Have I done something wrong?
The answer to that question is an unequivocal no! If you remember the story of Job, you will remember that Satan accused God of having his hand of protection on Job, and blessing him more than other people, making it easy for Job to be a righteous man. God told Satan he could put Job through anything, but he could not take his life, that is just what Satan did. First he killed his 10 children, had his livestock stolen by raiders, his crops destroyed, he came down with a roaring case of leprosy, and his wife told him to curse God and die. Job was recorded as being a righteous man, a benevolent man, and a good father, so why did all this happen to him? It’s quite simple, as it was then, it is still true today, that Satan roams the earth to and fro to see whom he may devour. We know of course Satan does not go around eating people, but he does destroy their faith and try to enslave their souls.
You do not have to have done anything wrong, or commit any sin, for adversity or calamity to come into your life. This is Satan’s playground, this big blue marble we call the earth. His time is now and he is going to convert as many people as he can, into people who only think of themselves, and the here and now. So if you didn’t do anything wrong why is God letting this happen? Letting is the key word in that phrase, not causing it to happen, but letting it happen. One of the reasons God lets Satan do bad things in this world, is to make us stronger in our faith, and tenacious in our walk with Christ. The Bible often talks about refining precious metals in the fire, to remove the dross, better known as impurities. By letting us go through adversity we are learning to lean on God for strength, comfort, and compassion.
When we come out of the fire if you will, our faith will be stronger, and we will have better knowledge of how to pass comfort to other people, compassion to the people, and to bring good out of bad situations. One of the things that our trials and tribulations bring out are our friends, family, and fellow Christians to stand by our side and give us strength, to bring us love, understanding, or just a shoulder to cry on. They ask nothing of us except to let them help, whatever we may need they are willing to do for us. During that time we get to see real Christianity at work, in the love and devotion of like-minded people. So when we come through our trials and are victorious we will have learned how to give that love, compassion, sympathy, and comfort to others because we have learned it firsthand. And that is how God works, he makes good things come out of bad situations. Romans 8:28 should be many people’s life verse, it states: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. All we have to add to that is trust and faith, and our life will be better for it.
As parents it is our responsibility to teach our children to walk in the fear and admonition of the Lord, to trust him with their lives on a daily basis, and be thankful, and grateful for the many blessings in their lives. It is our job to help them understand with God’s Word, who makes bad things happen, and how God can turn it all for good.
We as writers, often make our heroes and heroines go through great adversities in order to help us understand that struggles make us stronger. The fact of the matter is more people will admire an imaginary hero, than open the Bible and read the book of Job and learn about a real one. Let us always remember no matter what the devil throws at us God will always have our back, front, sides, top, inside, our everything!
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
II Corinthians 4:8-9
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
I Peter 5:10
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:12-13
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
Proverbs 24:10
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
Psalms 34:19
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
II Corinthians 1:4