Somebody asked me a question during class the other day. He mentioned some of his friends who just can’t seem to catch a break in life. One has a son who got into drugs, and the other a 4-year-old daughter with Leukemia. He can understand the societal problems with today’s youth, but the 4-year-old girl …? The dilemma is that these are people who try to live decent lives and raise their children responsibly. My friend’s logic is that because they live their lives in the ways of God, they should become the recipients of His love in the form of at least basic protection and care.
The truth is that while the Bible contains many promises directed towards those who serve God, reality on the ground seems to speak to the contrary and be closer to King Solomon’s honest observation, There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. (Ecc 8:14 ESV) I returned the classic question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” to my friend. I told him that the question itself was based on the erroneous assumptions that those who follow God are entitled to a basic life insurance against the evils of this world. We try to hold God to something He never promised us and then hate Him for not fulfilling it. The problem is with the question, not with God. While many appropriate the promises in the Bible to themselves for their own situations in their own time many, if not most of them were given to certain people, for a certain situations, at certain times. There are also some general promises that do not pertain to our time but to a future messianic reality. I do not like to think of God as a promoter, a businessman, or a politician who tries to engage members to join His club, buy his product, or join his party by piling on the incentives. I tend to think of Him as a visionary who tells his people, “Look; together we can usher in an awesome world of abundance, peace, and beauty--something beyond your imagination, but it's going to cost you everything and more to bring it in. There are no promises, no benefits, only sacrifices, but it will be worth it all! . Are you in?” Jesus reaffirmed to his disciples before his death and resurrection, “In the world you will have tribulation." (Joh 16:33) As a reminder of what God has or has not promised, my wife and I often sing a song on the words of this famous poem. WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED God hath not promised skies always blue Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain. God hath not promised we shall not know Toil and temptation, trouble and woe; He hath not told us we shall not bear many a burden, many a care. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide; Never a mountain rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love Author: Annie Johnson Flint
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