Have you ever wished you could be in two places at once? Or have you wished you could have a clone of yourself to do all the hard things in your life while you go do the fun things? While your clone is taking college finals, going to work, or deep cleaning your house, you could be hiking the Grand Canyon, backpacking across Europe, or walking along the Great Wall of China! Unfortunately, we don’t have clones, and we are restricted to one body in one place. But we have a God who has no such restrictions-
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
It’s a question that has puzzled people for generations and has been the reason why many have chosen to not put their faith and trust in God. If God is truly sovereign and truly good, how could He let such terrible, evil things happen to us? How could He allow so much suffering?
Maybe you’ve asked yourself these questions during different circumstances and situations in your own life. Perhaps you have endured certain trials that have caused you to cry out, “Why God?” If so, you’re not alone. Even back in biblical days, people were asking this question. And there is one story in particular near the beginning of our Bibles that I believe helps us answer all of these questions – the story of Joseph.
I’ve lived in Florida my entire life, so hurricanes are something I’m very familiar with. A few years ago, category 5 Hurricane Irma was headed towards Florida just a couple weeks after Hurricane Harvey had absolutely devastated the state of Texas. In the days leading up to her landfall, the models projected that the storm would hit our area. Because we lived near the coast at the time, we were ordered to evacuate due to the potential of flooding.
Our family boarded up our windows, packed up our most valuable items, and drove to a friend’s house that was just outside of the evacuation area. After seeing news coverage of what Harvey had done to Texas, I was scared about what might happen to us, and I didn’t sleep much the night that Irma hit. But, by the grace of God, the storm weakened and moved east, and the worst damage we saw near our home was debris on the roads and some uprooted bushes.
Natural disasters, though scary, are natural, and we almost expect to witness at least a disaster or two during our lifetimes. There’s a natural disaster in the Bible, though, that seemed rather unnatural, and its results were likely frightening to those who lived in the area at that time. The cause of this unnatural disaster was the crucifixion of Jesus.
The Bible can be a very daunting book. It’s a collection of sixty-six books that were originally written in Hebrew and Greek by over forty different men thousands of years ago. These books fall into all kinds of different genres – from history to poetry, from letters to prophecy. Because of this, many people choose to not read it.
According to Barna’s 2020 State of the Bible report, forty-six percent of Americans rarely read the Bible (if at all) and an additional ten percent of Americans read it sporadically. Only nine percent of Americans read their Bible on a daily basis. There are numerous reasons why Americans are so disengaged with the Bible. The language can be difficult to understand, the stories can be confusing, and the layout can be hard to navigate. Americans don’t understand the Bible’s background, they don’t have time to read it, and they’re just not excited about it.[1]
We suffer from biblical illiteracy. We don’t understand what the Bible says and what it means, and we often are too intimidated to even try. But we, as Christians, must strive to read and understand the Bible because it has the power to transform us and sanctify us and draw us closer to God. We must dive deeper into Scripture, but that’s not as difficult as it sounds! In his book How to Eat Your Bible, Nate Pickowicz provides a simple approach.
You can do anything you put your mind to! You can do anything if you just believe in yourself!
You’ve probably heard these phrases or similar ones thrown around in our culture. While they seem motivating and encouraging on the surface, they are actually not true! I can’t stop a speeding train if I just put my mind to it. I can’t fly or have super speed if I just believe in myself. I can’t do these things because I don’t have the power to do them. Human beings have limited power. But there is Someone who has unlimited power – God.