When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.
When I was a kid, the show Facts of Life came on TV and the theme song says "you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life..." and the words of that song are true, it is a fact of life that you are going to have good days and bad days, good things and bad things happen to you, and you are going to deal with good people and bad people.
Even as a Pastor and a long-time Christian(though I've certain failed at it many times), I still sometimes struggle with the concept of what seems to be "good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people." I'm admitting my weakness in this area and being honest about my struggle. While I know I am certainly a sinner and I mess up, struggle, and sin every day I also feel I try to be good, but the only one who is GOOD is GOD! We are only saved and good through Jesus Christ!
However, my human weak flesh still gets frustrated when I seem to be getting attacked by bad things or see other good people having bad things happen to them and then I see good things happening to bad people or seems that bad people are getting away with bad things and good people are the ones who are suffering.
The key word God reminded me of is "seems", you see, things aren't always as they seem, because we are looking through the eyes of pain, lack of perspective, or not seeing the bigger picture and plan that only God can see. I think what I've been lacking and what others are lacking is truth Faith. True faith is trusting enough in God that even though it seems bad or it seems someone is getting away with something, or bad things are happening to you and it seems good things are happening to those who are bad that He will protect us, empower us, and answer our prayers and something even better will come of it.
Secondly, we also have to trust God through faith that He will deal with the bad people or things going on, that's His job not ours. We need to be reminded of scripture that God is the one who deals with vengeance and our job is to allow and trust Him to do it on our behalf.
Thirdly, I think satan and evil attack our lives when God is trying to use us or satan feels threatened because we are growing in our faith or God is using us or preparing us for something great, and satan is a sore loser and master of lies and hate and wants us to lose faith and trust and hope in God. We must stand our ground, not giving satan a foothold, but also remaining faithful to God and trusting in His will, His timing, and His plan.
Fourthly, we need to focus on God and His love and protection and not our problems, struggles, events, or situations, and that is very very difficult to do. It's hard to not notice the storm you are in when they is wind, lightening, thunder, waves, and dark skies all around, but we have to look past all that to the one who can and will rescue us and even better grow our faith and make us stronger.
I have not arrived, I have been through many storms and things recently and it has really caused me to question my faith and question God with my doubts and fears, but I have to remain faithful to prayer, faithful to His Holy Spirit at work in me, faithful to the promises of His Word, and faithful to Him and trust Him to get me through whatever is going on in my life and I pray you and me can all work toward being that faithful in the good or in the bad. It's easy to praise God or be faithful when times and things are good, but if things were always good, we'd soon forget to thank and praise God, and also it is in the times are darkness, doubt, fear, anxiety, and pain that we truly learn what we're made of faith wise, and we grow, learn, and become stronger, wiser, and better in our faith and trust in God if we allow ourselves.
Job 36:15 (NIV_
But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.
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