When Bad Things Happen By Betty Fritz
We’ve all heard the question or wondered: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Lately we’ve wondered why such bad things are happening to our country. I think the answer is the same for both questions: SIN.
No one sin in particular is to blame. ALL sin is an abomination to God. As for good people, Jesus said, “none is good, save one, that is, God.” Luke 18:19. In Matthew 5:45 He tells us that; “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust.” We might consider ourselves to be good people. Maybe we go to church, read our Bible and pray…all the things “good” Christians do. I have learned that God is not always concerned about what everybody else is doing…. He cares about you and me personally…
What are we doing to honor Him? To get to know Him? Is something getting in the way of our relationship with Jesus? Too many times. the demands of our busy lifestyles get in the way of what He wants us to do….we get so caught up in “things” we neglect our spiritual needs and responsibilities. Sometimes it takes drastic action on His part to bring us back to where He wants us to be. Maybe work is taking all our time, running to this event and that ballgame, etc. Even those who spend every day serving others don’t always take the time to spend time with Jesus. His greatest desire is for us to get to know Him on a personal level…. not just as help in the time of need or as a last resort solution when there’s a problem. He wants to show us the true joy of being a Christian.
Sometimes things happen and we blame God for it, or hold a grudge. People today are often so judgmental and not easy to deal with. The stress of everyday interactions can make us grumpy and easily upset. If we’re not mindful of what is happening things can easily get out of control. When God is forgotten life becomes just one big problem. The devil loves when this happens. It gives him an opportunity to impart his sinful ways into our life…sometimes through our children or a spouse who’s feeling neglected. Sometimes bad things happen to good people in order to stop the craziness and get them back to God.
As for the problems our country is facing today, I think the same thing has happened…. Too many have forgotten about God. We have all gotten so used to the freedoms and rights that we have cherished for so long that we have begun to take them for granted. This is the United States, some might think, nothing bad can happen to our country. “God is still in control,” we say…. as we watch our religious freedoms being revoked, our Biblical beliefs challenged and our laws (God’s laws) rewritten. God is in control, but to whom has He left the task of carrying out His great commission…. of sharing His Gospel with an unsaved world? “But they won’t listen,” we say. Many refused to listen to Jesus too, and His disciples. but they never stopped telling the story…. and neither can we.
If we want our country to turn back to God, WE must do the turning….Stand up and speak up when we see His laws and His people being mistreated. We must not be silenced and we must not allow any further infringement on our religious freedoms or rights to worship. Christians are an easy and popular target today, especially when we don’t fight back. I’m not talking about a physical fight with machine guns and heavy artillery. We are to put on the whole armor of God as described in Ephesians, chapter 6. Above all it says to take the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. The battle we face is described in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Satan and his followers are busy in every aspect of our lives. Known as the great deceiver, he has convinced many that God and His laws are no longer relevant in today’s society. Christians are considered the ones that are full of hate and many are convinced that God is only a fairy tale that doesn’t really exist. It is time to put down our tablets and smart phones, stop texting and arguing and come together for one cause: Jesus. If it be the last thing we ever do, we must let the world know that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
My name is Betty Fritz. I was born and raised in Texas but have resided in Elkhart, Indiana for the last 25 years. My husband is a Hoosier so that’s how we wound up here. We have two daughters and a son plus 6 grand kids…..3 boys and 3 girls.
I retired last year after working for 24 years at Elkhart Child Development Center. I’ve been writing since a teenager and have taken several writing courses. I enjoy writing short stories. I wrote a book of poems, RHYMES OF THE TIMES, which was published a few years ago. I have written countless songs, a few for which demo recordings have been made. Recently I’ve been writing blogs..most of them about my faith and things the Lord has taught me in my Christian life over the last 51 years. My inspiration comes from my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and my desire to see that my grand children grow up in a Christian nation. My goal is to bring glory to Him and help others to see that there is POWER in the name of JESUS!
