Why Not!

I will get this out of the way upfront. This is one of my "soapbox" blogs. But it's been eating at me for several months now and I need write it down.

We have often heard it asked "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" Books have been written about it, pastors have preached about it, and the world generally uses it as a poor philosphy to state that God is not loving.

Let's get it straight - life is not fair. We tell it to our kids all the time. Generally it's in a whining moment when we look at them at say "Get over it . . . life's not fair." But somewhere from the transition of childhood to adulthood we tend to forget that fact when more tragic events happen around us. We may not say it outloud, but down deep, if we truly think about it, our responses and statements to others when bad things happen come down to the base premise that says "you poor thing, you've been treated so unfairly, God is just not being fair with you since you are having to go through this burden".

Statements like "I'm so sorry for your loss, your child was taken so young", "It's not right you have cancer, you're such a good person", or "You didn't deserve this, what a horrible thing to happen to you."

Seriously! . . . SERIOUSLY ?. . . what are you really saying? (and let me tell you that being on the receiving end of such comments provides absolutely no comfort.) Are you saying that God is not in control of the situation? Are you saying that people are too good for anything bad to happen?

This past summer, in the middle of a worship service, the worship leader suddenly launched into a series of statements about tragic events that had happened in the life of people in the room. And he stated, 'Why would God allow a child like Titus who was born with so many physical defects be given to the Daily's?" 

I almost puked.

So, I'm going to pull no punches and cut to the point.

The question is not WHY did God allow, but WHY NOT? Doesn't the Bible state in James 1 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

And what is a trial? It's something that is difficult to go through. It hurts, it's tiring, it's long, it's tedious, it's painful, it has an affect on not just you but your relationships. But it has a purpose. It's a test of faith so that you may grow, mature, complete, and have joy. So WHY NOT? Why would God rob me of the opportunity to learn those things. The question is - do you see a the bad things that happen in your life as trials to go through to perfect the work of God in your life? Or do you see them as a inconvenience that God has cursed you with that you have to endure (but are certainly not happy about). It's all about perspective.

And let me address Titus specifically.

Psalms 139 13:16 states
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,


I know that full well.


My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.


All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."


See, no where does it state that I (or Titus) was made perfect or wonderful in the eyes of man, but in the eyes of God. God created Titus exactly the way HE wanted him to be and then developed a complete plan for his life.

Did God design Titus the way I would have? No - but nowhere in the Bible do I read that my selfish will prevails in tweaking God's design.

Has God planned a life for Titus that I would have planned? The answer would be YES if I truly believe what I have always prayed. And that is that I have always prayed that each of my boys would be obedient to God's voice, be a blessing to others, and have an impact for God in the world they live in. And without a doubt, I can say that Titus has had more of a far-reaching impact than I ever would have dreamed. His life and story has gone around the world. We have had a chance to minister to people because of Titus. And if you have ever met him, you know how pleasantly content he is.

Why did God place Titus in our family? So I will learn to love life and cherish every moment; so that I will look at all children, but especially those with special needs, with compassion; so that I will know that parents of children with special needs are unsung heroes who tirelessly serve the needs of their children above the needs of themselves; so that I will see beautiful design of God in the body of my child; so that I will appreciate the incredible servant that I am married to; so that my other children will learn that life is about serving others and not serving themselves.

And I live with the truth in 2 Corinthians that states 'our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.'

 Ok - it's now off my chest. I'll put the soapbox back in the closet.