Photo by Timothy K. Hamilton
If you have not heard of Stephanie Nielson from NieNie Dialogues (her blog), she is a mother of 4 who was in an airplane crash along with her husband and a friend back in August of 2008. Sadly, their friend, Doug Kinneard, lost his life, but both Stephanie and her husband Christian survived. Christian was burned over 30% of his body and Stephanie, 80%. The first installment of Stephanie’s story was published over the weekend and can be found here. It’s a powerful read.
Stories like this always bring much-needed perspective to life. I’m amazed at what the human body can endure and I’m amazed how life can change so quickly.
Speaking of which, I also happened to read this blog post about a “near miss” one family had right here in Dallas not too long ago.
It all makes me wonder what’s going on in the spiritual realm all around us that we are oblivious to. I’m so grateful God is a good God no matter what it might look like here on earth; that he can be trusted.
I’m frustrated when I hear people blame God when bad things happen. It’s simply wrong thinking. God doesn’t make anything bad happen. It’s one thing God simply can’t do because He is the definition of good.
Blaming God when bad stuff happens is blaming the wrong guy. We forget that this world is Satan’s territory. For now anyway. That’s what happened when Adam & Eve sinned.
But Satan has limited control and all the pain and suffering he wants to throw at us has to be approved by God first. Sometimes I picture God like a huge dam, holding back untold amounts of Satan’s evil. God only allows through (a) what will be redeemed for His good and glory and (b) what, by His grace, won’t overwhelm us.
The question, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” is not the right question. A better one is, “Why does God let good things happen to bad people?” That’s called grace. Because if we think the pain and suffering we see and experience now is bad, it’s a complete walk in the park compared to what’s to come. One day God will remove “the dam” of His goodness and all the evil Satan is eager to release will be unleashed. And as people who sin constantly (no matter how “good” we are), that kind of evil is what we really deserve. Death. We all deserve death.
Of course there’s a way to avoid it all. Only one way. Whether we believe it or not is up to us. Sounds hokey to many, I know, but hey, that’s your deal. I can respect that. If you ask me, it’s a pretty sweet deal. The bottom line is, either we have to pay for all the sin we commit, or someone’s got to pay for us. It’s just plain right. If someone commits a crime against us, we demand justice. If someone wrongs us, we demand an apology. If someone cheats us, we demand restitution. That’s justice and we demand it because it’s right. The only time we don’t demand justice is when we can identify with the guilty.
It was Christ who was given our sentence of death. He died so we don’t have to. Recognizing this completely free and undeserved gift, choosing to receive it ourselves by confessing our sin and then making a U-turn and choosing to follow Him is the only way we will not be present, not if, but when the dam breaks.
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Hi there. I'm Amy. I write here about my life and my issues. I also design blogs and websites at 
I have a very hard time with the question why bad things happen to good people. Interesting thoughts…
Texasholly, I hear ya. It’s a tough one. I’m glad you dropped by.
Hi Amy-
Thanks so much for linking to my blog post on Burbmom.net. It was an extremely scary evening for our friends, and we are all grateful that it did not end tragically, as it could have. I really appreciate you helping to spread the word, and raise awareness.
Jay
Jay´s last blog ..Evil is a Reality. Watch Your Kids.
Amazing post. You have an incredible gift of writing and your theology is tight. I love your blog!
Melody´s last blog ..Farewell Cleveland Community Church
@Jay – thanks for sharing the story. Such a good reminder.
@Melody – Thanks. I appreciate the encouragement. I gotta say, God is gracious because writing is SO HARD for me. I wish it just gushed out but I’m afraid it isn’t so. Give me an algebra problem over a writing assignment any day!
Great post, Amy — it is a great reminder of the awesomeness of God’s great mercy. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your blog and come to ‘drink’ often…
Bad things happen in life as the whole cosmic system is governed by inscrutable laws of Karma… as we sow so shall we reap… nothing less or more! If they were only happiness in life… all would become monotonous… meaningless! Only when we suffer… we understood true value of happiness… never otherwise!
I completely agree with you, Vijay, that “as we sow so shall we reap.” However, I must also respectfully disagree because perhaps you are aware, perhaps not, but that concept did not come from some nebulous “cosmic system” – God thought of it (2 Cor. 9:6).
As I see it, a belief in “karma” is simply failure to give credit where credit is due. And correct me if I’m wrong, but that is really bad karma.