister passed, she made a special request. She asked me to place a spoon in the casket with her. Then she asked me to explain. You see, when she was growing up, at the end of each evening meal, as the dishes were being cleared away, her mother always told the children to hang on to their spoons because something better was coming. Our sister wanted to be buried with her spoon because she wants you to remember, in the midst of your trials, in the midst of your struggles and pain that “Something better’s coming.”
