When Bad Things Happen…

“They want to do another MRI to verify the mass.”

“I’m at the hospital getting tested for uterine cancer… This is like a nightmare… Day from Hell.”

“The police showed up at the front door and asked if they could search the house.”

“I can’t take care of two people with Alzheimer’s. I will take care of my husband at home; we have to move mom into a facility.”

“I feel like my life is one BIG consequence after another!”

“In my dark lapse of judgment I texted inappropriate pictures which he promised to delete.”

“Getting a biopsy done right now on my face, please pray!”

“I know God is sovereign, but right now, I’m not convinced that He loves me.”

“Mom fell on the ice.”

“Can God stop Satan already?”

“I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“We agreed we would give up all the money and comfort in the world to just have our family safe and healthy.”

“He asked to meet me for lunch, and then he told me he was bringing another person… a lawyer.”

“If bad things happen all around us, why can’t they happen to us? Why does He choose to protect some people and not others?”

These are all portions of conversations I’ve been a part of this week. I don’t have the answers. I know God is sovereign. I know He is a loving Father. I know He is good. I don’t know why bad things happen to some people and not to others.

My first inclination is to pray against all of these things – to pray for healed bodies, no drugs to be found, negative biopsy results, photos to be deleted, caregivers to be sustained, truth and integrity to prevail, perseverance, patience and for all the bad stuff to just go away. Far, far away.

But it doesn’t.

God does not promise us that He will magically make life easy when we turn to Him. He does promise that He will always do what is good and right. He promises to watch over us and to be with us when it seems that hard things are about to overwhelm us. He promises us that if we live/dwell in Him – if we are surrendered and submitted to Him – He will surround us and walk us through the difficulty. We will come out on the other side as victors. It is certain.

“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” – Psalm 91:9-11 NIV

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” – Isaiah 43:1-3 NIV

We do know that God is love, and that God loves us. We do know that we cannot increase or decrease His love for us, it is an unfailing love. It was proved at the cross.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NIV

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;” – Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

We do know that God is good and that He works in all things and that He always works for our good.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 NIV

God is trustworthy to do what is good and right in your life – including the hard things. Will you choose to believe that whatever God allows into your life is coming from a Father who loves you and knows what is best for you? As you walk through the fire of cancer, the water of Alzheimer’s, the flames of fear, the flood of poor choices, will you rest in the truth that God is surrounding you.

You will not drown. You will not be burned. You will not be consumed.