As one who loves
kids, for the first 12 years of my married life, my wife and I had only been
met with miscarriages when we tried to get pregnant; and even since having our
first child, we lost two more. Then I look around and see others who are having
kids no problem, and some of them don’t even want them. This is easily seen by
the number of kids that are in the foster system and the number of abortions
that are performed. It’s like, why God are You allowing people to even have
kids who really don’t want them when some people who do can’t have them? Life
is not fair!
If you have ever travelled to a third world country
or into the slums of a large city, you will find people who are living in
object poverty. Yes, some have chosen that lifestyle, but many have not. And as
hard as they can, they rarely seem to overcome their struggles for daily
existence. Life is not fair!
We could talk about several other examples of loved
ones being ripped from our lives, to hardships that we encountered on account
of something that was not our fault. But how do you deal with life when it
seems to be so unfair, especially when God could have done something about it
but didn’t? I know of many people who have walked away from the Lord on account
of that question. I used to think that God was unfair even though I still
believed in Him. Maybe you have thought that way too. Then as a result, it is
hard to trust Him when we read of His promises to work things out for our good,
and that He has a plan not to harm us but to give us hope and a future.
This mindset is not easy to overcome, but there are
three things to remember that can help. First, no one deserves good things to
happen to them. We are all guilty of sin and deserving of punishment (Rom.
3:23; 6:23). Thus, according to the Bible there is no such thing as “a good
person.” And it is because of this reason that Jesus came to die for us, so
that we would not have to experience the punishment that we deserve on account
of our own sins.
Second, we need to remember that good things happen
to bad people. If one looks hard enough, they can always find something to be
thankful for. The greatest of these is knowing that one day the suffering and
trials of this life will be over with. And just as Jesus was raised from the
dead to a perfected state so shall we be when we see Him face to face (1 John
3:2).
Third, we need to remember that God is present in
our pain. Jesus, the only One who was and is truly good (Luke 18:19), did not
deserve to experience the suffering that He did, but He chose to for our sake.
Thus, He sympathizes with us (Heb. 2:18). “Never will I leave you; never will I
forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He
cares for those who trust in Him” (Nah. 1:7). “But those who suffer He delivers
in their suffering; He speaks to them in their affliction” (Job 36:15).
Pastor Craig Groschel said, “God is not fair, but He
is good. And unlike fairness, there is no wrong side to the goodness equation
when it comes to God. When you don’t deserve it, God is good. When you’ve
messed up and need forgiveness, God is good. When you’re afraid and lonely, God
is good. When you’re hurting and life makes no sense, God is still good. He is
good all the time!” (The Christian
Atheist, p. 34)
In His service,
Matt
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