“In God we boast all day long, and praise Your name forever. But You have cast us off and put us to shame. . . .” (Psalm 44:8-9, NKJV)
The age-old question: why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? A book by the same name assumed that people could be good before God. The Bible never makes that assumption. We live in a world where the sinfulness of man results in lots of bad things. No one is immune, and the best we can do is put our trust in Him and ask Him to forgive our failings.
Yet the question remains. What is God doing when a person trusts Him and yet their life is filled with calamities and defeat? Why would God allow someone who praises Him and loves Him to suffer shame, to feel cast off?
I just finished reading the book of Job. Job was a righteous man because he trusted God. He demonstrated his faith by obeying the Lord. However, Satan was allowed by God to severely test Job. He lost everything including his children and his health. Even though he complained and questioned God, he never stopped believing in Him. At the end of the book, Job is restored and commended for his integrity.
Is it fair that God does allow bad things? Not if I think I somehow deserve any good things from God. But when I remember that He is merciful to me regardless of my sin and failure to measure up to His high standards, then I must be contrite before Him. He is God. He can do whatever He wants.
Not just that. He is also wise. Job serves as an example to all of us that no matter what happens, God is in charge and God can be trusted. He knows what He is doing, and He has our good in mind (Remember Romans 8:28-29!).
The psalmist knew how to respond to adversity and the feeling that God had abandoned His people. He boasted in God and praised His name. God had not changed. While circumstances go up and down like the waves of the sea, He is the same. His love is constant and His mercy endure forever.
I will ride the waves. Sometimes they will crash down on me; sometimes they will lift me high—but no matter what, God has given me a solid place to rest, and the promise that these ups and downs will serve a good purpose. (Sorry for the mixed metaphors, but) I can say with Job, “He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold!”
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