Soooooo ...why do bad things happen to good people? We've heard that question many times. For that matter ...why do "bad things" happen? The older I get, the more I realize the importance of "definition". What is "bad"? Is losing a job "bad"? Losing a loved one? I lost a brother a few years ago. We would say... "way before his time" ...which, by the way, is not before God's time. I know the pain of losing someone so close. I had never lost someone so close. The reality sunk in. We "all" will die. These particular bodies aren't meant to last for eternity. In that line of thinking ...wouldn't you say it is "good" to shed the old skin? Well, it depends on your destination. Jesus said....
"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." -John 15:2
The Christ-follower, especially, should be able to fight off the element of surprise ....when difficulties come. What if we, when feeling the sting of difficulties, use that circumstance as a check-point?
- Is there anything in your life that is outside of God's will? Give thanks that He provides discipline, as any loving father would do. Then, be willing to submit to His will, which should align with His word, and use that moment as a first step of repentance and change.
- Or maybe there is nothing that is deliberately, and consistently, outside of His will (and if you're His ....you'll know. His sheep know His voice.). Again, give thanks. He is preparing you to grow closer to Him, to be a more effective testimony of His glorious grace.
Just as a loving father disciplines a child, and just as a gardener prunes dead branches ....every move of our Abba / Father is for His glory ...and our benefit. He will not throw you under the proverbial bus! He "will never leave you nor forsake you."
