Bad Things Happen To Good People

Bad things happen to good people. There. It is out in the open. You and I both acknowledge this fact of life. I used to wonder why from time to time why bad things happen to good people. It is then that I need a readjustment. I have changed religious views over the years when it comes to certain things and I am sure it really concerns people that I am not as narrow minded as most Christians believe that we should be. There are things that are non-negotiable such as homosexuality, adultery, theft, etc. Some believe that God puts horrible things on people which I cannot find to be scriptural. Some assume that God curses people and some imagine that God just lets things happen.

And then there is the story of Joseph. Throughout his life, there were many opportunities to complain and to wallow in self pity. From being sold to become a slave to being thrown in prison for a crime he did not commit, he opportunities to ask God "why?" Although God will not put someone in a position of bad things, He will use these situations to show us that through anything, He can work it out all for His glory and goodness. It is so easy to complain about why God would allow His children to go through these storms in life. While we are rebuking devils, every now and then He is trying to show us something that we are completely blind to.

In Genesis 39, Joseph's master threw him in prison for the false accusations that were charged against him. But it was God who gave him favor in the sight of the warden and he made Joseph the head of the prisoners. Anything that Joseph done, he prospered at. Just a side note, I wonder if his master realized what a fool he was because if you think about it, he had to have lost a lot of his prosperity now that Joseph was gone. It was as if Joseph had the Midas touch. In spite of the riches and blessings that Joseph brought into the household, his master threw him into prison and now we find ourselves in Genesis 41. Joseph had a gift of interpreting dreams and he was on the money each time. He had interpreted the butler who was in prison returning to the king who was his master and in three days it came to pass. He had interpreted the hanging of the baker who had been imprisoned. Within a few days, the baker had been hung.

Now Pharaoh was having dreams and there was no one who could interpret the dream. It was the butler who had remembered Joseph in prison who referred him to Pharaoh. If it were not for the bad thing that happened to Joseph, the good thing of him telling Pharaoh about the seven years of famine may not have happened. I believe that God could have found a different way to allow it to happen. But God used this situation to show Pharaoh, there is no magician or charlatan who can give you the truth, this is the Almighty God who works through a servant to reveal the truth.

Often, it takes something drastic to wake someone up. Occasionally, it takes an imprisonment to break us free from a curse. We find ourselves questioning God because it's not in our favor and I am as guilty as the next man. Whatever the prison may be, we have been given favor to come through the trial and we receive the victory. Are you ready to receive your victory? Are you ready to win your case? I love Psalms 43:1-2, "Vindicate me, O God, And plead my cause against an ungodly nation; Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man! For You [are] the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" Your victory is not in your circumstances but in God and His strength. Embrace His strength and give Him the glory. Use this “bad thing” for “God’s Glory!”