Who is in Charge Here?

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by Dr. Chuck Baynard

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Who is in Charge Here?

TAMING THOSE BAD HAIR DAYS

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Who is in charge anyway?

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Have you ever had one of those days when you couldn’t do anything right? We’re not talking a bad hair day here, this is ONE of those days. Major calamity after major calamity comes crashing into our lives. On such days I am reminded of Job from the Scriptures. The picture painted in the Bible, of a messenger arriving and while that one is still speaking the next coming in with further bad news, is the pattern on such days. We thought we were waking up to more of the same old thing, but suddenly our routine world has been turned upside down.

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Question: Can Christians have bad days? Do evil things happen to God’s people? If yes, why?

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Working through the issue:

We can offer several reasons why bad things happen. We can note that such trials are going to happen to God’s people.

Scripture says God placed Israel in the midst of the nations to try her by the nations and see if she could live up to God’s commandments.

There is an old saying that bad things happen to Christians because Satan doesn’t mess with his own people. Perhaps the unknown author of this bit of wisdom was trying to explain what God said about Israel being tried by the nations.

The Jewish nation of our Lord’s day believed all bad things happened because a person had sinned against God and this was God’s punishment. They even went so far as to believe that the children were punished sometimes because of what their fathers had done; And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2) BUT …. While there can be a time when God uses natural circumstances to punish us, or get our attention this is not to be taken this way. Christ answered the question above by saying that this man was born blind for the glory of God, not for the sins of his father or his own sins. In Ezekiel 18:1-18 we see God specifically tell the nation of Israel that they couldn’t use this excuse anymore. Yet in the day of Christ we can see by this example people still held to this erroneous belief.

I believe the main reason is that we live in a natural world where such events are common place and we are very much a part of this natural process.

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Question: Why do you think bad things happen to good people?

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God doesn’t take his people out of the world or out of harm’s way, He gives them the inner strength to be tried by the world and through Jesus Christ be more than conquerors.

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Question: What do we do when bad things happen to us?

Answer: FAITH

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By faith we believe that the Bible is God’s word, and in the Scriptures we find the wisdom we need to face and overcome all adversaries. The key word here is faith. In a dictionary we find faith defined as: “Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, an idea, or a thing.” Do you have a confident belief that the Bible is God’s word? If you do, we can move to the vehicle to take you through anything the world can throw at you, even these upside down days, months, or years.

Do we trust God to be there for and with us through these upside down times? Someone once explained trust this way: You watch as a crew strings a cable across the gulf between the U.S. and Canadian sides of Niagara Falls. Then you notice this man approaching this cable with a wheelbarrow. He looks at you and asks if you believe he can make it across with the wheelbarrow. Since you have heard of this man’s reputation you tell him you know he can make it. He then invites you to climb in the wheelbarrow and go with him. You believe he can make it across. Do you trust him to get you across? This is the kind of trust God requires of us.

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The Final Solution

Scripture says that everything works for the good of the believer. We can’t always see how bad things are going to work for good. But, can we believe God’s word, and trust Him to bring it about? God says yes: ARemember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:9-11)

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Wrapping up

Faith says we who believe God can do it. Trust says we get out of the way and let God do it.

Even when things “appear” to be upside down, God is still in charge. By faith we trust Him, and things will work out for our good. Grasp this truth now and use it every day. It is a hard lesson to learn in the midst of battle on that day of days. As we trust God daily, we prepare ourselves to be able to trust Him with the big things in our life. God is sovereign and He is working out His perfect plan for us.

Who is in charge anyway? Friend, it better be God because man has made a mess out of things. The next time you are having one of these trying times “THANK GOD” that He has found you worthy to be tried in such a fashion and trust Him to bring you through.

I believe another reason God allows His chosen ones to go through trials is so we can be a real help to other people in the same situation. The Bible says we are to be fervent in our prayers. When we have stood where that other person is standing, you can feel what they are feeling. By experience we know the hurts and fears another faces and our prayers will have the touch of godly fervency. Empathy (seeing things through the other person’s eyes) is the difference between earthly pity and Christian compassion. Both pity and compassion see the same situation and feel the same sorrow. Compassion is love in motion. Compassion not only feels the hurt and sorrow, it is driven to help relieve them. True empathy demands the hard experiences of life. Trust God and thank Him for the vote of confidence the next time you face a bad day.

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Dr. Baynard is an Associate Editor of the Christian Observer and Senior Pastor at Clover Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Clover, South Carolina

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