“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able…” –
1 Corinthians 10:13
There’s a great question about which most of us wonder from time to time. It became the title of Rabbi Harold Kushener best-selling book, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Although his book painted a much smaller God than we know, it still was helpful to many people.
But, taking into account the scripture verse for today (this would be a good time to read it, if you haven’t!), there is also a great Bible story in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3, of three Hebrew boys who refused to worship the idols of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Even though they were threatened with being thrown in a furnace, they held fast in their devotion to God. Their response: “God can spare us from the fiery furnace; He has that power. But, even if He does not, we’ll never serve your gods or bow down to your statue.” Were they afraid? Yes. Was it a little warm in the furnace? You bet. But, they chose to trust God even when it made no earthly sense to do so. And, much to the amazement of their captors, God repaid their faith and they were not harmed by the fires in that furnace.
Now, to be sure, bad things will always happen to good people. Adam and Eve made sure of that when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. But God will never take us through a time of testing that is too tough for us to deal with. No matter how difficult your trials, you can count on His promise. Not one situation is too great for us to face with the power of God. He will give us a way to endure it, to resist it, or to get through it.