From the Pastor’s Desk:
Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Part I
It’s a weighty question. Not an easy one to answer.
For some, it might be a very timely question. You may find yourself, right now, in the midst of great pain and tragedy. And I realize that any answers I give may seem
shallow. I do not want, in any way, to make light of the circumstances you may find yourself in. And I pray, that by the Holy Spirit’s help, what I write will bring you some hope and some comfort
For others of you, there may be no great pain in your life right now. But I need to tell you: it is
probably coming. Calamity seems to hit us all. And when it hits it will be unexpected, unpredictable and (from our perspective) utterly senseless. And part of my hope in this article is to help prepare you for when your time of testing comes.
We’ve begun a short series on the book of Habakkuk that wrestles with this question; and in the next three Trumpet Articles I am going to offer three
theological answers to the question of why bad things happen. It’s not a
multiple choice question—I’m not giving you three answers so you can pick the one you like best. But rather, these are three different biblical perspectives on why suffering exists that will help us think about and prepare for calamity.
And the first answer, I’m afraid, is one you aren’t going to like very much: We don’t know. But God does.
The Book of Job is the Bible’s extensive meditation on why bad things happen to good people. We know from the start: Job is a good person; he has done nothing wrong; and yet all kinds of suffering comes his way. His friends take a “cause and effect” view of the world. They are convinced that Job must be hiding some dreadful sin. But Job is not.
Job also takes a “cause and effect” view of the world. But since he knows that he has done nothing to deserve such comprehensive suffering, he believes that something has gone wrong. He begins to question God’s wisdom.
And then God shows up in a storm cloud and delivers the longest single speech attributed to God in the Bible. He doesn’t explain Himself to Job. He doesn’t offer comfort. Instead, in Job 38 and following, He unleashes a majestic look at the wonders of creation: Tides and waves, lightning and rain, mighty elephants or terrifying leviathans…God describes each with the delight of an accomplished artist. And with each description, God either states or implies to Job: “Are you powerful enough to do any of this? Are you smart enough to run the world?”
The point is: God is utterly incomprehensible. There are things about Him, and the world He created, and the things He does to keep it all working; that we could never, ever, possibly comprehend.
August Birthdays
1 Chelsea Peelen
2 Kaleb Ott
3 Michelle Hinders
4 Greta Eberline
9 Chad Osterbuhr, Ashley Coake
10 Lennyn Quario
11 Gary Krukow
13 Kim Miller, Dawn Janssen
14 Roger Marks, Darrell Folkerts
16 Merre Krukow
17 JoAnn Miller
18 Merle Hoodjer
25 Stormie Pierce
26 Kristen Wix, Bobby Joe Miller
27 Curt Henrichs
28 Kady Coake
30 Dalen Meyer
August Anniversaries
5 Milt & Marilyn Ulfers
16 Gary & Merre Krukow
17 Tim & Denise Junker
19 Brandon & Stephanie Quario
23 Brad & Sandy Cooper
31 Ron & Marlys Saathoff
Greeting & Refreshments for Fellowship Time
August 2 – James Seehusen, Ethan & Shelby Ulfers
August 9 - Rex & Tracy Ackerman, Pastor Russell & Beth
August 16 – Gary & Merrie Krukow, Dave & Sue White
August 23 - Ryan & Kristen Fleshner, Lois Stauffer
August 30 - Matt & Michelle Eberline, Chad & Jamie Osterbuhr
August Sound/Projector Operator Schedule
August 2 - Tim Junker
August 9 – Ryan Fleshner
August 16 - Matt Eberline
August 23 - Ryan Fleshner
August 30 - TBD
Video Operator Schedule
August 2 - James Seehusen
August 9 - Michael Shafer
August 16 - Lucas Junker
August 23 - Jodi Bangasser
August 30 - TBD
August Praise Team Schedule
August 2 - Airyn Duffy (Denise)
August 9 - Praise Team 2 (Denise)
August 16 - Praise Team 3 (Denise)
August 23 - Praise Team 4 (Denise)
August 30 - TBD