Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

 

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:8-14 ESV).

 

Our meme today is an apt illustration of the truth in our reading. I have often been asked “why?” Typically it is the first question anyone asks when they are enduring trials and difficulties. Some of the time I have heard others express the thought that health issues are a punishment for sin. The truth of Scripture is that God does not authorize our suffering because we haven’t faithfully followed his law. This ages-old question plagues people who wonder if God follows a cause-and-effect policy: You sin, you suffer. In short… bad things happen to both good and bad people. While there are consequences for all our decisions, good and bad (cf. Galatians 5:6-7), God is not punishing us when we have difficult experiences whether they are of our own making or not.

 

In the Old Testament we read of a man named Job who loses nearly everything but his life to prove that his righteousness was not a result of his good behavior. Job’s friends accuse him, saying he must have brought this on himself by sinning against God. Job even asks God, “If I have sinned, what have I done to you? Why have you made me your target?” (Job 7:20). And God responds by showing him that all these things ultimately bring him good. This is what the psalmist means when he declares that God “does not treat us as our sins deserve.” Instead, God uses a sin-removal policy based on his everlasting love: God pays the price of our sin.

 

The answer to the question of “why?” is simply not as important as that of “who?” If it is God who ultimately directs and ordains our journey, then we can know the truth of the Apostle Paul’s answer to “why?” It will always be for the working together of our good (cf. Romans 8:28). Heaven does turn toward you when all the world turns against you!