“WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE”

“Daddy, are we good people?”  “Yes, I think we are,” answered her father.  “Daddy, why do bad things happen to good people?”  “Well, honey, the good Lord knows that He can trust His good people in bad times to be examples of how He works things out through us.  God promised us He would not give us more than we can handle.”  (I Corinthians 10:13)

I was nearly brought to tears as this father told me of his conversation with his sweet and innocent little girl.  They were recovering from the theft of their semi and all their racing equipment.  His daughter had seriously contemplated the situation and asked the question so many of us have asked at one point in our lives.  She was okay with her father’s answer.   He was right.

Just this race season alone, we have witnessed several “bad things” happening to “good people.”  During Friday night qualifying, October 7th in Ennis, TX, Pro-Stock Car drivers, Bruce Allen and Kenny Koretsky crashed in one of the most horrific accidents I’ve ever seen.  If you saw this accident on TV, you would have to agree that it’s a miracle they’re alive!  Not only did they live, but they were released from the hospital the next day.  God spared their lives and is healing them.

Sunday, October 23^rd, after the NHRA Nationals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larry and I thanked God for the safe weekend of racing as we always do when that happens.  We never take safe racing for granted.  As Pro-Stock motorcycle racer, Karen Stoffer was putting everything away; her trailer door fell on her.  It crushed her pelvis, broke her finger and her nose, put a good sized knot on her head, and gave her a black eye (along with various cuts and bruises.)  When I arrived at the Intensive Care Unit, Karen greeted me with remarkable clarity and a great attitude.  She is an incredable lady.

Many times our anger comes out in “bad situations.”  “Why did God allow that to happen?  If God is such a wonderful God, then why didn’t he keep that from happening?”  Maybe the bigger question in dealing with this dangerous sport should be, “How can any weekend be safe at the race track?”  Accidents happen!

Every one of us is born with our own “will” to choose what we want in life and how we go about getting it, or not.  We are not robots.  We have a built-in “challenge” factor that gives us a zest for life.  Some have chosen to use their “zest” to do great and incredible things; such as reaching speeds of 335 mph in 4.44 seconds in a quarter mile. 

Along with that wonderful gift of choice comes responsibility to use it wisely and realistically.  If a guy challenges gravity by stepping off the top of a multi-story building, he will find that gravity is greater than his zest for challenging it.  Some things just are what they are and we’re better off to accept and respect it. 

My friend, Top Alcohol Dragster racer, Shelly Howard faced the reality of her immortality ahead of time.  She used to say, “I know that in this sport, I stand the chance to die.  I’m not afraid to die.”   (She had made peace in her heart with God about that.)  “My biggest fear is what happens to my son, Brian, when I’m gone?”    God took her mentally challenged son, Brian, with Shelly when it was their time to go be with Him.  They were both killed in a testing accident in April this year.

Bad things happen to everyone, not just good people.  Is it fair?  Let me ask you these questions: 

• Was it fair when God sent His only Son to earth to show us the wonderful love He has for us, only to have us kill His Son? 
• Was it fair when Jesus, the Son of God, stood trial by human judges? 
• Was it fair punishment that Jesus be beaten beyond human recognition just because He said He was the Son of God who came to bring abundant life to all? 
• Was it fair that they made Him carry His own cross after ripping His flesh open with whips and floggings? 
• Was it fair that He took the whole load of sin on His life so we wouldn’t have to?

This is a serious message.  It’s not for the weak-kneed, but if you want the right perspective on the GOOD THINGS in life, we need to understand the price Jesus paid for the BAD THINGS that evil brought into this world.  When is the last time you thanked God for the air you breathe?  When did you tell God “Thank You” for keeping the sun and moon in the sky at their proper times?  Did you thank Him the last time He got you out of one of your “messes?”

Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace.  In this world, you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  He also tells us in Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” and “Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.”  I John 4:4  “Let us not grow weary in well doing, knowing that in due season we will reap if we faint not.”  Galatians 6:9

You can take comfort in the words of Joseph in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result…”

Deuteronomy 23:5b applies to our lives today, “But the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you!”

We aren’t going to resolve the “Bad Things/Good People” debate in this short devotional, but please be encouraged.  Regardless of the cause of the problems that arise in your life, God will use them to your good and to His glory, just as He did in Bible stories.  Call on Him and He will answer you and show you great and mighty things, even when bad things happen!  God bless you this season of thankfulness.

Linda Smiley