Jeff Schreve - The Truth About the Troubles and Tragedies of Live
Why do bad things happen to good people and why do good things happen to bad people? We have those questions. We want to know why. One of the things about the book of Job, it teaches us about suffering, it teaches us about, you know, not necessarily the whys but the fact that suffering does take place. Job asked why in chapter 3. He’s asking five times why these things are happening. He wants to know why. You read the book of Job and you don’t really get the answer to why. The song says, «When answers aren’t enough, there is Jesus. He is more than just an answer to our prayer». But we can glean from this book and from other parts of scripture, why do bad things happen to good people.
Job chapter 1, I’ll begin reading in verse 1: «There was a man in the land of Uz». The land of Uz is in Edom, the land of Edom which is south, in today’s world, the land of Uz, where Job was, would be the southern part of Jordan, there in the Middle East. «There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day».
These are birthday parties. «And they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, 'Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God,» that’s a phrase that means the angelic being, «when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD,» Yahweh, «said to Satan, 'From where do you come? ' Then Satan answered the LORD and said, 'From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.'»
1 Peter 5:8: «Be on the alert, be of sober spirit. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour». «And the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.' Then Satan answered the LORD, 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his household and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; and he will surely curse You to Your face.' Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.' So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD».
Why do bad things happen to good people? Three reasons. Reason number one, because we live in a fallen world. That’s why bad things happen. We live in a fallen world. When God created this world, you have people sometimes saying this, «Well, if God is so good, why did He make such a mess»? He didn’t make a mess. You read in Genesis chapter 1 and 2: It was good, it was good, it was good, it was good. And then God creates Eve and it’s very good. And the man and his wife were both naked and when they were not ashamed, and they were told to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and everything is great, but it hit the skids. It went off the rails in chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned.
And the scripture says in Romans 5:12: «Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned». So because of the Fall in Genesis 3, the world was under a curse. God said, «Cursed is the ground». Said to Adam, «Cursed is the ground because of you, because of what you did». And when they sinned, sin brought forth all kinds of evils and diseases and difficulties and death. «The day you eat of it, you will surely die». Death came into the world because they sinned against God. Everything changed in Genesis chapter 3. They didn’t realize what they did, but they opened up Pandora’s box of evils.
And so when we see the terrible things we see today with starvation and famine and floods and disease and disfigurement and sex abuse and child abuse and all the terrible, terrible things that we see going on in our world, you say, «If God is such a good God, why is this happening»? Well, it’s because we live in a fallen world. And no one is immune to troubles and tragedies. If anyone should have been immune to the troubles of life, to the tragedies of life, it would have been Job. You can’t get around verse 3 where the Lord brags on him being the greatest of all the men of the east. And then to say to Satan, «Have you considered My servant, Job,» verse 8, «there is no one like him on the earth». But he has troubles and trials. No one is immune to troubles and trials.
Jesus is God when He walked the earth, God in the flesh. «In Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,» Colossians 2:9 tells us. But what does it say of Jesus? Hebrews 5:18: «Although He was His Son, He learned obedience through the things that He suffered». Isaiah 53: He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Jesus said to the disciples on that night He was betrayed, John 16:33, He said, «In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, be of good courage; I have overcome the world». Hey, what do we have in the world? Well, we live in a fallen world and in the world you have tribulation, you have difficulties, you have problems.
That word «tribulation» literally means pressure, and pressure and stresses and anguish and griefs, that’s what’s in this world. So no one is immune to the troubles and tragedies of life. But God is in complete control. Even in a fallen world, God is in complete control. «The Lord sat as King at the flood; the Lord sits as King forever,» Psalm 29, verse 10. Jesus said in Matthew 10:29: «Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, but not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s permission». He is in charge. And as we read in Job 1, when the devil comes to God and says, «Hey, let’s get after Job here. You say he’s so great, well, if You take away all the things from him, he’ll curse You to Your face».
And the Lord says, «You don’t know Job,» but the Lord gave Satan parameters of what he could do. Satan said he couldn’t do anything to Job. «You built a hedge around Job. I can’t get to Job. God, You let down the hedge and then let me get at him». Martin Luther was the one that said, «Even the devil is the Lord’s devil». And Jesus called the devil, the ruler of this world. «The whole world lies in the power of the evil one,» 1 John 5:19. But where the devil rules, God overrules, and the devil can only do what God has permitted him to do.
So why do bad things happen to good people? Well, it’s because we live in a fallen world. Second reason, it’s because God uses bad things to test our faith. Hey, a faith that can’t be tested, can’t be trusted. So He allows bad things to come in. He lets down the hedge, so to speak, just as He did for Job, to test us. James chapter 1: «Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance». God uses bad things to test our faith. And so you get into what’s going on. So the Lord is so proud of Job. Job is so pleasing to Him. And when the angels come before the Lord, Satan also came before the Lord. Now he’s an accuser of the brethren. He accuses us before God, Revelation 12:10: «He accuses us before God day and night».
And so as soon as the Lord says, «Have you considered My servant Job? There’s nobody like Job on the face of the whole earth. He is blameless before Me. He walks with Me. He fears Me,» and Satan says, «Yeah, that’s right, God, he does, he does. But does Job fear God for nothing»? And so God is going to put Job through this test. Now, this is the whole crux of the book of Job is Job chapter 1, verse 9: «Does Job fear God for nothing»? That’s what we’re gonna find out. So your motive for fearing God is most important. Why do you fear God? Why do you serve Him? Why do you love Him? Why do you praise Him? Is it for what He can do for you? Or is it because of who He is? And Satan is saying, «God, You take away all the goodies from Job and You’ll find out he doesn’t seek Your face. He seeks Your hand, he seeks what You can do for him. And what he’s gonna do to Your face is he’s gonna curse You to Your face». And God says, «Oh, you don’t know Job».
So Satan goes out from the presence of the Lord. Verse 13: «Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, 'The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them.'» Remember, he had 500 oxen and 500 donkeys, «'and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.'» So he’s lost that: 500 donkeys, 500 oxens, and the servants that took care of them. «While he was still speaking, another who also came and said, 'The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.'»
Seven thousand sheep, plus the servants, they’re gone. «While he was still speaking,» verse 17, «another also came and said, 'The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.' While he was still speaking», he’s lost all his wealth, «While he was still speaking, another also came and said, 'Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.' Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped».
He didn’t shake his fist in the face of God. He fell to the ground in worship. «And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb. And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.' Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God». Wow, what a response. Is Job not human? Yeah, he’s human. He’s very human. Says in chapter 2, when his friends come after the Lord, the Satan had afflicted him physically and he was scraping himself, sitting at the garbage dump, at the ashes, scraping himself. They didn’t speak to him for seven days. They just sat there with him because they saw his pain was very great.
I put a note in my Bible: Job was human. Because you can read this, and you think, «This guy is not a regular guy. How can anyone respond to the news that he just got by worshiping the Lord»? Well, Job understood some things. Number one, he understood that everything we have is undeserved and on loan from God. Everything we have, undeserved and on loan from God. Naked I came from my mother’s womb. What did you come into the… that’s the way you came too. That’s the way I came. That’s the way all of us come. We come with nothing in our pockets, not even pockets. You got nothing. Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He understood that everything we have is undeserved and on loan from God, and everything that happens to us is to be received from God.
So what happens? Well, Job passed the test and we thought this was gonna be the end of the test. Verse 22: Through all this, Job did not sin nor did he blame God. Chapter 2: «Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. The LORD said to Satan, 'Where have you come from? ' Then Satan answered the LORD». This just like last time.
«It said, 'From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.' And the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.' And Satan answered the LORD and said, 'Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; and he will curse You to Your face.' So the LORD said to Satan, 'Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.' Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes. And then as he’s scraping himself, his wife says to him, 'Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die! ' Then he says, in response: 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? ' In all this Job did not sin with his lips».
Hey, everything that happens to us is to be received from God. And it’s kind of like the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Shall we accept prosperity from God, good things from God? Of course, our arms are open wide to receive good things from God. The good report at the doctor, yes. The good review where you’re getting a big bonus, yes. All these good things, your kids just excel. Yes, that’s great. And your kids have kids and their kids are healthy and strong and everything is coming up roses. We accept all this good from God. Everyone wants that. But what about the adversity? What about the difficulty? Well, that’s when we say «No, God, You can’t give me that. Give that to somebody else». That’s when we pull out the, «You dirty cheat, where’s my $100»?
Shall we not accept adversity from God, just like we accept the good things from God? Do we not understand that everything that comes into your life, comes into my life, first filters through God’s fingers of love because God is over all things? God is large and in charge and if a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground except that God permits it, well then, nothing can get to you unless God lets down the hedge. Nothing could have gotten to Job. Satan couldn’t get to Job unless God allowed it. God didn’t cause it. He didn’t do it. Satan kept saying, «You stretch forth Your hand, God,» but God would say, «He’s in your power. You can go this far with him».
It was Satan that did all those things to him. We live in a fallen world. Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a fallen world, because God uses things to test our faith, bad things. And thirdly because God uses bad things to grow our faith. Now, if you read through the book of Job, you’ll find that Job wants to have an audience with God, and God is silent. He’s silent. He’s talking to Satan in chapter 1 and chapter 2. Job’s not privy to any of that. He doesn’t know that’s going on. He just knows his life has totally collapsed, just like that. From the penthouse to the outhouse, boom, just like that. That’s all he knows. And he knows he hasn’t done anything. Well, here is Job and he has sowed not to the flesh but to the Spirit. But he’s not seeing the reaping in kind. He said, «Well, this doesn’t make sense. I didn’t do anything to have all this disaster hit my life».
God is teaching him in that crucible and God is growing him in that. And so Job is wanting and almost demanding that God talk to him about these things. God is silent, silent, silent for 35 chapters until chapter 38. And then God speaks and He speaks for four chapters and you read Job 38 and it sends a chill up your spine because when you start to act like God owes you His explanation, «God, I’m demanding to know why». Be careful. God is not in the business of explaining. He’s in the business of sustaining. And so God shows up and He begins to ask Job questions and He says, «Okay, Job. You think you’re My equal? You think that we can talk on the same plane? Gird up your loins if you’re a man, and I’m gonna ask you some questions, Job. I’m gonna ask you how I do things. I’m gonna ask you how I make the sun come up in the morning. Why don’t you tell Me since you seem to know so much»?
And so He goes on for four chapters and when He gets done, this is what Job says. «Then Job answered the Lord,» Job 42, the last chapter of the book. «Job answered the Lord, 'I know Lord that You are all powerful, that You can do everything You want. You ask how I dare question Your wisdom when I am so very ignorant. I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know. You told me to listen while You spoke and to try to answer Your questions. In the past, I knew only what others had told me. But now I have seen You with my own eyes. So I am ashamed of all I have said and I repent in dust and ashes.'»
Chapter 2, he’s sitting at the dump in the ashes. Chapter 42, he puts himself in the ashes in repentance. «God, I am so sorry that I tried to call You out, so to speak, to explain things to me». Because you and I can’t understand God. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so far are God’s ways above our ways, His thoughts above our thoughts. For God, you know, we wanna know why. Why, why, why God? God is saying, «Okay, let Me tell you something. For Me to explain to you why would be like you explaining to your 3-year-old nuclear physics. They’re not going to get it, and you’re not going to get it. So why don’t you just trust Me? I know what I’m doing and you can just trust Me».
So God uses bad things to grow our faith. We get to know God better through the bad things of life. Job said, «I heard of you, Lord, by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You and I see a whole dimension of who You are, God, and how powerful You Are, God». And Job went from grammar school to graduate school through the suffering that he experienced for those months. Now, was Job glad the suffering was over? Yes. Would he have traded that experience? Not for anything, because he grew so much. We get to know God better through the bad things of life. James chapter 5 talks about Job. It says: «We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful».
Where do we learn that? Through Job’s life. Because God is getting ready to bring healing to Job. God is getting ready to restore Job and restore him double, double all that he had. He doubled everything except his kids because he didn’t really lose his kids. They were in heaven. God gave him ten more kids. So he had double kids, because 10 are in heaven and 10 here on the earth and Job, He doubled his days. He lived 140 more years and God blessed him greatly. Hey, we get to know God better through the difficulties of life, even though we don’t like the difficulties of life. And then lastly, we get a longing for heaven through the bad things of life. A longing for heaven. As Paul said, «For I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us». Hey, when difficulties come in this life and they will and they do, we get a longing for heaven through the bad things of life. Hey, God has a question for you. The question of questions: «In the trials, in the troubles, in the tragedies, My child, will you trust Me»?