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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 4, NUMBER 37, SEPTEMBER 12, 2004 WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN Sometimes bad things happen; things that tear at hearts and disrupt our lives. I am not saying anything that every adult does not already know. The vital issue concerning these kinds of events is not so much the event itself, but how we react to it. We can throw up our hands in despair, blame God and quit. We can get angry and bitter and lash out at any and every body. We can wallow in self pity and feel sorry for ourselves. We can trust in God and His word and know that we can remain faithful to Him no matter what. I think of Joseph. As a young man the favoritism shown him by his father led to his being hated by his brothers. Genesis 37:3-4, tell us, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” This hatred would lead his brothers to conspire to kill him and only the intervention of Reuben prevented that from happening. However, they did cast him into a pit and ended up selling him to a band of Ishmeelite merchants who sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Even the little children know the rest of the story. Joseph ended up in the household of Potiphar, captain of the guard in Egypt, only to be mistreated by Potiphar’s wife. The statement that Joseph made in response to her unwanted advances is one of the classic statements of scripture and shows how a person can continue to be faithful and do what is right even when bad things happen. In Genesis 39:7 -9, we read, “And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; there is none greater in this house than I: nether hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” In the final chapter of the book of Genesis, chapter 50, Joseph made another statement to his brothers that we can all cling to whenever bad things happen. In verse 20, he said, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” No matter what the circumstances are, no matter what happens, we can always do what is right. I am reminded of three other young men who certainly had bad things happen to them. We all know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Taken from their homeland after Babylon had besieged Jerusalem and brought into the king’s palace, they determined that they would remain faithful to the one true God. When forced to fall down and worship a golden idol that Nebuchadnezzar had set up or die, these three young men stood their ground and did what was right. Daniel 3:16-18, a passage that I have read more times than I could possibly count, still moves me to marvel at the conviction and courage of these men in the face of a very bad circumstance. The passage says, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it know unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Again, these men show us that no matter what happens, we can be faithful, we can do what is right. Do we have to go it alone when bad things happen? Certainly not. First of all and most importantly, we have God by our side. He does promise that bad things won’t happen. Indeed, as we view the biblical records of various men and women of God, it appears certain that bad things will happen and that in every life there will be storms or despair and times of anguish. What He does promise the faithful is so beautifully expressed by Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. He wrote, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee…” God will give us what we need to get through every problem, every single bad thing. When the Hebrew writer quoted from Joshua 1 in chapter 13:5, “Let your conversation (manner of life) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” he meant it. When Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13), that wasn’t just rhetoric, it was the truth. These are all statements that every faithful Christian can hang on to. There are also truly faithful and loving brethren who will stand with brother or sister in their darkest moments, on that each of us can depend. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” There are so many who stand ready to do just that. So, we can be faithful and we can do what is right in every situation, no matter what. Bad things do happen. When they do, trust in God, lean on Him, and let your brethren help. Greg Litmer
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