What a world this would be if bad things never happened; but since sin entered in, they always will. Many 
think that hard things should not happen to good people or Christians, but they do!
Just because a person is born into the family of God, does not mean he will be exempted from the consequences of natural disasters, disease, aging, others’ actions, and death. Being saved from Hell does not magically put a force field around a person. Yes, God does protect us many times, but it still rains on the “just and the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45). Calamities and hard times will happen to everyone many times in their lives.
God could certainly protect us from all misfortunes, but the trials and tribulations in our lives often do much to strengthen us and get us closer to Him. It is during the hard times that we should grow closer to God, and trust Him to carry us through them. It is also during those times that our faith can grow, as we see his mighty hand of deliverance.
Many great and wonderful things have happened because of the “bad” times. Here are some “bad” events that happened to godly people in the Bible, and how God used those events to bring honor to Himself, to bless those going through the dilemma, and to bless others:
- Noah. If Noah did not obey God and sweat for many years building the Ark, mankind would not have had a second chance.
- Abraham. If Abraham had not come to the point that he chose God over everything else, including his son’s life, he may not have had God’s blessings on him and his generations.
- Joseph: If Joseph’s jealous brothers had not thrown him in the pit and sold him into slavery, he never would have been second-in-command to the pharaoh and been able to help his family during a time of drought and starvation.
- Children of Israel: If they never were in hard bondage in Israel, they may have accepted their plight and never turned to God for deliverance. Think of all the mighty miracles they saw, when He answered their prayers.
- Moses: If he had never kept his father-in-law’s, Jethro’s, sheep and suffered loneliness in the wilderness, he would never have been in the place to see the burning bush and be called to be God’s people’s leader.
- Moses: If the people of Israel were not pursued by the angry Egyptian pharaoh, they never would have seen the Red Sea part, not have seen their enemy destroyed, and not have known that God would guide them.
- Ruth: If Ruth had not been faithful to her mother-in-law and worked to support her, she never would have met the man she was to marry.
- Hannah: If she had never gone to the temple to pray with a broken heart because of her barrenness, and made a vow until God to dedicate the child to Him, she may never had been the mother of Samuel and given Israel a godly leader.
- Elijah: If Elijah never stood faithful to God when it was not popular, Israel may have indulged longer in the idolatry of Baalism.
- Nehemiah: If Nehemiah did not love God and weep for Jerusalem, Jerusalem would never have been rebuilt.
- Job: If Job had never been tested by Satan, he never would have had twice as much wealth and belongings as he had had originally (Job 42:12-13).
- David: If David had not had hard times and heartbreaks, he never would have helped write much of the book of Psalms which has encouraged and blessed billions of people.
- Daniel: If Daniel was never a captive of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he never would have been able to interpret the king’s dream and spare the lives of the other wisemen (Daniel 2) or be the leader he was.
- Paul: If Paul was not shipwrecked on Malta, the island’s ruler’s father would never been healed of his fever.
- Jesus: If Jesus never was mocked, persecuted, whipped, beaten, or lied about, we would never have escaped our due punishment in Hell.
Sometimes hard times do come to people to turn them in a godly direction, or stop them from doing more damage to themselves or others. The difficult tribulations can get them closer to God, so they can see his mighty hand in helping them. Other times the trials can be to change a situation to the way God has planned.
There are people that spend their whole life mad and blaming God for the death of a loved one or for a trial they went through. Do they possibly think that death will be missed by their loved ones, or that they will have a perfectly sheltered life because they are so “good”?
Hard times will and do come to everyone. No one is exempt. Those times are either a time to foolishly shake your fist at God, (which can only make matters worse), when you need Him the most, or to draw close to Him and see His mighty hand produce “good” from what seemed “bad”.
Why should bad things not happen to us? Are we more special than even God’s only son, who also went through hard times? God has a plan for all that happens in our lives, even though its purpose may be cloudy when we are going through it.
When going through a “valley”, it is the time to call for the God of the mountain. He sees what we are facing, and is willing to guide us through the hard times. It is during those difficult times we should get close Him and seek His help.
“God often digs wells of joy with the spade of sorrow!”
Bro. Brinkworth,
A little over six months after you first posted this, we found out my dad had stage 4 esophageal cancer. Nineteen short days later he passed away. Within the month after, another trial fell upon our family that is yet to be resolved. These things are in addition to the 3 instances that David mentioned in his post.
I can gladly say that God has upheld me and my family through this difficult time. We are heartbroken. We have shed lots and lots of tears. There have been days we didn’t feel like smiling. But God never left us for even one second through all this. I want to give praise to God for carrying us through, for being able to praise Him for His goodness and provision even in spite of loss. My dad is worshiping at the feet of Jesus right now! My family and I are saved and on our way to join him someday!
I just want to publicly say, “Thank you!” to my Lord and Savior who has never left me nor forsaken me. The blessed Holy Spirit has truly been my comfort and my guide, and I know He will continue to be. I am so grateful to have the Lord.
I appreciate reading this post again. It has added strength to my journey yet again. Thank you, Bro. Brinkworth!
What a blewssing. Thank you, Beverly.
In the year since you posted this, I have watched 3 families walk the valley of cancer. One young family are exemplary spirit filled Christians and have done it with grace and strength, never a crack that I have seen. That young husband and father appears to be losing the battle and as I was visiting with him just yesterday, there is sorrow for this life, but there is also joy and confidence in the future. They know what their future holds.
Another young couple with a child that has cancer has done so well, but upon receiving that news some months ago, I knew that it would either destroy their family or bind them together. Although they are not saved, they have leaned on God as best as they understand and have been more receptive to prayer and faith than a lot of saved people would. I think God is going to use this event to do a mighty work in this home!
A third man has been taking care of his wife for months with a slow growing type of cancer, only to find that he had cancer himself. They have little by way of support or help, but friends, etc.. in their area have helped so much. Again, this has opened up the avenue to discuss prayer, etc… with this man. It looks like he is going to make it through the valley.
Tough times are a crucible for anyone, they are a special time for the Child of God. A time to draw closer, a time to show others how to suffer in dignity and grace, a time to improve your walk with the Lord.
Bro. Brinkworth,
I think that God allows Christians to go through valleys not only as a means of testing and purifying them, but also to serve as a witness to the unsaved. People won’t notice much how you react when everything is going good for you. The unsaved will attribute your cheerfulness, faith, etc. to the fact that everything is good, that you have all your worldly needs met, etc. However, when a Christian is going through a deep valley, when the trial is at its hardest, when the pain is the deepest, and the Christian keeps his faith in God’s provision to see him through, when the Christian continues to praise the Almighty for all His blessings in spite of the trial – that’s when the unsaved really take notice. They ask how in the world you can have joy when you are going through the trial you are enduring? How can you have faith when this bad thing has happened to you? How can you praise God when you are in pain and sorrow? That’s when the Light of Christ in our lives can shine the brightest! That is when we have our greatest opportunity to be a witness for Christ!
You’re absolutely right!
So saved or not we still get punished sighs .
When one is saved he is not punished for his sins eternally, but when we sin there are often consequences for our actions here in this life. Often they are wages that come naturally from sinning (jail for the thief; broken life for the drunkard …). Others times they can be corrections from our Father, if the person is saved.
When your children were young, I am sure you punished them when they did wrong. If you did not you were not a good parent. Hopefully, the “punishment” was not in anger, but in love because you loved your children so much that you did not want them to grow up wrong. The same with our Heavenly Father. He knows that violations of His Word (sin) can hurt you and others, and he doesn’t want any further suffering on those involved. It is more His love than “punishment”. What kind of Parent would God be if He did not discipline His own.
Amen! This devotion reminds me of Esther (being where God wants you to be whether in good or bad times). Her uncle Mordecai said, “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
We never know when God has placed us in a position to make a difference! On the surface it may seem like we’re in a bad place or that God doesn’t know what He’s doing! But stay faithful (I Peter 1:7) cause you never know whose life you may impact!
You may have said it Bro Brinkworth, but we still often get the consequences of our sin after we are saved. Even now…people who smoked and drank excessively as sinners may be suffering for those earlier decisions and so on.
Others, children for example, may get a share of that suffering even though they had nothing to do with the sin.
Our decisions and actions greatly form who we are and who we can become. The decision to follow Christ is one that bend that in the right direction. Any…Any decision or action we take contrary to the word of God and the teachings of Jesus have negative consequences, no matter how small.
That is true. There are all kinds of wages for our sins…….
David, you.re right! I knew a man that smoked real heavy just about all his life. He loved the Lord and finally quit that nasty habit! Unfortunately, it was too late and the damage was done!
He quit over ten years ago but he has COPD and Emphazema! (Don’t really know how to spell it)