From: Bibleteacher.org
Why Is God Letting “Good” People Hurt?
When trials come our way – trials like the Coronavirus – we all respond to the trials in a variety of ways.
Some people blame Satan for the trial. Certainly a good and loving God, they say, would not allow such suffering.
Others blame a political party or a leader. He allowed the virus to spread – it is his fault that it is all happening.
Some blame God. They ask, “If God is so good and loving, and God can do anything, then why doesn’t He stop this?”.
The humanist and atheist cry is “Why would God allow things like this to happen to good people? If there is a God He either is NOT Almighty, or He is NOT good.”
Why would God allow bad things to happen to “good people”? Let me answer the question with a question:
“Are people “good”?
Now I didn’t ask if people are “moral” or “nice” or “friendly”. There are a lot of “moral” people in the world. There are a lot of people who have never met a stranger, that are pleasant to be around. But are any people “good”? Before you say “Yes, there are”, may I point to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:
“there is none good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18)
Was Jesus right, or did He misspeak? I believe He is absolutely correct. The Bible makes it clear that – compared to God – there is none good. The Psalmist draws an interesting picture in:
Psalm 14:2-3 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is NONE THAT DOETH GOOD, no, not one.
We as humans are not the definers of “good”. It is God Who defines “good”. Ever since the Garden of Eden where man ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL (Genesis 2:17) we as humans believe that we have the right to define “good” and “evil”. Yet God says over and over again scripture:
there is NONE THAT DOETH GOOD, no, not one (Psalm 52:3)
there is NONE THAT DOETH GOOD, no, not one (Romans 3:12)
The question “Why do bad things happen to “good” people is therefore a bad question.
According to Scripture there are none who are “good” when compared to God.
The Lord is good, blessed is the one who trusts in Him (Psalm 34:8).
The Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures forever (Psalm 100:5).
The Lord is good, sing praises to His name (Psalm 135:3).
The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works (Psalm 145:9).
The Lord is good; for His mercy endureth forever (Jeremiah 33:11).
The Lord is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him (Lamentations 3:25).
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him (Nahum 1:7).
God is good. The Scripture declares it. So why does a Good God allow suffering? That’s the better question. Well, we have an answer in our text today.
Even “Perfect” People Suffer. Consider Job.
Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Some believe it was written some four hundred years before the Book of Genesis. It makes sense that Job is the oldest Book of Scripture. Man has suffered from the beginning of the fall. Adam’s foolishness brought the curse:
Genesis 3:17-19 … cursed is the ground for your sake, Adam, thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, in the sweat of thy face you shall eat …
Man suffers. Women suffer. Children suffer. Suffering comes to the wealthy as well as the poor. It comes to the famous, as well as the obscure. Job was, the Bible says:
Job 1:3 … this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Now Job was not a “good” man (for we have established the Scripture says that none are “good” – Remember?). Job was a SAVED man. He believed in God, and trusted Jesus Christ as His Savior. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Jesus knew the Lord. We know that he knew the Lord by how his life was lived. We read:
Job 1:1 {Job}was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and {rejected} evil.
There are many who are wealthy or beautiful or powerful who worship their money, their looks, or their domination of others. Job was not like that. He loved the Lord. Those who love the Lord treat that which Christ has created with respect and care and kindness. Job was “perfect”.
Word Study The word “perfect” is actually the Hebrew word תָּםtâm, (pronounced tawm), which means “COMPLETE”. Noah was described as:
Genesis 6:9 “… a JUST man and PERFECT (תָּמִים tâmîym, pronounced taw-meem’) in his generations, and Noah walked with God ..
To be “perfect” or “complete” is to walk with God daily, to believe on Him as Lord and Savior. Noah walked with God daily. So did Job. Job, like all who have ever been saved, was saved by faith in the Lord Jesus. When you walk with God you are blessed. You may not be wealthy – God does not give all wealth – but you are blessed. You are COMPLETE in Him, in Jesus. The Apostle wrote:
Colossians 2:9-10 … in {Christ} dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are COMPLETE in {Jesus Christ}, which is the head of all principality and power:
Job was COMPLETE. No one is COMPLETE apart from Jesus Christ. Until we find Christ, until we come to know Him as Savior and Lord, we are IMPERFECT and INCOMPLETE. But in Christ we are complete. Job was complete.
Job had many blessings bestowed on him by God. We all have many blessings bestowed on us by God. When you follow God through Christ you will be blessed! Jesus said:
Matthew 6:31-34 {do not worry} saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
God is to be sought after FIRST. God is not to be an afterthought, but our forethought. We should seek His will and His blessing first. Our Heavenly Father is Sovereign, in control of all things. Jesus said:
Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
God is in control of all things. I say,
God Is In Control Of ALL Things: He Is Sovereign!
Job knew that God was in control of all things, and he treated God with absolute respect. We read that his children had a party, with lots of food and lots of wine. Though Job did not attend the party we read:
Job 1:5 …. when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
Job was complete in Christ. He did not want his God offended. Job put God first above all else. Job walked with the God Who save him. He honored God, not just with his lips, but with his life. After the party Job sought first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He made sacrifices for his family. Job honored the Lord, praying for his family lest they had sinned against God.
Job loved the Lord. He lived for the smile of God. Are you living for the smile of God, or for the satisfaction of man?
Job was doing everything right. Then Satan came into the picture. Satan comes into the Throne-room of God, and …
Job 1:7-8 …. the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and {rejects} evil?
God is blessed by Job, and points him out as a man that walks by His side. God said “Job is a complete and upright man. He fears God, and rejects evil”. Now notice Satan’s words to God, words that God does not correct.
Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
The riches that Job has, he has because God has blessed him. Job sought God first, and God blessed Job. If you are blessed, that blessing came from God. If you have power, that power came from God. The Bible says:
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
God is ultimately in control. When Naomi, Ruth’s mother in law lost her husband, two sons, and a daughter in law through famine, Naomi said:
Ruth 1:20-21 … the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
When Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers he later as Reagent of Egypt could have punished those brothers. Instead, Joseph told them:
Genesis 50:19-20 …. Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 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.
Joseph did not say “God USED it for good”, but “God MEANT it for good”. Though the brothers of their own wills chose to sell Joseph into slavery, God MEANT it to happen. He caused the event. God is in control. The Apostle said that everything that is, is
Ephesians 1:11 … according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
God holds absolute sway over the world. Satan is in subjection to God. He tells God “the reason Job does so well is because YOU did so well for him”.
What Will Job Do When The Blessings Are Gone?
God is in control. Satan can do nothing without God’s allowance. So Satan challenges God. He says to our Lord:
Job 1:11 But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
God knows what Job will do, for He sees Job’s heart. “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). God knows Job’s heart, and doesn’t need to try Job to see what he will do. But God allows this trial of Job to go forward so that YOU can see what a believer should do. It is in the midst of trials that we as humans see what genuine faith looks like.
Genuine faith stands on the Rock that is Christ whether on a mountaintop, in a valley, or at the bottom of the sea. Genuine faith, the faith that saves, does not abandon God when the hard times come. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my Portion forever (Psalm 73:26)!”
God told Satan:
Job 1:12 … Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.
God told Satan that he could take over anything in Job’s life EXCEPT his life. God is in control. Though the devil brings the suffering, it is God Who allows him to do what he does. God has said of Himself:
Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
It is our God Who controls all things. When we think of tomorrow the Apostle tells us:
James 4:14-15 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
We in our arrogance believe that we are in control. We are not. God is in control. It is God Who reigns. He tells Satan what he can do. The devil leaves the presence of God and suddenly Job’s life is upended.
Job 1:14-19 …. there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Job had done nothing to earn nor deserve what happened to him. He walked with God. He was perfect (complete) and upright. And yet God allowed Satan to take his things, his riches, his pleasures. God allowed Satan to knock down the home where Job’s sons and daughters were once more partying. His children were killed. Job has lost everything.
But Job still has his God!
Satan cannot hurt Job without God’s permission. Satan cannot hurt us without God’s permission. Satan wanted to sift Peter as wheat (Luke 22:31-34), but Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would be strong.
A New Testament Job, the Apostle Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 12:7-9 …. 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. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Though Paul cried out to God three times that this “messenger” be removed, the Lord told him “No! My Grace is sufficient for you!”. What is your faith in? I ask again, what is YOUR faith in? Is it in God, or your STUFF? Is it in Jesus Christ, or in your PROSPERITY? Is it in God, or in your GOOD HEALTH? Where is your faith? As believers in Christ (if you are a believer in Christ), we are to:
Proverbs 3:5-12 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Job Kept His Eyes On Jesus
As All Around Him Disaster Struck
Job 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, 21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Job received a great deal of bad news. In just one day a lifetime of things, children he has raised, blessings received. Does Job “curse God to His face” as Satan suggested. No. His behavior is quite strange to the world, but is normal behavior for a Christian.
Job ROSE up. He did not give in to self pity nor depression. Job didn’t lie down and die. Many believers throughout history have been through much suffering. When threatened by Jezebel, Elijah ran for his life. He lost his focus on Jesus. He laid down in the wilderness, and begged God to take his life.
1 Kings 19:4 … O Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers!
What did the Lord do? He told Elijah, “Rise up and eat, and go to the Mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:7-9). Rise up, Child of God. Rise up! In this world you will have tribulation, but take heart, Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). Rise up! Look up, Child! Look up! Look unto Jesus!
Hebrews 12:1-2 … seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus …
Job RENT his mantle, and shaved his head. These are actions that denote mourning or grieving. It is all right to grieve the loss of family, the loss of blessings. But as you mourn, keep it all in the perspective of God. Our God is in control! Trust Him! The Psalmist wrote:
Psalm 30:5 … in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart (Psalm 34:18).
Job RENDERED worship to God. Though he lost all his stuff, he honored God with his mouth. He praised the Lord anyway.
Job 1:21 … the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord
What you have, you have because God gave it to you. What is taken away, is taken away because God took it from you. The Bible says “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (verse 22).
If you lose everything, dear Christian
– you still have Christ!
Romans 8:31-32 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Where is your faith? My faith is in my Jesus. My faith is in my God. Beloved, invest your life in Him Who loves you, and only then will you begin to live. May God touch your hearts with His Word!
fewox 