Acts 7:1-51 / 10 – and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
It would seem appropriate to write that good times come and go. Yet although that would seem to be obviously true there is another statement that must first be considered “Who are we to say what is good or what is bad?” It would seem obvious to state that the “loss” of a loved one is bad. Yet that is not a blanket truth. Sometimes, even those who loved the one who passed on, will admit that it was time and now they are resting, or out of pain and with the Lord. Sometimes we get it. How about the other times when it does not seem so obvious to us?
Do we believe God is in control? If one truly believes that then does one also believe that God is good all the time and that He truly loves us? If we believe, truly believe, this basic truth about God and if we believe that God is in control, do we then struggle with rectifying something seemingly horrific? Maybe we ought not to question the goodness and love of God but instead remember a basic truth and ask a different question.
The truth to consider is that God did not bring sin into this world. Man brought sin into this world (Adam and Eve). The original sin progressed to the fullness of sin we now have and will continue to descend until Jesus comes back. Also, we remember that Adam and Eve were given rule over all of creation and when Adam and Eve fell, so did all of their creation. So even tragic natural disasters can be traced back to the sin of our ancestors Adam and Eve. So whether it is the evil that man can do, the diseases that plague mankind, or the natural disasters that can kill, all of it is traceable to original sin, to man himself.
The question is not whether God allowed evil things to happen to us, but whether or not what happened was evil or good. Are we qualified to declare what is evil? Certainly we can see the clearly biblical acts of evil. We can say that evil definitely happens. But does evil then have the victory? Did the devil score one for the bad side? Or does God still have the final victory? Can anyone of us know all possible reasons for a death or does only God know all? If I should die and someone should then consider their own mortality and come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord, is that a bad thing or a good thing? If a child should go to be brought home to heaven, and again someone considers their own mortality and comes to be rescued by Jesus, is that a bad or a good thing? Both the child and the person who came to Jesus are in heaven, where there is no pain or suffering, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Surely the child with Jesus, if we think honestly and beyond emotion, and the one who came to Jesus are both better off. The point is, God knows all things and we do not. So who are we to accuse God of being bad because of some tragedy? He did not bring disasters to this world, but man did. He did not bring death to this world, but man did. And “natural disasters” were not brought to this world by God but by man. None of these things had to be if man would not have betrayed God. So the question is not how could a good and loving God bring the disaster, but rather why doesn’t all of mankind yield and repent to God so that all these type of things stop happening.
Surely people would say that what happened to Joseph was evil. What his brothers did to him was evil. But ultimately, while not excusing the bad the brothers did, God turned what they did to be bring ultimate good to Joseph and his people. As Joseph would say to his brothers “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20) God always wins and so that means that ultimately, we always win! Praise God!
Family, God is good all the time and He loves us. Let that be the great truth we know and let us not allow any event in life, ours or others, challenge that fact. Let us trust God and know that even in great evil God will have the final victory. We just don’t understand or know everything, but He does. Rather than challenge God, let’s continue to steadfastly and unshakably cling to our sure knowledge of Him. Knowing and having God fully is knowing and having peace fully! All praise and honor to our good and loving God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.