Elephants 2021 part 3 – Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Victory Fellowship Church Podcast

Why do bad things happen to good people? When crisis hits, where is God? In this message, Pastor Jamie answers these questions and more.
Scripture tells us that God is good.
Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
James 1:16-17
Hebrews 11:6
Psalm 27:13
When life is bad, God is good. Don’t get mad at God during times of pain, run to God during times of pain.
Why doesn’t God stop bad things from happening?
1. God is love.
Love does what’s best for the other person. Pain is necessary to let us knowsomething is wrong.
2. God is a good Father.
Good parents let their children experience the repercussions of their actions.
Three reasons why bad things happen:
1. Our bad choices.
God didn’t create evil, He created the ability to make choices (free will).
Romans 5:12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Why did God create choice? So we could love Him and love others.
Joshua 24:15
The pain in this world doesn’t reflect on God’s goodness, it reflects on our brokenness.
2. Our spiritual enemy.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Satan (Hebrew: adversary); Devil (Greek: accuser)
1 John 5:19 “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”
Don’t blame God for what the devil does.
3. Our broken world.
Romans 8:19-22
This planet is sick with sin, just like humanity is.
God doesn’t always shield us from the bad things in the world, but He will heal us from them – whether in this life or the life to come. Just like we would throw a drowning man a life saver, God has sent His son Jesus to rescue and redeem us from it.
Romans 8:28
Anything bad that happens to me, God is going to make it good. Declare your deliverance!
Are you letting God deliver you from evil?