Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

     Revelation 3:7-8; What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  God knows that we have sinned and fallen short of his Glory, but he still gives us the chance to repent and turn back to him. He still has a plan for us. He is just waiting for us to say, "Okay God, you take hold of my life. Tell me what your plan is for me and I will obey." He is our perfect father. He loves us more than anything else. He sees when we stumble, but he does not turn away and reject us when we do. NO, he waits there with arms open wide for us to run back to him. Since he is the perfect father, would he plan something bad for us? No. In fact, when other people mess life up, God turns the bad into good. It does not always seem like it at the time, but he does. He opens a door in our lives.  Other people may try to close it, but they cannot. Only he can close it, and that will be in his own, perfect timing.
     To give an example of when something went wrong but God turned it out for good, I will tell you a story about my grandfather. This is a true story, and it has often helped me get through whatever I was having trouble with. I hope it helps you.
     My grandfather was in the military. He was good at what he did. Really good. He was the best in his platoon. He had metals and won awards. He was at the top, and people respected him. Then, his platoon was going to be sent to a different location, when... he got sick. Very sick. He was so ill that he could not go with his group. So, they stripped away all his metals, all his awards and gave them to the next best man. My grandfather sat there in his bed, furious at God. He had worked so hard to get all of that, only to have it ripped away from him because he got sick. How was that God's will? Why would God do that to him? Well, when he got better, he was put in a different group. Of course he did not get any of his metals back, it was like he had to start all over. And, he did not find out toll way later in his life how wonderful it was for him to have gotten ill. He found out way later that his platoon that had been moved was sent off to war, and every single man in that platoon was killed. Why it was that God allowed all those men to die and had my grandfather survive, I don't know. Maybe it was so that I -his granddaughter- could tell you this story, of how God is looking after us in ways that we have no idea. It could be something very small, like locking your keys in your car and making you be late for something you had really been looking forward to. You may be mad at God for that. But have you ever wondered if there was more to it than that you locked your keys in your car? Maybe, if you had not locked your keys in the car, if you had driven out of that driveway and onto the highway at that time, you would have gotten in a car wreck. Instead, God made you wait until it was safe for you to drive.
     You may think that this is crazy, but I believe in a supernatural power. I believe that God could and has turned things that were bad into good. Maybe what you are going through is bigger than locking your keys in your car. Maybe, someone very close to you just died. How was that God's will? Why do bad things happen to good people?  Let me tell you this. My grandfather did not find out for a while why all that happened to him, and maybe you will never find out why bad things have happened to you, but God is asking you to trust him.  Will you put your trust in someone who loves you so much? Someone who created you for great things. You are never too far away to come back to him. The door is still open for you. God is just waiting there with an open door. He is calling, waiting for you to come back to him. What will your answer be?

~Daughter of the Light