Can God bring good out of bad?
October 7th, 2009 Posted in Pastor's corner, essentials, sermonsTonight I am speaking in Orange County on the topic of suffering. This will be the second part of my message on the topic.
I am going to deal with the question, can God bring good out of bad? I believe the answer is “Yes!”
Look, suffering is inevitable. No one gets a free pass. The fact of the matter is that you are either coming out of a storm or headed into another. It’s just a matter of time.
In this life, the only way to avoid suffering is to die.
What you want to do is get ready now, so you will have a proper biblical foundation and can properly process and react as these challenges come into your life.
Prepare ahead of time
As Randy Alcorn says in his book If God is Good, “Most of us don’t give focused thought to evil and suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when our thinking is muddled and we’re exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. People who have ‘been there’ will attest that it’s far better to think through suffering in advance.”
In other words, be prepared ahead of time!
Avoiding storms
Paul reminds us that we are to “Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts, and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other” (Colossians 3:16).
But we would rather not do that, because the topic of suffering is difficult and uncomfortable.
Suffering is one of those things we all want to avoid if at all possible. If you are flying and you see a storm, you try to fly around it, not into it.
But here’s the reality—sometimes you simply cannot do that. Your life can be going reasonably well one moment, and then it changes in a flash.
That certainly happened for our family.
Good things out of suffering?
Here is one of the “good things” that come out of crisis and suffering. You turn to God with a dependence like you have never had before, like a child running to their mom or dad and burying their face in their shoulder.
And you know what? God is there waiting for you with the strength, peace, and love you need. Not necessarily with all the answers you may want, but He is there.
One of the things you “treasure” in suffering is knowing God’s presence as you do. Your faith begins to grow stronger.
Use it or lose it!
Faith does not grow through ease and comfort. It grows through challenge, conflict, and difficulty.
Faith is like a muscle in that it gets stronger through use, not neglect. If you do not use your muscle, it can atrophy.
We have a choice in life—use it or lose it!
The Bible reminds us, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (James 1:2-4 THE MESSAGE).
“You turn to God with a dependence like you have never had before, like a child running to their mom or dad and burying their face in their shoulder.”
That is so true! I did that today.
hi Greg,
the line i always use is; she has gone to be with Jesus and oneday i will see her agian.
i am so glad you are doing what you do in our ministry Greg, i have some relatives that have lost a child as well; that are so angery with God and everyone around them they move 1000 miles away because they are so unhappy.
i know its not easy loosing a child but if we cling to God it is so amazing what he will do for you. I NEVER EVER THOUGHT I COULD GET THIS FARE. God is great and i am truly blessed.
keep up the good work and keep pressing forward running the GREAT race.
praise God for you and Cathi. your ministry is part of what God used to get me were i am today. i am thankful.
take care you sister in christ
Michelle Valdez.
Thank you Greg for your message on Sunday. Yes, God can bring good out of bad and I am living proof of that. My story is still unfolding as the Lord shows me glimpses of what He is doing behind the scenes. I lost my child, not through death, but through a seperation of 7 long years not knowing whether or not I was ever going to see my child again. But then just as quickly as my daughter was gone from my life 7 years ago she was instantly back into my life. So many years have been lost and the grief has been overwhelming at times. But the Lord allowed this to take place in my life to bring me to salvation. My heart was very hard to the things of God, in my mind there was no such thing as God and anyone who believed that way should be locked away in a mental ward. The Lord allowed this to happen to me to open the eyes of my heart and give me ears of understanding.
Sometimes we know the whys and sometimes we don’t. Still the grief is there, my story is but a glimpse of your suffering, so I cannot possibly know how you feel. My heart aches for you and your family very much.
Early on God have me Romans 8:28 and it took me a long time to understand that scripture and really to agree with it, but now I know, like you said on Sunday, the “good” was and is still to this day to make me more like Christ.
The Lord has given me many more scriptures over the past 7 years and I know that everyone of them is true, God’s promises are true and can be counted upon.