"21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People" #6

by Iris
 Tonight, we continue our study into some of the reasons bad things happen to good people. Our source information has been the book by Dave Earley, "21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People".

It's important for us to know and remember that the author uses the term "good people" to designate those who are Christians. People who are not Christians may suffer bad things for reasons other than those we are considering in this study.

To Equip Us for Further Ministry
Called by many the greatest Christian of us all, Paul was a very good and godly man who was the veteran of extreme hardship. Persecuted for his faith, few have suffered as much. He faced frequent imprisonments, skin-shredding whippings, bloody beatings, shipwreck, betrayal, sleeplessness, hunger, cold, nakedness, and the awful stresses of leadership (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).

Why so much affliction for such a good and godly man? According to Paul, one of the lessons he learned in the school of severe suffering was that the best person to help a sufferer is a veteran sufferer. Note what he said to some of his friends: "2 Corinthians 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

When we suffer and learn to position ourselves to receive the comfort of God in our sorrow, we gain a priceless key that enables us to unlock hearts and minister to them more effectively. In a very real sense, suffering is a primary education and qualification for effective ministry.
Through the empathy that comes from having been down the same road of suffering as another, we can minister more effectively than otherwise possible. Others can tell that we truly understand their pain and feel their hurt. A connection can be made. Trust can be built. Then real ministry can occur.

So why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? One reason is that the very best person to help someone who is suffering is someone who has suffered. Let me encourage you to use your pain to more effectively minister to others.

We'll pause for a few moments to take any questions or comments.


To Remove Our Self-Sufficiency
Paul was a high-octane guy. Prior to his encounter with Christ, he was a respected scholar, an influential, up-and-coming leader of Judaism, and a Roman citizen, as well. After meeting Christ, he came to be the voice of Christianity, a great church planter, a mighty missionary, and a powerful minister. Beyond that, his letters were considered the very words of God and were collected as scripture. Moreover, he was given amazing revelations of heaven and the future, unlike anyone before him.

Through it all, Paul was a scholar in the school of severe suffering. He faced hunger, homelessness, cruel criticisms, frequent imprisonments, physical beatings, spiritual attacks, and more. In suffering he learned many priceless lessons, including this: "When I am weak, then I am strong". His pain and weakness removed his pride and self-sufficiency so he could more fully experience God's strength.

In 2 Corinthians 12:5, 7-10, Paul mentions a source of frustration and torment neglected in his other catalogs of personal sufferings: "a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan." For two millennia, scholars have debated the exact nature of this thorn in the flesh. Some think it was physical, in the form of chronic maladies, such as an eye problem (Galatians 4:13-15; 6:11), or a speech disability (1 Corinthians 10:10). Others see it as an internal struggle coming in the form of incessant temptation. There are those who view the thorn as human in nature, caused by persistent persecution or constant Christian critics.

So, who's right? What was Paul's thorn? We don't know. I think it's intentionally unclear. Why? So no matter what your "thorn" is--physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, or whatever--you can still apply the principle that God's strength is made perfect in your weakness.

Paul considered his thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry, and he repeatedly petitioned God for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). Paul's language here suggests that this was probably the most intensive prayer struggle he ever faced. And yet God said no three times. Why? It was through the continual torment of the constraining thorn that Paul was constantly reminded of the critical lesson anyone eager to be used of God must learn: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

So why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Sometimes He wants to strip away their self-sufficiency and to bring them to a much deeper place of dependency on God. He reminds us of our abject weakness so we will fully rely on His amazing strength.

Are there any comments or questions about this reason?


To Expand Our Evangelistic Efforts
The apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome for his faith. Awaiting possible execution, he wrote a letter to his friends at a church in Greece.
Philippians 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul used his suffering as a means of sharing his faith. God knows that the best way to get the attention of a seeker is not necessarily by having His children live pain-free lives. One of the best ways to get the attention of sincere spiritual seekers is for them to see a Christian suffering triumphantly. Trials create the opportunity for testimony.

There were three groups of people who were evangelistically helped because Paul was in prison. Probably none of them would have been helped if he hadn't been imprisoned.
The first people who benefited from Paul's imprisonment were his guards. Paul was a major political prisoner. In the past, God had miraculously opened prison doors to set him free. The Romans were taking no chances, so Paul was in chains, probably chained to a Roman guard. Picture this. When one guard would come on duty, Paul would tell him about Jesus and the guy might later become a Christian. That guard would go off duty and another one would be chained to Paul. Paul would tell this guard about Jesus, and the process repeated. One by one the guards who were chained to Paul would end up giving their lives to Christ. Roman guards who never would have been exposed to the gospel any other way were converted to Christ because Paul was chained in prison.

A second set of people positively impacted by Paul's imprisonment included the other Christian leaders. Because of the fierce persecution, most Christians were not as bold as Paul. But when they saw what Paul had the courage to do inside the prison, they got on board outside the prison. They became bold in telling others about Jesus outside the prison because Paul was bold inside the prison.

A third, a by far largest, group has benefited from Paul's prison suffering. You see, while Paul was in prison, the Philippian brethren sent him a care package. He sent them a lengthy thank-you note that we now call the letter to the Philippians. They were blessed by Paul's prison epistle, and so have been millions of others across the centuries. This letter, Philippians, is one he might not have had reason or time to write if he had not been suffering in prison.

Much good came from the bad. The message of Christ was spread throughout the prison, around the area, and down through history.
Maybe the reason you are suffering is to open up doors of testimony that would have been otherwise closed. Maybe your suffering will allow you to reach someone for Christ who might not be reached otherwise.

Are there any questions or comments?


To Promote Us to Greater Glory
Paul had lived a life full of thrilling adventure as he followed Jesus. Now he was old, tired, and ready for relief. His body ached from the beatings, stonings and hardships he had endured for Christ. Now locked in a prison because of his faith, he was smart enough to know that if he pushed the right buttons, he would be executed. That would end the persecution and the pain. He would get to go to a much better place.

Yet there were people on earth who still counted on him. They needed his leadership and teaching. So a dilemma developed. He was confident that with enough prayer support he could get out so he could help more people. But should he? Or should he press his point and find his neck on the executioner's block? Then he could go to enjoy heaven. In a letter to his friends in Philippi, he described his dilemma and why he chose deliverance over death.

Philippians 1:19-26(The Message)-- "And I'm going to keep that celebration going because I know how it's going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything he wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.
As long as I'm alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I'd choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it's better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We'll be praising Christ, enjoying each other."

Notice the sentence at the end of that first paragraph : "Alive I'm Christ's messenger; dead I'm his bounty." Life versus MORE life. He could not lose! Paul understood that for the believer, physical death is merely a step into eternal life. The "bad" of death is nullified by the "better" of heaven.

God allows His people to experience the negative of physical death because He knows that death is the door to higher, greater, eternal life. It is a gift of blessed relief from pain and rest from labors. Even though we miss our loved ones who have gone on ahead of us, we rejoice in the joy they have entered into.

Comments or questions?


To Give Us Further Instruction
The first-century Roman world was a faith-draining world for a Jewish Christian. Read slowly from Hebrews 10:32-34; 11:35-38, the roll call of pain the Hebrew Christians had to endure that could only be called "a great contest and conflict of sufferings."
*Being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations
*Seeing friends and loved ones endure the same
*Enduring the seizure of property
*Being tortured and refusing to be released
*Facing jeers and flogging
*Being chained and put in prison
*Being destitute, persecuted, and mistreated
*Finding shelter only in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground
*Facing death by stoning, being sawed in two, or being beheaded by the sword
*Having nothing to wear but sheepskins and goatskins

My hardships seem small compared to what they endured. It was to these people who were living in the school of suffering that God said, don't throw away your faith (Heb. 10:35), keep running the marathon of faith (12:1), a focus your eyes on Jesus (12:2-3).

I often need to be reminded that most of life is education, not destination. One of the primary agents of instruction is adversity. There is much to be learned in the academy of agony. Sometimes the purpose is teaching us a truth, an attitude, or even a skill that we did not previously know. Often the objective is to correct our thinking, attitudes, or behavior.

Chapter 12 of the letter to the Hebrews addresses the matter of education through adversity. The author reminds us of several lessons we can learn when the storms of life grow intense.
1. Don't feel sorry for yourself. You are not the only one who is suffering.
2. Don't blow off the lessons or, on the other hand, be crushed by suffering. Parental discipline is part of family life. The fact that God brings discipline into our lives proves that we are His children.
3. Don't quit. Discipline is part of God's parenting process.
4. Don't view what you are experiencing as punishment. It is training.
5. Embrace God's training.
6. Don't get discouraged. Maintain the big perspective.
7. Don't go it alone. Rely on your church family to not only assist you, but to receive your assistance.

In pain we learn to live God's Word. Often it is merely part of the parenting process, designed to teach us how to practically live out the truths of God's Word.
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey Your word."(Psalm 119:67) "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees." (Psalm 119:71)