Can bad things happen to good people?

Job was a good man, Job 1:1 says “….This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil…” it goes on to say that not only was Job good but he was also blessed financially and “was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3). So one day the sons of the East came to present themselves before God and Satan came with them. God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). And we know the rest of the story how Satan tells God that Job is good just because God is good to Him and if He would but stretch out His hand against Job, he would curse Him.

But beloved, have you considered what God says to Satan after that? Job 1:12 says “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” “Behold” said the Lord, which would mean “Look” or “See” or “take note of the fact” that all that Job has, is in YOUR (Satan’s) power. Hmmm!!

Again in chapter 2 when the sons of the East came to present themselves to God, Satan came. God reminded him that Job still held on to his faith in God and when Satan told God that it was because God had not allowed him to touch Job’s body, God said yet again “…Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life” (Job 2:6). Interesting!! Now remember God does not destroy nor brings any harm, it is because He chooses to bless (Isaiah 54:15). Both of these statements made by God ended in “buts” like Job had done something wrong and God, who is good, was trying to protect him. So then there must have been a doorway open in the life of righteous Job through which Satan could act and wreck havoc in his life. God told Satan to look and see that Job was “already” in his hands.

In Job 3:25 Job says, “For what I FEAR comes upon me, And what I DREAD befalls me.”

Beloved Job was in the hands of the Destroyer because he feared. God clears this issue when he tells Isaiah about the inheritance of the saints in Isaiah 54.

“In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have NOTHING TO FEAR. TERROR will be FAR REMOVED; IT will NOT COME NEAR YOU.  If anyone does attack you, it will NOT BE MY DOING; WHOEVER ATTACKS YOU WILL SURRENDER TO YOU. See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; NO WEAPON FORGED AGAINST YOU WILL PREVAIL, AND YOU WILL REFUTE EVERY TONGUE THAT ACCUSES YOU. THIS IS THE HERITAGE OF THE SERVANTS OF THE LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:14-17)

Hallelujah!! Woooo hoooooo!!! This is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord. So this explains why Moses in Psalm 91(Yes Psalm 91 is written by Moses) says, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;  Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.  A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you” (Psalm 91:5-7)

So coming back to the issue at hand, do bad things happen to good people? Let me answer it his way, BAD THINGS CANNOT HAPPEN TO THE SERVANTS OF GOD! Isaiah 54 says so. God says so. When the servants of God meet the destroyer who forms weapons against them, no weapon formed will prosper and every tongue that rises up against them will be cast down. Amen!! This elite group of king-priests do not think about terror, neither do they fear. Their thoughts are on the things that are true, noble, right, pure, worthy of praise, admirable, things of virtue (Philippians 4:8). These people do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1), and therefore do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16) bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:15). So when these servants walk into a house the peace of God comes in with them (Luke 10:5) when they touch a sick person, the sickness must go (Mark 16:18). They are the salt of the earth, the light of this World, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). And Romans 8:19,22 says that the whole earth is moaning and groaning, with birth pangs waiting for the manifestation of these, the sons of God. Hallelujah!!

Beloved I have a very good habit which I have come to recognize of late. I do not concern myself with what goes on around me. Politics, devastation, and disease nothing worries me because I do not read the news. Trust me I am a champion worrier when it comes to things that concern me but that must go too. We cannot add one bit to our stature by worrying or fearing. Terror shall not come near us. We as sons of God must not know any fear except the fear of the Lord. When people would ask prophet Kobus van Rensburg (I honor that mighty man of God) what he thought about certain things that were against him, he simply replied, “I don’t think about them.” Wow!! That is what I want to say each time a pressing issue comes to mind! Hallelujah!!

So beloved, as a son of God, pray for the nations, pray for the peace of the New Jerusalem which is above. Intercede for those who are being lost that they might come to see the Light and believe in Jesus and be saved. And as a son of God pray for the sick that they will be healed, not taken away from suffering but healed to live long and for all eternity. A thousand will fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you. For no weapon formed against you will prosper, says the Lord!! Hallelujah!!