God can redeem your life even now.
Why does God allow bad things to happen? That is the question… It is a question that is asked by believers. It is a question asked by seekers. It is a question asked by scoffers of Christianity…
I remember sitting on the deck of an unbelieving neighbor with another neighbor who was a believer. The unbeliever asked this very question with a gleam in his eye probably thinking, “Try to get out of this one!” Little did he know that this question is the perfect prompt for sharing the main point of the gospel message, which is that God sent His only begotten Son to be scourged and crucified for our sins. In the eyes of man, this was not just a bad thing, but a horrific event of unmatched suffering and pain that God allowed Jesus to experience for us! The Lord God is Holy. He will not stand for sin. Yet in His great compassion for us and because of our great weakness to fight against sin on our own, He allowed this “bad thing” to happen to Jesus for the redemption of His chosen ones! He made a way, where it was impossible for us to do so on our own.
In a way, I could stop right here because there is nothing worse in human eyes than a parent who would willingly allow suffering to come to their child, but with this as the forerunner of a “bad thing” in human eyes, it can help us understand why God does allow “bad things” to happen.
1 John 4:9-11 says, “This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.” Jesus was a willing participant in suffering for our redemption. Matthew 26:39 says, “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'” Hebrews 12:2 says, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I wanted to lay this foundation first, but I do understand that there is suffering that goes on in this world that we may never fully grasp why it was ever allowed. There is suffering that happens in our own lives that we have trouble coming to terms with. There may be an onslaught of circumstances beyond our control that wreak havoc.
What I hope to do is bring to the forefront of our minds that no matter what bad thing is happening in our lives, we can know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord is Sovereign over all, His love for us is eternal, He is our hope, and He is the Great Redeemer.
Redeeming a Person
Redeem (v): to free from what distresses or harms
One of the most fascinating stories of the Bible is the conversion of Saul to the Apostle Paul.
Acts 8:1-3 highlights who Saul was before His encounter with Jesus, “And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.”
Does this sound like someone who would ever be used by God?! Talk about a bad thing! Saul was the bad thing happening to Christians! Acts 9:13-16 says, “But Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.' But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.'"
Had God not allowed Saul to initially do those bad things, his testimony as the Apostle Paul would not have been as powerful or as profound. Acts 9:21-22 says, “All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, 'Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?' But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” As Paul’s ministry continued, he would begin his preaching by first sharing his testimony telling of how he used to persecute the Church and how God redeemed him to a life of sharing in Christ crucified.
And remember, even though Paul was redeemed by God, the Lord said that he would suffer for His name’s sake. As we all know, Paul’s life was not a bed of roses by any stretch, but he knew Who called him and always identified himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. As his life and ministry progressed, he didn’t see the “bad things” that happened to him as bad, but in Philippians 3:10, Paul says, “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death”
We must remember that no one is a lost cause and that those whom the Father has given to the Son will be redeemed in His perfect timing, no matter how many bad things they have done, and can be used mightily for the Kingdom of God.
Redeeming a Circumstance
Have you ever known someone who just can’t catch a break? It seems like one bad thing after the other happens to them. You might be in that season now.
The Bible has one such story in the person of Joseph. It all started with him sharing a dream with his brothers where they would be bowing down to him one day. Out of jealousy, they threw him into a cistern but ended up selling him to the Midianites who then sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials. But then, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, and when he refused, she cried rape. He was then thrown back into prison without the “freedoms” he once had. God’s favor was upon Joseph and then he was given responsibility over the other prisoners. Joseph then interpreted dreams for Pharoah and subsequently the cupbearer. He then asked the cupbearer to remember him, but the cupbearer forgot him until two years later! Yet the Lord never left Joseph and continued to show him favor. Fast forward and Joseph was put in charge of all of Egypt and facilitated the distribution of food during the famine.
Even though Joseph endured a lot of suffering and oppression as a result of the bad thing his brothers did to him, Joseph very aptly stated in Genesis 50:20-22, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
When we go through bad things in life, we can know that God will redeem those circumstances for His good purposes. Someone who has suffered miscarriages can be a comfort and minister to another who is going through it now. Someone who has gone through a cancer journey but saw God redeem it can be a beacon of hope through their testimony by encouraging another who is in the thick of it. You can add in any difficult life circumstance and the same would apply. 2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” I heard a quote that said, “This trial will become a testimony.” Indeed, it will!
The Lord promises to be our ever-present help and refuge. He is in the business of redeeming and will redeem your circumstances. In the meantime, lean into His comfort.
Redeeming a Life
I want to encourage anyone out there whether you are a scoffer, a seeker, or a believer, to know that our Lord and Savior wants to be in a relationship with you.
To the scoffer, you may have had a bad experience with the church or a believer within the church. You may have had a life of hard knocks where you are mad at God. You may be someone who has had to depend on yourself your whole life and doesn't believe there is a God. In love, I want to encourage you to not allow the bad experiences of man to dissuade you from a relationship with Jesus. We are all sinful people who need Jesus to save us from our sins. Jesus loves you so much and wants to have a relationship with you. The thief who hung on the cross next to Jesus did bad things throughout his life, but at the end of his life, he asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus responded, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). God can redeem your life even now.
To the seeker, you may feel like you have to get your life in order first before coming to church or crying out to Jesus. Jesus wants you to come to Him now in all your messiness. He will make you white as snow and cleanse you from all your sins. He will redeem your life.
To the believer, James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” This is our promise of redemption when “bad things” happen. Our faith muscles will be exercised and we will be strong in the Lord.
Why does God allow bad things to happen? Because He is our Good, Good Father, and He is redeeming us, our circumstances, and our lives. We are being sanctified, which is the progressive work of God conforming us to be more like Christ. When we live more like Christ, we will experience joy, peace, and the abundant life He promised.
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