Devotional by Pastor Greg Laurie
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"For he gives his sunlight to both the
evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."
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When a crisis comes
into our lives, the first thing we usually ask is, "Why is this happening
to me? What have I done to deserve this?" At the outset there are no real
answers to questions like this. In fact, it is very unlikely we ever will have
the answers to the whys of life until we get to heaven.
Somehow in our minds, we may believe that, as Christians, we are exempt from suffering. We just won't have tragedy befall us. We won't get cancer. We won't have spouses ever leave us. We won't ever have anyone we love die in any kind of accident. We won't have problems with our kids. But no matter how much we may love the Lord, crises will come into our lives. We cannot control that.
Ironically, people said to me after our son went to be with the Lord, "Why has this happened to you, of all people?" I find that to be a curious question, the assumption being that I get a free pass because I am a pastor. But I live in the same fallen world as everyone else. Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45).
So I think it is very important not to make the mistake of always trying to find cause and effect for everything that happens. For example, if something bad happens, we may say, "Well, they were evil, and because of that, this came into their lives." That may be true.
However, sometimes bad stuff happens, and there is no cause and effect at all. It is simply because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world, we have aging and sickness and disabilities and even death. But those things never were part of God's original plan.
Somehow in our minds, we may believe that, as Christians, we are exempt from suffering. We just won't have tragedy befall us. We won't get cancer. We won't have spouses ever leave us. We won't ever have anyone we love die in any kind of accident. We won't have problems with our kids. But no matter how much we may love the Lord, crises will come into our lives. We cannot control that.
Ironically, people said to me after our son went to be with the Lord, "Why has this happened to you, of all people?" I find that to be a curious question, the assumption being that I get a free pass because I am a pastor. But I live in the same fallen world as everyone else. Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45).
So I think it is very important not to make the mistake of always trying to find cause and effect for everything that happens. For example, if something bad happens, we may say, "Well, they were evil, and because of that, this came into their lives." That may be true.
However, sometimes bad stuff happens, and there is no cause and effect at all. It is simply because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world, we have aging and sickness and disabilities and even death. But those things never were part of God's original plan.
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