The Word - Dec 28, 2006 - (Back to the Archives )

"All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ. So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation!.....We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort," ( 2 Corinthians 1: 3-7).

I recently read an intriguing article on a subject all of us have questioned God about at one time or another. One of the constant preoccupations of our culture is to ask the question: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" It seems somebody is writing a new article or a new book on the subject every month. You would think that the answer to the question was obscure, when in fact, it isn't. Bad things happen to good people because of sin. We live in a sinful world and we ourselves were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Now, while that is an answer, it is not satisfactory because it doesn't give us enough information to sort out some other things that come into play so we can really comprehend the issue. So for the next few days, Let me see if we can help you with this all important subject. Let me give you a list of answers that will help sum up what God's Word reveals to us.

Number one. God allows bad things to happen to His people to test the validity of their faith. That is to say, to determine if their faith is a lasting faith. To determine if their faith is indestructible, because if it is destructible, it cannot be a saving faith. Saving faith endures to the end. Hezekiah was being tested in 2 Chronicles 32:31, and it says, "God left him to test him that he might know all that was in his heart." In other words God abandoned Hezekiah so that Hezekiah could see what he was really like when left to himself. Again, Job was tested beyond imagination. His entire world caved in. It was all a test. In the middle of it all, his wife was saying "Curse God and die." Job replied, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him," indicating he had passed the test. We could go on, but I hope you catch the thought. What a gift from God it is to know you have a saving faith!