“For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” (Proverbs 2:8 NIV)
It’s hard to be thankful for the bad things that happen in our lives. We thank God for our blessings, but how often do we thank him for our problems when things don’t go right? When bad things happen that are caused by the devil and his works, it’s hard to see how they could possibly be used for good. God has a way of turning evil into good when we least expect it. God does not cause evil, but He will use the evil caused by others, including the devil, for His purposes.
What we see as bad things happening to us are sometimes things caused by God. He is not trying to hurt or punish us, but rather protect us. “For He guards the course of the Just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” (Proverbs 2:8 NIV) Take the story of Bob Williams.
When Bob got home from work, his wife asked him, “How was your day?” Bob responded, “Awful! Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong all day. Today was the epitome of Murphy’s Law if it could go wrong, it did go wrong!”
“When I was leaving to go to work this morning the car wouldn’t start, the battery was dead. I called the auto repair shop and they sent someone out with a new battery and got the car running. I was two hours late getting to work. I had an appointment with a client before lunch. Just before I was to leave to go to his office, he called and canceled the appointment. In the afternoon, I had a meeting that ran long and I was not able to get to the bank before they closed. Then, as if everything that had already happened was not enough, there was a big traffic Jam on the way home that added another hour to the time it took to get home. It was a terrible day, nothing went right!
Bob’s wife said, “I am sorry you had such a bad day. Maybe you should pray about it and ask God to let you have a better day tomorrow.”
After dinner, Bob was in his office. He prayed about his day. He said, “God, I don’t know why I had such a bad day, or why you have punished me so. I have been faithful to you. I go to church, read my Bible, and work for a local charity that helps the poor. After Bob prayed, he leaned back in his chair and dozed off to sleep. A little while later he awoke, startled. He went to his wife and said, “I just had the most incredible thing happen. I don’t know if it was a dream or a vision, or what, but God spoke to me!”
God said, “Bob, my loyal servant, you have not had a bad day today, I have protected you from harm.” Bob said, “How did you do that Lord?” God said, “There was a terrible accident on the highway you take to work this morning. People were injured and killed. If you had left at your regular time, you would have been in that accident, so your battery died to delay you and avoid the accident.
I had your appointment canceled to protect you from the elevator you would have taken. It got stuck between floors and if you had gone to the appointment you would have been on that elevator. It took hours before the people could be rescued, so I had the appointment rescheduled to protect you.
I had your meeting run long so you could not get to the bank this afternoon. The bank was robbed this afternoon and if you had been there, you would have been one of the hostages.
The detour you had to take on the way home was because there was a large sinkhole that opened up in the roadway you normally take to get home. A number of cars fell into the hole and people were injured. Had you gone the way you normally do, you would have been one of those cars that fell into the sinkhole.
The things that happened to you throughout the day, that you thought were bad, were actually ME protecting you.”
That evening, Bob turned on the news and each of the things that God had spoken about had actually happened. Unlike Bob, most of us will never know for sure, whether the bad things in our life are a blessing from God or the evil of the devil. We should take comfort in knowing that he will protect us, “For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11 NIV) The next time you pray, take time to thank God for not only your blessings but also for the bad things that have happened in your life. They may be evil, or they may be the works of God to help and protect you. He will always find a way to make something good out of the bad things in life. Like Bob, you must be willing to listen to him.