For the sake of Christ.

Why do bad things happen to good people?


To relate to and comfort others.
"So that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have recieved from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."


To glorify God.
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities."


To experience God's power.
"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."


To draw close to God.
"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel."



To build character.
"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

God Sets the Lonely in Families.

So here's the plan: Grow up, get married, and have kids. But how many? Boys or girls? There are sooo many choices. And since, of course, we have complete control over what we get, let's pick! Hmm...nineteen kids all with names starting with the letter J, one boy and one girl, a car full of little football players, a buncha barbie dolls with one boy to keep the sanity...ahhh the possibilities are endless.

Now obviously God is the one up in heaven picking out each of our little families. I can just picture him up in heaven, with little paper dolls, creating the perfect little families for us. And while we all wish we had complete control, srsly...it's probably better that we don't! God's the one that created us. He knows the desires of our heart, and what we want, even more than we do! That's why he conjured up the idea of families in the first place. He knows that we all need people around us to love or we would always feel alone.

"God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:6

Life is Good.

"Life isn't fair." "That's just life." "Life is hard." We've heard em all, and yet we somehow find ourselves living somewhere between denial and reality. We see innocent people get hurt, feel hearts break, witness national tragedies, hide inner despair, and yet we deny it. We want to believe that life is always good, and people are inherently good, and so we push the unfairness of life into a back corner. We shove it into a closet and pretend it never happened. Because who likes a Debbie Downer? Nobody wants to be that person. The one always bringin down the party. And so, we feel guilty when we have those "life isn't fair" moments. Because we aren't supposed to feel anything but happy...all the time.

Yet the reality still remains that life isn't fair. So what do we do when the inevitable happens? We take heart! Because although troubles will come, we have been given a hand to hold, and wings to rest under. "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by your right hand." "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." The one who has conquered the world is on our side. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

We can also find hope in this: "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again...you will comfort me once again." These hardships and troubles will not last forever, but only a season. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." 

We have been given the strength we need to get through them. Because when we are weak, He is strong. He is our strength when we cannot be our own. "For when I am weak, then I am strong." And we can fully rely on him, and trust him to carry us through these times because He is everything we need to get through anything life throws our way. "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness." Only through this weakness, can we experience the power of God in full. "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." And so we rejoice in persecutions and hardships because we are not alone. All things are ultimately for God's glory, ("For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.") and for our good, ("...in all things God works for the good of those who love him.")

So while life isn't fair, life is good. God gives us a hand to hold and hope for our hearts. "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." He also gives us joy, for the troubled times, and for the good times. "You have filled my heart with greater joy!"