Does everything that happens in your life feel good? No. Things that make us feel bad happen. We get physically and emotionally hurt. But God promises that everything that happens to you will turn into something good if you’re His child.
We’ve been taught to determine whether something is good or bad on how it makes us feel. We’ve all heard the saying, “If it feels good, do it!” So we believe the opposite has to be true. If it feels bad, don’t do it. The truth is, neither one of these statements is really accurate.
Sitting on the couch bingeing on Netflix and eating pizza and ice cream all day might feel really good. But we all know that if we do that, it leads to health problems that aren’t good for us at all. When you go to the doctor after just a few months of that routine, he’s going to tell you to go on a diet and start exercising.
The dieting is terrible because you’re hungry all the time. In the beginning, exercising makes you so sore you can’t sleep at night. How can something that makes you feel this miserable be good for you? Then you begin to see the benefits. You have more energy, your mood improves, and you’re healthier. All because you replaced a routine that was easy and pleasurable with one that was a lot harder and sometimes painful.
We see the same thing spiritually. In the Bible, God tells us to do lots of things that make us uncomfortable. It’s not easy for most of us to go up to someone we don’t know and begin telling them the story of Jesus. Especially today, when doing that often causes us to be laughed at, ridiculed, or worse. All of those things make us feel bad. But we’re called to be witnesses. And, if only one person comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus over our entire lifetime, the good in that outweighs all of the discomforts we may have felt while sharing the Gospel.
But what about those terrible things that happen in life? Things that make you question whether God truly loves you and has the best planned for you? What about something as devasting as the death of a child? The world believes that there’s no way a loving God could allow something that horrible to happen. Not only that, but the very fact that children die, natural disasters strike, and good people get terminal illnesses proves no God is watching over us.
The truth is, it’s hard for us as Christians to understand, too. It defies human logic. Even if we understand that our tragedy may have come so that we can support others who are going through similar circumstances, it doesn’t take away the pain. The only way we can see good in these things is to believe in God and His Word.
God is unfailing, He can’t lie, and He always wants the best for His children. When you’re hurt and broken, when you question God’s love, put your faith in His promises:
“Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 MEV
“Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 MEV
“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 MEV
And in the end:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 ESV
Suggested Reading
Randy Alcorn
C. S. Lewis