Why?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I have been asking myself and God this question for a couple of weeks now...since a friend of mine was held at gunpoint, since one of my classmate's dad passed away right before Christmas, since Furman denied me for early decision, to mention a few things that caused me to question.

I was searching the internet, flipping my Bible's dictionary-concordance...I desperately wanted to know why God allowed all this bad stuff to happen. I knew it was because He had a plan but it was that plan that had me tied up in knots.

Jerimiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

According to this verse, it says God has plans to 'prosper' me and not to 'harm' me. So why did He let these kinds of things happen?

I finally, little by little, got the answer.

A few days ago, my friend, Mimi, gave me a book to read (In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day) and I'm about halfway through. It talks about thriving and trusting in God even in the worst situation. One chapter touched on the very question that I was bothered by for so long. The author made kind of a side comment about God letting certain--bad--things happen to us so that once we get through whatever hard time it was, God can reveal more of His glory in the end.

Then in Sunday School, M.M. taught and the lesson was titled "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?" Could he have gotten any closer to the very question I had pondered for weeks? M.M. brought up a good point--if there were no bad times whatsoever, we wouldn't appreciate the good times nearly as much (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

So maybe that's why God let all those things happen right before Christmas, the 'happiest time of year.'