When Bad Stuff Happens

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

- 1 Corinthians 16:13

When the flames of affliction set fire to our best laid plans, theology look out. It’s not when things are going well that our doctrine of God is on the crucible, but when bad stuff happens. When the heat is turned up, it’s revealed that we’re not a special case in God’s kingdom. We will be tried and tested like everyone else. But how will we respond when we can’t see wisdom in His will for us?

The famous composer Beethoven lived in fear of losing his hearing. He felt that deafness would spell the end of his creative ability. His worst fears were realized, as he went on to lose his hearing completely. But unknown to him, while completely deaf he would write some of the most enduring and brilliant music the world has ever heard. With all distractions shut out, the notes and melodies flooded in, and perhaps it can be said that his deafness, a trial that would altar his life forever, turned out to be a catalyst for excellence.

Who are we howl against providence when we have trouble keeping a calendar? Who qualified us to critique the wise plans of God, who has purchased us for His own purposes and glory? Dear friends, when trials come that have your head spinning, it’s good to acknowledge that we don’t know exactly why, but whatever the reason—it’s bound to be good. You can’t see it yet, and nobody is asking you to. But our faith ought to change how we process pain.

We may not know why, but we do know whose hands our trials have passed through before reaching us. Look at those hands. Do you see the wounds from the nails? You can trust a God like that, even when the heat is turned up.