It occurs to me that people whose faith is shattered or undergoes a traumatic assault when they experience suffering have the mistaken notion that as a Christian they will not suffer and no one associated with them will suffer. That is not true. That is not reality. In fact it is unscriptural. People who teach that are teaching error.
We hear questions concerning why bad things happen to good people. The answer is "Why not?" Jesus said "… he (God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Apparently there is no difference between the just and the unjust as far as nature is concerned. What is nature? How about disasters, illnesses, accidents, crime, bad things in general, etc?
If you add to that fact that God knows what we need before we ask, Jesus said "… your Father knows what you need before you ask him" he knows bad things are going to happen to good people yet he does not stop them from happening.
When Stephen was killed we read it we believe it but do not intellectually grasp that bad things happen to good people and neither God nor Jesus will interfere. Luke tells us "But he (Stephen), full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'" God and Jesus knew what was happening yet did not stop it. Why didn't they? Why should they?
If we teach the truth, if we teach reality people will be better prepared for when bad things happen to and around them.
Mark tells us Jesus "began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again." Talk about bad things happening to good people. Why should our situation be better?
When we understand the truth about our situation it might be a bit scary but it does not have to be. Paul told the people in Philippi "… Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." And, he told the people in Rome "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
Is that true or not?
When threatened, Peter and John did not pray for safety did not pray for security did not pray for protection. They asked God to "look upon their (the authorities') threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." That is the type of prayer God can answer in the affirmative. Peter told his readers, "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit," Always prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you includes while bad things are happening to good people.
We read how Christians were and are tortured for their beliefs. What makes us think God is going to put a hedge around us? Suffering is in the world because sin is in the world. Christians will suffer as long as enemies of God exist. Unless God is to remove the principle of "free will" he has to let us choose our reactions to life. He cannot stop suffering. We should not expect him to.
One of the Charlie Brown cartoon scripts shows Charlie in the back yard shooting arrows into the fence. Wherever he shoots an arrow, he runs over and draws a target around where the arrow hit. Lucy walks over and asks him why he's doing this. His reply," This way I never miss." To often, this is how we approach prayer.
Wishful thinking leads us to believe God answered our prayer when he did not. We convince ourselves God gave us a parking spot but at the same time says "No." to more serious situations. Based on prayers "answered," we believe God is more interested in us having a building, our visitors having safe travel, and that we be protected from our enemies than he is in the health and well-being of his followers. Isn't that strange? Causes people to give us money, keeps us out of traffic mishaps, but lets our friends continue to suffer. Maybe he is not answering any of those prayers because we are not focused on what he wants us to be focused on? Are we like Charlie Brown? Do we find something that goes our way and then put a target around it to show he answered our prayer, but who are we kidding? Who are we leading to lose their faith and confidence in God when bad things happen to good people?
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