BOREDOM

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

-2 Thessalonians 2:16

Dr. Harry Johnson, a medical doctor wrote, “Today’s civilization, the most advanced in history, with the highest standard of living ever known, has produced a generation of bored, apathetic people. We seek entertainment, yet find it dull – even a great performance in the theater is often rewarded by hundreds of people leaving before the curtain falls. We sit in front of television sets watching a succession of plays, shows, and movies without really noticing what we are seeing. We leaf aimlessly through newspapers and magazines. When we say, “I’m tired”, many of us really mean, “I’m tired of what I am doing. I’m tired of my way of life.”

What is the answer to this problem that no name? Let me share three guidelines for breaking out of boredom:

ONE: Seek God’s will for your life.

Scripture tell of men with burning goals and visions and aspiration. These men can hardly be described as “Bored.”

Part of your uncertainty may be the result of being cut off from God – like an airplane pilot in a storm who is searching for a landing field. Men who seek to do God’s will live exciting lives that can be described as anything but boring.

TWO: Set some goals for your life.

This may be an extension of the first guideline. You have to know who you are, and where you are going. Set realistic goals that are consistent with God’s plan for your  life.

THREE: Search out the needs of others and take some of your time, talents, and money to help them.

Nobody is as bored as the person who has only his own interests for company. Read the biographies of great men and women. You will find that even though they faced many problems and obstacles, in they were never bored.

WHEN YOU ARE TIRED AND DISCOURAGED

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary.”

-Isaiah 40:31

Have you ever had one of those days when you were tired and discouraged and, on top of that you did not feel very well? Do you want to whip the blues the next time you are tired and discouraged?

FIRST – When you are tired and discouraged and feel terrible, remember the Prophet Elijah. His life tells us that even spiritual giants can get tired and discouraged and, at times do not feel very well.

Elijah’s life shows that there is a definite relationship between the physical, the spiritual, and the emotional. When Elijah became tired and discouraged, he forgot how God had met him in bygone days, how God sent ravens to feed him at Cherith, how God sent him to Zarephath where he miraculously brought the widow’s son back to life. He forgot how God consumed the 450 prophets.

SECOND – When you are tired and discouraged and do not feel very good, remember Jonah who had the bout with the great fish.

A lot of Jonah’s walk the streets of every large city in the world. God says to them, “Give me your heart. But they turn and run as far as they can go. They are like the captain of a ship who turned to the navigator and said, “Where are we headed?” The reply was: “I do not know, sir, but we are making very good time.” Perhaps you are one of those who are making very good time going nowhere. Real happiness comes by doing the will of God.

FINALLY – Do not despair when you are tired and discouraged and do not feel very good.

We all feel like that way at times. David found the answer: “Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).

ANGER

“In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down, while you are still angry.”

-Ephesians 4:26

Many years ago, the Apostle Paul offered sound advice to Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor. He counseled, “In your anger, do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26). The J.B. Phillips translation puts it like this, “If you are angry be sure it is not out of wounded pride and bad temper. Never go to bed angry – do not give the devil that sort of foothold.”

In his book, None of These Diseases, Dr. S.I. McMillen tells of a little lady, well into her eighties, who came in frequently to have her blood pressure checked. It usually hovered around 200, but one day it soared to 230. Inwardly, Dr.McMillen was alarmed, but rather calmly he said, “Your blood pressure is up today.” With a smile, the little lady answered, “I can easily account for that. I just had an argument with another patient in your waiting room.” Dr.McMillen says, “Think of it: That cultured intelligent woman could well have blown a cerebral fuse and suffered a fatal stroke, simply because she wanted to get even verbally with a man for his provocative chatter…”

Instead of letting anger and malice breed hatred and sin, Paul says that love can be a catalyst that will remove misplaced and unjustified anger. He said, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31, 32).

If you have an unwieldy temper, admit it. Do not hesitate to ask God’s help in overcoming your temper. As you begin each day say, “Lord, go with me today and help me do and say the things that reflect Your presence in my life.” You can find God’s power to make your life worth living.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND GOOD PEOPLE III

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

-Romans 8:18

One problem we have in asking “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is that our perspective is incomplete. It is like asking the outcome of the ballgame where there are still two important minutes left.

God knows and understands and cares about what is happening to you. This is something which you have to take by faith when you walk through troubled waters. The hand of God hasn’t been lifted when difficult situations confront His children. In the book that bears His name, the Apostle Peter suggests that all the world is under the curse of the sin. Peter suggests that all the world is under the curse of sin, but God allows His children to walk through certain dark valleys under His protection and care. Eventually the world at large will face the consequences of having rejected the love of the Father when His hand is lifted.

In the process of facing suffering or putting together the broken pieces of our lives, we usually cannot see what the hand of God is doing. Paul wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

You can’t experience the presence of God during times of suffering and difficulty in measures that you would have never known had you not gone through the deep waters. So don’t close the book on God until you have crossed the threshold. Only then you be able to understand well why bad things happen to good people.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND GOOD PEOPLE II

“Neither this man nor his parent sinned” said Jesus.

-John 9:3

We live in a broken, imperfect world. One of the consequences is that bad things do happen to good people. Yet when we are confronted with this, almost always our hearts cry out, “Why God? Why did this happen to me?”

One of the common answers we hear is that someone really isn’t so good, that the bad thing happened as the result of personal failure or wrongdoing. While this may be true in some cases, that answer don’t satisfy.

We read about this mentality in the book of Job, in one of the oldest of all human dramas. Covered with boils and robbed of his family and possessions by one tragedy after another, Job was alone and grief-stricken. Job’s friends came to comfort him, but their comfort turned into bitter accusations as they said, “Job, why don’t you confess your fault and perhaps God will have mercy.” Even his wife counseled, “Curse God and die.” But he did not die and he struggled with the very issue for days and months.

If it is true that tragedy is punishment, it would also be true that God is unjust and cruel. But have you ever walked through a hospital pediatric ward and viewed some of the tiny babies whose bodies are racked by pain? Are we to think that these innocent babies are being punished for something they have done or their forebears did?

CHRISTIANS ARE NOT PERFECT – JUST FORGIVEN. We have lost sight of the fact that when Jesus died for the sins of the world, He also died for my sins and failures.

When we try to explain why bad things happen to good people in terms of our personal failure, we lose sight of the fact that God does not love me or punish me in terms of my essential goodness. He is love and His nature is to love, not to inflict punishment on me.

BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND GOOD PEOPLE I

“Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”

-Ephesians 1:11

Have you ever struggled with why bad things happen to good people? Sooner or later you are bound to face it.

Is God a loving Father who has a plan and a purpose for His children? Or is He a loving Father who, at times, cannot control the tragic circumstances which strike His children? If He is in control, how do you explain tragedy? Clearly both cannot be true. One reason why Christians struggle with the issue is that our concept of God is much like a blurred photograph. We have never got a clear image of God stamped in our hearts. We can’t think much about God other than in terms of what we need or want.

When we pray, we think little about the nature and character of Him to whom we address our requests. Instead, we are overwhelmed with our immediate needs and problems. Our knowledge of God is secondhand. Our image of Him – rather than being formed by the study of God’s Word – is fragmented, formed from other people’s ideas and thoughts. Then when tragedy strikes, we try to comprehend this situation but don’t have the resources to handle it.

There is no other reason why Christians struggle with the issue. We often attempt to define God in terms of tragedy, rather than a proper understanding of God through the Bible. In light of wars and murders, rapes and violence, tragedy and heartache, we try to reconcile God and evil, and the results are not very satisfactory.

WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE

 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes”

-Revelation 21:4

Why is there evil in the world? Are storms an act of God? Why do bad things happen to good people? Let me begin by relating a story involving a friend of mine.

Ken Grant was on the board of a local FM radio outlet in Quito, Ecuador. Tom Fulghum, then the director of communications walked in and asked, “How are things going?” “Well, I hope it was OK but I gave permission for an announcement to be made over our FM station in Spanish and in English.”

Tom was puzzled because they normally don’t make public service announcements over their FM outlet. Ken continued, “Well, there is a husky blond kid over in our emergency room and no one can identify him. He was hit on the Pan-American Highway over two hours ago. We thought that some parent might be wondering why his child hadn’t come home and hear the announcement on the radio.” Tom immediately thought of his own family and called his wife, “Honey, are the children home?” he anxiously asked. “Becky and Chuck are here” she said “But I can’t imagine where Tommy is,” she said. Tom explained what he feared might have happened. It was his son Tommy who had been the victim of a hit and run accident.

The question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is an issue which primarily confronts Christians rather than unbelievers. This is because we believe that God is fully in control; when things go wrong, our instinct is to blame Him.