The Hardest Question
The Fourth Man
Why does God let bad things happen? That’s the question that burns in the mind of nearly everyone; believers and non-believers alike. It’s a question that makes us angry, frustrated, depressed, or even faithless. Why would a God who’s all powerful and full of love let bad things happen to His creations?
It’s easy to compare our situation to others: Others may have it better than us… seemingly going through no trouble at all, or at least experiencing very little. Then, on the other side, others may have it way worse than us… and live in poverty, and go hungry, and experience terrible pain worse than we could possibly imagine.
It’s easy to question why… But, it isn’t easy to answer.
I could tell you not to compare yourself to others, or to be glad for what you do have… But that would be foolhardy.
I think, one of the best answers to this question is found in Daniel, Chapter 3, where the bible talks about three men who are thrown into a fiery furnace by a king for not worshipping a golden idol. The heat was made to be so hot in the furnace, that it even killed the soldiers delivering the three into it.
While the men were in there, the king became awestruck, because instead of three men, there were four. Unhurt, unbound, and alive.
Daniel 3:25;
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
I think sometimes, we get frustrated or defeated when we can’t see a way out or a purpose to our trouble. Sometimes we suffer for days, weeks, months… or even years. Sometimes we are the ones that can only sit and watch as our loved ones go through these things for so long. And how should we think when a loved one suffers to only die?
This world is a fallen world. It is a sin filled world… It’s been that way since the fall of the Garden of Eden. And it is only going to get worse. Bad things are going to happen; it’s inevitable.
However, one man, the fourth man in the furnace, came down here over 2000 years ago. His father was the one who sent him. He was the one that came down here and lived amongst all the sickness, the pain, the suffering, and the sin. And what happened?
He didn’t come to make it all go away.
He came to walk with us. To bear his cross… and suffer until His death.
He came to walk with us, in the midst of the fire, to teach us how to carry our own cross and react to a sin filled world.
So why does God let bad things happen? Maybe… that’s the wrong question.
Maybe the question should be: When bad things happen, what should I do? How should I react? How should I live?
Mathew 5:43
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Lean on Jesus. Lean on the one that understands the universe. And if you have an opportunity to react, then react like Jesus; with love, patience, and understanding.
Don’t react to this world full of sin with more sin. Instead, respond like Jesus, and conquer the darkness with light. And if you see another person in the darkness? Offer your light to them, and sit with them for a while.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
