Who’s To Blame?

It drives me crazy when I hear people blame God for the bad things that happen in their lives.  Can you honestly picture God and Jesus sitting on their thrones in heaven and one of them asking the other, “Hey, what can we do to mess up that guy’s day?”  Of course not. 

However, I can easily picture Satan asking his demons that very same question.  He probably targets Christians most of all.  He can’t stand us.  We’re the ones who got away.  We’re the ones who see the truth about what he is.  So he wants to make our lives especially difficult. 

But God uses our difficulties to teach us about FAITH.  Remember what the Bible says?  God takes something bad and turns it into good. (See Romans 8:28) All we have to do is trust in Him.  Hey, we placed our trust in Him regarding our eternities.  Shouldn’t it be easy to trust Him with our lives as well?

Can We Figure This Out?

I know that our faith is tested during trials and tribulations here on earth. But is there a reason why particular things happen during our lifetime? Are they all just random incidents, or were they chosen for a purpose? Look back on your own life. I’m sure there are unpleasant experiences in your past, some worse than others. Why did it happen to YOU?

In writing fiction, the writer needs to look at the hero and think, “What type of person would the crisis impact the most?” What constitutes a crisis depends on who it’s happening to. An incident occurring to one person may have crippling effects, while it hardly phases somebody else.

When I look back at the difficulties I’ve endured, I’m starting to ask, “Did that make me stronger in my faith? Did I handle the situation in the right way? Did I try to lean on my own ability instead of leaning on God? What would Jesus have me do?” We need to question what happens to us and learn by it. That is how we grow as Christians. We need to have a different mindset than the world.

With Timothy, we want to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” 2 Timothy 4:7