Bad Things Happen As Well As Good Things; Know That Jesus Is With You Through Both!

Word-of-the-Day: ’And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’ (2 Corinthians 9:8); ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’ (Isaiah 41:10)

Bad things happen, often at the worst time imaginable. A flat tire while on the way to a doctor’s appointment or while driving to the airport to catch a flight, for example. The times we encounter ‘negative’ events can be big or little, such as a hurricane here in Florida slamming into our coastline bringing high winds and high surf that brings considerable damage to our area, our neighborhoods, and our homes; or it can be a slip of the hand that drops a glass of milk onto the kitchen tiled floor, or worse, the carpeted living room.

Our reactions can vary, sometimes opposite in terms of the severity of the issue at hand. I recently viewed a report on military veterans, who often respond to the worst situations they encounter with stoic logic and calm demeanors, while the little annoyances like a small item falling onto the floor will bring out a hostile tirade of disdain toward the object and the action causing it to fall.

It is due to the military veteran accustomed to high-stress situations and having the ability to remain calm, having grace under pressure. The little annoyances, however, are lapses of judgements or preparedness that could have easily been prevented. So, the reactions they have appear to be opposite than what they should be.

(Personal note: I have this trait from my experiences as a soldier and working with the military in high-stress situations, so I’m telling on myself with this.)

Sometimes, we have a thought that, in any crisis, ‘God is doing this to me/us/them, because…’ We may compound our grief in the loss or damage of our possessions, or in a loved one, by believing it is God punishing us for something we did of a sinful nature.

This, truthfully, can sometimes be the case, where an improper action can lead to a consequence; a costly, careless mistake at a job, for example, can lead to a firing from the position one holds. But typically, God does not allow bad things to occur to us for punishment. He may allow bad things to happen, but he neither directly encourages or discourages them from happening.

Thanks to the presence of sin, bad things were brought about, but it isn’t always for the direct punishment of one person or a group of people. Events are allowed to occur to allow people to respond, either in Godly ways or ungodly ways. Hurricanes strike the coastline of people in the southeast; those people are intermixed with Believers and non-believers. Illnesses strike the Godly and ungodly, and both the church-goer and the bar-goer gets a flat tire on their car. Jesus states in Matthew 5:45 that ‘the sun will shine on the wicked and the Believer, and the rain will fall on both as well‘.

In other words, all will have good and bad times. The difference will not necessarily be the experience the people encounter, but the response of the individuals. The Godly understand there can be blessings out of tragedies. Hurricanes that have struck Florida bring damages to all peoples’ homes, roadways, and neighborhoods, with roofs missing shingles, trees uprooted and floodwaters coming into homes.

For the Believer, however, we see God’s protection upon us, and opportunities to provide others help and assistance through the love of Christ. The non-believer may only see the woe, in loss of use or finances caused by the damage.

The opportunities the Christian sees come from the Faith that the Lord can use tragedies to grow His people into sharing His love, especially with non-believers. Helping a non-believer with repairs and clean-up lead to the sharing of God’s Word, and the understanding that possessions are temporary, but Salvation and Eternal life with Jesus is permanent. Illnesses sometimes bring families together, and often family members become more open to the Gospel at this time than prior to the ailment that brought them together.

Going through the storms never brings happiness; Christians aren’t throwing parties because they are having health issues or just had their car towed away after an accident, but we should have joy that the Lord is with us and giving us His strength, and that in our woes, He continues to bless us. Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:8, talks of these blessings in the context of giving, but also provides that these blessings are given ‘in all things at all times to have all that we need to do well in our all of our good work’. Even in bad times, we are equipped through the Lord to do His Righteous work. Paul was never happy about his confinement in a Roman prison, but he was always joyous in knowing the Lord continued to use him to build His Kingdom despite his restrictions.

God, speaking through Isaiah in Isaiah 41:10, encouraged the Israelites that, while informing them of their troubled future that would lie ahead, with exile to Babylon, seeing them subjugated by foreign powers, and eventually scattered throughout the world, would continue to be with them and provide for them, even in the midst of their struggles.

We sometimes have to go through the fire of bad things happening to gain strength, just like a tempered blade get stronger and sharper the more it gets heated, hammered, and grinded. Paul may not have been as effective in his ministry if he was free to roam around, and perhaps would not have written the letters that give us the instructions on how to be ‘Christians’.

It was Paul’s example of Christ while confined and imprisoned that gives us a strong example of how we should be in difficult situations, and his epistles, with his inspired instructions written down, allow us to obtain and share the Godly wisdom he provided the churches he planted throughout Asia Minor and the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.

Paul had grace under pressure, a peace and a joy in spite of experiencing troubles, and his example is for us to emulate in our walk in Christ. We, in turn, with our actions of grace under pressure, are examples to others who, believe it or else, are watching us, to see if we ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’ of Righteousness through our Faith in Jesus. Be calm in His presence, and know not matter what you are going through, He is always with you.