“If God loves me, why has He allowed the bad things that have happened in my life?” We’ve all heard or asked this question, possibly many times, and the answer can seem elusive. But no matter what happens,
Don’t think God doesn’t love you because He allows you to go through things. Some things are necessary for reasons we don’t always see. But it will produce life in the long run. (excerpt from, Taking Hold With Pitbull Faith pt.2, by Dr. Chester C. Pipkin Jr.)
It can be hard to accept that something painful- or even terrible- might be necessary for reasons that we don’t see. But the Bible has many examples of this. Take for instance Joseph. His own brothers sold him into slavery, then it got even worse when he was falsely accused and thrown in prison. But through it all God had a plan. David was hunted, slandered and betrayed by his own son. And then there’s Job, who is famous for his incredible suffering. Of course, the ultimate example is Jesus, who suffered above all, dying and enduring hell for our sins. Yet, in each case, God had a purpose for everything that He allowed. Time and time again it is clear that we don’t understand everything, and that God knows more than we do.
Also, while nothing happens without God allowing it, that’s not the same as Him causing every bad thing that happens. Satan is the one who comes to kill, steal and destroy, and very often, he is the real source of our trauma (John 10:10.) That was the case for Job, when Satan tormented him to try to prove that Job wouldn’t serve God if his life was harder. But God is the One who set the boundaries, and eventually put an end to the devil’s work. It can be a comfort to realize that even when it’s the devil trying to bring disaster, God can still bring good out of it.
Job stayed faithful to God and proved the devil wrong, and the Lord delivered and restored him. Joseph’s ordeal put him in a position to save his family and all of Egypt; David became king and God gave him victory over and over. And of course, the ultimate: Jesus rose from the dead to give us eternal life! With the examples in the Bible we have the advantage of being able to read how they turned out. But when Joseph was in prison, and David was in hiding, and Job was sick and in pain, they probably felt some of the same things we do when we don’t understand why we go through our own struggles. Just imagine what Jesus’ disciples must have felt when Jesus died… They’d pinned all their hopes on Him, yet He was buried in a tomb and they didn’t know why or what was going to come next. I think we can relate to that when we go through things. And so, in addition to giving us these examples of how God can bring life out of unthinkable circumstances, the Bible also encourages us over and over:
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The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3 NIV)
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Weeping may endure for a night, But joy [comes] in the morning. (Psalm 30:5b NKJV)
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Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. - Psalm 34:19 NKJV
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For He Himself [that means Jesus!] has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b NKJV)
So when we go through hard times in our lives, that shouldn’t cause us to question God’s love for us, but rather to hold onto it tightly, and trust that,
God loves you and He is going to bring you through, whatever you’re going through, if you trust Him. (excerpt from, Taking Hold With Pitbull Faith pt.2, by Dr. Chester C. Pipkin Jr.)