The deep philosophical question that many Christians have asked. Some Christians have left their church or even their faith over this issue, while other Christians accept a harsher answer to this question. In the end, the answers to this question tend to be lengthy and confusing to cold and harsh. It really doesn’t have to be!
The real answer to this question lies within the question itself. The question assumes that being good will get you only good things in return. That’s a works mentality, and the Bible says, “without faith it’s impossible to please Him,” Hebrews 11:6. If only being good did get you good things, then there wouldn’t be a need to pray or depend on the Lord for anything. How could you ever convince anyone they need Jesus? We do need Jesus! Heaven is our home. Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew 25 about the kingdom of Heaven, and when the Master returns, He’ll settle accounts. We’re looking to hear the Master say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” The Lord is not just looking for a good servant, but also a faithful servant.
Are we always good people?
Sometimes we think we’re good, and we’re just not! Our society is very driven towards masking sin as a good thing, and we as Christians don’t even realize it. Recently I was listening to a popular Christian radio station. In one of their weekly segments, people were sharing how to do secret shopping for free money. They went on and on sharing where to go, tips on being efficient, and boasting how this has become something big thing with their listeners. The problem is when you think about what you’re doing and what the Bible says, it’s walking out of love for money, or lying for money. I know very well, because I did it many years ago until the Holy Spirit pointed it out to me. We aren’t supposed to tattle on anyone; whether it’s written experiences, showing/telling prices or just taking pictures. Love is supposed to believe, speak, and show the best of everyone. Even if you decide to take a Christian stance as a secret shopper, you’re not giving the company what they’re asking for, and so therefore you’re being deceptive towards the company’s request. For me it didn’t end there. I was also corrected by the Holy Spirit and took down all my 1–4 star ratings that I had left for businesses here and there. “But I’m warning people,” I protested. “But I use other people’s ratings too,” I protested again. But my unpleasant experiences didn’t override the Word of God.
Matthew 7:1-3NKJV
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
I sowed in for a judgement, and when I reaped on it, I didn’t like it. I took it down, because I realized that putting bad reviews on the internet isn’t a one-time thing. People can read those bad ratings again and again for years, so my judgment that will be measured back for one bad rating can keep going on and on. While I was removing ratings, I noticed a rating from 20 years ago is still on the internet. The company is long gone, and I can’t remove it, but it’s still there. The only rating they ever received was my 4-star rating, saying nice things about the food, but not neglecting to mention the priciness, and that’s their legacy, all thanks to me. I wish I could remove it.
Society gets all of us at one time or another with judgments or accidently thinking bad things are good. We can even accidently agree to unjust judgements, especially with today’s popular reality tv shows being based on judgments and point of views skewed by the editors. For that reason, I regularly ask the Lord if I have opened myself up to receive a judgment.
What does the Bible actually say?
I think the more important question is what does the Bible actually say about protection from bad things, and is there a role for people to play? For me, growing up I was taught that if you’re holy, properly set apart for God, then protection will just fall upon you like rain. People in the church pretended to be holy by acting like they had no problems, and that’s exactly what that type of teaching produces. Let’s look at what the Word has to say…
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5NKJV
1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.
5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
Paul was asking the church of Thessalonica to pray for him. Paul asked that he be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. If Paul needed that level of prayer prayed over himself, then so much more do we! He goes on to say that the Lord will establish them and guard them from the evil one. But notice what Paul said of the church first, that the Word of the Lord would run swiftly through him as it did with them. The Amplified says it this way,
“the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be honored [triumphantly celebrated and glorified], just as it was with you”
That’s a huge compliment! Then he notes they have confidence the church is doing what they were commanded to do. So this guarding against the evil one wasn’t just a heavenly blanket that fell from the sky like gentle rain upon them, it came as a result of them honoring, celebrating, and glorifying the Word, and keeping God’s commands. That’s exactly how we can receive guarding against evil. Anytime you read Paul’s writings, take note of his prayers.
Protected by Angels
Psalms 34:7 tells us we have promises of angels protecting us,
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
Here David is writing about protection of angels based on our fear of the Lord. David feared the Lord to the point he honored Saul when he was trying to kill him. If you fear the Lord, you’ll keep His commandments. That also reflects back to what Paul said concerning the Thessalonians.
There are many Psalms which speak of protection, but I want to point out what David was doing when he wrote these. He would get his harp and play under the anointing (Holy Spirit). These Psalms would pour out of his heart. He was spending time in praise and worship with the Lord, and that’s exactly what we should be doing so we can expect those same results. For more on this topic, see part 4 and part 5 of the Power of Instruments posts.
One of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 91NKJV
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The entire Psalm is about receiving protection from the Lord, but I’m going to skip down to verses 14 and 15.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, setting your love upon Him, and knowing His name are the requirements for this Psalm to be activated into your life. I like KJV and NKJV, but here are some other translations to give you a full idea of “set his love upon me,” means.
Young’s Translation: Because in Me he hath delighted
Contemporary English: If you love me and truly know who I am
The Voice: Because he clings to Me in love
New Living: I will rescue those who love me.
New Century: Whoever loves me
“He hath known my name,” is the other requirement. Unfortunately, the Lord’s name isn’t often explained or spoken of in church. The Old Testament writes it as YHWH, some translate the W as a V, YHVH. Ancient Hebrew has no vowels and very long story short; they lost the Lord’s name. The two most popular guesses that I often hear are Yahweh and Yehovah, which we know as Jehovah, the Great I Am, the name He gave to Moses. I don’t think it’s as important which name people think is correct, but as long as you know He has a name other than the generic God, Lord, Father type names.
To keep Psalm 91 active in my life, I read this Psalm over myself, my family, and friends almost every night. I encourage you to do the same. There are a couple printable versions below, so you can read them over yourself, your family, your animals, and your friends. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing. By speaking this Psalm over and over you’re building up faith and have a confident expectation of the Lord’s promises manifesting in your life and those around you.
Healing
Maybe the “bad thing,” people are referring to happening to “good people,” could be sickness. This is a very lengthy topic of discussion for another post. I just want to point out that Jesus often mentioned to people that their faith caused them to have their request.
Mark 5:34NKJV
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
A lot of us struggle to have faith for healing, and while I have been healed miraculously many times, I still struggle. As I was spending time with the Lord a few days ago, I heard, “When are you going to let Me heal you?” I flopped my head down, after trying to pretend I didn’t hear that, and said, “When I can believe it.” The next night, I told the Lord, “I can’t believe for a full healing!” Why lie? He knows. “So…” I continued, “Can you please reverse the damage from the last injury?” I was referring to a very bad surgery with two injuries on top of it. I was ready to believe for the last injury to be reversed. I laid hands on myself and just thanked the Lord and sang praises. I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression, I read healing scriptures regularly. But in that moment, I didn’t feel anything. I went to bed shortly after. The next morning I woke up with all the 8-month long swelling gone, no more stabbing, and no more burning. Now I’m onto the next phase of believing, that the injury from two years ago is healed. We can ask the Lord to teach us and meet us where we’re at. He’s happy to help us meet Him. It’s better to take baby steps than to think, “I can’t believe it,” “God won’t heal me,” or “God, why me?”
Why God? Why?
Sometimes we demand to know why, “WHY GOD WHY?!” Truth is, we aren’t always ready to hear the answer. If you know someone that just can’t move on until they know why something happened, instead of searching for an answer that we think they can understand, teach them to pray, “Lord prepare me to understand why.” This is an extreme example, but it’s a great illustration how there is always an answer, even if we can’t see it. There was a lady I met at the gym years ago. She had really bad neck problems from a car accident. She had to have a cadaver bone put in her neck and then had bones fused together. She couldn’t get over why God let this happen to her, and all the suffering she had been through. I didn’t tell her, but I started praying for her healing. One day I saw her, and asked how she was doing. Like a broken record, she went on about her neck story again. But this time she said something different about the accident, the part she always left out, “I was driving down the street, and I saw the car backing up out of the driveway. It didn’t look like it was going to stop, but I HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY! So, I kept going and he hit me.” She continued telling me again about all the physical trauma. I immediately said inside, “AH! So pride caused the accident!!” The Lord was showing me out of her own mouth that she knew but chose not to stop. This woman is going around blaming God, and why He let it happen, when in reality, He did not. If this Christian woman was practicing love, love doesn’t insist on its own rights, then she would have hit the break and forgot about the incident shortly after. But if I would have said it, she would have been completely offended at me. She wasn’t ready to hear anything besides pity for herself. As I mentioned above, this is an extreme example, but sometimes things are too difficult for us to hear. I don’t mean to suggest we’re always at fault, but sometimes the truth is difficult to hear. I know someone who had to hear the truth that his mother was a prostitute to truck drivers, and that’s why he didn’t know his father. The truth can be even more painful than not knowing, which is why not everyone gets their answer.
Next time you minister to someone that feels separated from God as to why something happened, encourage them to pray that the Lord prepare their heart for the answer, it will come. I learned to pray this way many years ago, and I can attest to the fact that your answer will come. I have ALWAYS gotten my answer. Sometimes I didn’t want to hear it, maybe more than sometimes! Hehe
This study can go on and on, but one more example in the Bible, Shalom, or as it’s translated for us, peace. What exactly is Shalom? A very popular translation is nothing missing, nothing broken. We’re actually promised in the Bible that we can have great shalom in our lives.
Shalom Shalom
Psalm 119:165NKJV
Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Hebrew: Great shalom have those who love Your torah, and nothing causes them to stumble.
Torah is normally translated as law, but it really means teachings, or instructions. Shalom is normally translated as peace, but a better definition is nothing missing nothing broken. We are promised great shalom by simply loving the Lord’s teachings. How easy is that? If you could hear your spirit man, it’s so excited when you take out the Word. It’s the only time it gets to eat. Imagine if you fed your body as much as you fed your spirit. What would you look like? But if your life feels like it’s missing shalom, there is a post about peace in the Armor of God you can check out.
Next time you’re ministering to someone who feels like they need an explanation of why something bad happened to them, don’t feel like you have to have the answer. Being a Christian doesn’t mean we have all the answers, it just means we know the One Who has them and how to pray. We work with the Holy Spirit, we’re not to take His place. It’s just our job to point our finger and say, “He’s that way!”
Next time you hear this question I hope you feel more equipped to thoroughly answer it without offending the hurt brother or sister in Christ. Lord bless you with a deep wisdom to always know how to point everyone to a deeper place in Christ.
Christi
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