"Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? Series

And whatever they might be they can be overwhelming. James says,basically if you are a believer, people will know it based on how you respond to those trials. If your faith is only good when you don’t need it, then you don’t need it. If your faith is only good when you’re doing well, then what good is it? Truth faith sustains us when everything goes wrong.

Difficulties come into everyone’s life.

2. It is attitude that determines outcome. V. 2 Most of us when we face some trial; some bad thing that is happening will ultimately ask, “why?’ Why am I going through this? What purpose could this possibly serve? I have. But let me ask you, have you ever really searched for the answer to that question? It’s easier to just throw up your arms in disgust, blame God and say I’m done! And the reason for that is our attitude.

• Angry

• Disgusted

• Bitter

• Frustrated

Look again at verse 2 and this time circle the word COUNT. Count it joy when you fall into trials. Count is an accounting term which means to evaluate or to “add up.” Listen. Right here James hits right at the heart of our problem----the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Our attitude. James is saying if we are going to benefit from our trials---just wade through them---but actually benefit from them then we must deal with our attitude. He is not saying that trials are a joy to go through; he is saying we should count them as joy. Evaluate them. Don’t be passive. Don’t ignore them. Don’t go into denial and act as though they never happened. Look clearly at them. Remember what CS Lewis said –pain requires our attention. Pain insists on being attended to. For many of us, some things keep happening over and over because we don’t pay any attention to them. We just wait on them to end. And that is the wrong approach.

Philip Yancey, in his book, “Where is God when it hurts?” puts it this way “rejoicing in suffering does not mean we should be happy about tragedy and pain when we really feel like crying or falling apart. The Bible focus is on the end-result; how God can use the suffering in our lives. But before He can use it He needs us to trust Him. Yancey then says that the process of giving him that commitment can be described as rejoicing.

Attitude determines outcome.

3. We can be absolutely certain God has a purpose in our trials. Vvs. 3-4. Knowing that trials have a purpose can make a big difference in how we face these bad times. No matter how you might feel, God has not abandoned you. He has not in the past not will He in the future.

1st Peter 1:6-9

According to James, enduring these bad things produces certain characteristics in those who are going through them. Like the saying/song, “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” 3 characteristics.

? We will become perfect. The word there is telios and means mature; fit for a purpose. It does not mean sinless.

? We will become complete. Whole. Fully developed.

? We will be lacking in nothing. God will provide everything we need to remain obedient during the bad times.