I saw a program where a journalist was investigating a faith healer and she interviewed people believing for healing. She said one man had no reason to believe in God and it really took me aback. How could she make such a bold statement? She said that the man had encountered numerous problems, including a series of accidents which seemed unfair and left him severely impaired. By her reasoning a person who'd encountered a life of such trouble would not have reason to believe in a good and loving God. Her point of view reminded me that people who are not born again are going to have the worldly view that a loving God will not let bad things happen to His followers. But God is love, not candy, and the reason we have so much trouble in the world is because God gave it to us and this is what we did with our free will (plus a very real enemy prowling around) - but that's another can of worms.
1 John 5:4 tells us that everyone born of God overcomes the world, and that is true. But it's easy to perceive overcoming the world as avoiding all trouble and problems and getting what you want when you want it. God told us plainly that we would have trouble in the world. Overcoming the world means not letting the world get in you. It means responding as Christ would respond when trouble comes. It means having joy despite your circumstances. It means loving the very people who mistreat you.
That journalist could see that the disabled man had been through many trials but she couldn't see how God brought him through them all. She didn't know how many times God comforted the man, wiped away his tears, and was a friend closer than a brother. She became very involved in the man's journey, and even cried when he didn't receive the healing that he'd prayed for and desperately wanted. She was so sure that the man would be devastated, and she feared for him. When the man didn't receive his miracle (yet, he still has faith it will happen in God's timing), he saw that the journalist was distraught and he immediately began comforting her and praying for her. It was his love, not a miracle, which confirmed him as a disciple of Jesus. The woman came away with a different attitude. She had been truly impacted by her encounter with the man. She said she no longer thought there was such a thing as false hope.
God's Beloved, God does give us favors and miracles and protect us from harm. But there are also times of trouble, and it's our love for others that will prove that we belong to Him.
