We humans tend to be an inconsistent lot. When things are going well we like to ascribe it to our own goodness, cleverness and ability. However, when we find ourselves in trouble or when things go against us, we tend to blame it on God.
The truth is that we often have it backwards. The good things we enjoy come from God, while often times we bring the trouble we experience on ourselves.
We make another mistake in regard to good and bad. We tend to think that if someone is pleasing to God, nothing bad will ever happen to him. Conversely, we tend to think that if someone suffers misfortune that he must have done something to anger God. He is reaping the consequences of his own wrongdoing.
While it is true that God blesses those He loves and it is also true that He punishes those who do wrong, it is a mistake to conclude that those who are enjoying the good things in life are pleasing to God while those who are suffering are under His wrath. Jesus said about God, “…He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45 NIV) Likewise, the Apostle Peter tells us that it might be necessary to suffer for doing what is right (1 Peter 3:13-17).
In view of these Scriptures, it is fair to say that our circumstances are not a reflection on God, nor do they indicate that God has stopped loving us when things go bad. God is bigger than our circumstances. One of the reasons we sometimes experience bad things is that we live in a world which has been broken by sin. Some day God will turn brokenness into wholeness, heal the hurt and restore justice. In the meantime, we may have to endure hardship and difficulties.
This is something which the Prophet Job’s wife forgot. When trouble came upon them because Job was a righteous man, she urged him to curse God and die. “He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”” (Job 2:10 NIV)
Like Job, we need to learn to trust God during the bad times as well as the good. God loves us. Those of us who follow Christ have God’s promise that He will bring good out of every circumstance (Romans 8:28-29). Do we trust Him to fulfill His promise even when we suffer or experience trouble? Or, is our faith so shallow that we doubt God’s promise when things do not go as we would like?