Bad Things Happen to Good People

The Christian life isn't all sunshine and roses, but God is with us through the darkest valleys.

This morning as I was driving my kids to school, I recited Psalm 23 to them.

Our drive to school is short, but I find it to be the ideal time to do things like read the Bible and pray. For one thing, their tummies are full of breakfast, and they’ve still got the morning drowsies, making for fewer interruptions. For another, they’re strapped down in their car seats, which means I literally have a captive audience.

No one is jumping up and down. No one is climbing on the coffee table. No one is in need of medical attention because they were trying to do a headstand and fell on the cat who bit them (quite understandably).

So, while my kids are tranquil and restrained, we have our morning devotionals.

This morning, as I was reciting Psalm 23, two lines stuck out to me:

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …

Now, Psalm 23 is what my book editor would call “an embarrassment of riches.” Meaning, there’s so much profound wisdom and valuable information here, it’s hard to zero in on any one primary takeaway. So, rather than approaching the entire Psalm all at once, let’s zoom in on these two lines.

When you pursue righteousness; when you do your best to do the right thing and choose the difficult moral path over the easy-but-compromised one, that’s a sign God is leading you. We don’t have tender consciences because we’re extra smart. We don’t have moral courage because we’re Super Christians. Rather, when we find ourselves walking “in paths of righteousness,” we can take great comfort knowing that our salvation isn’t dependent upon our own wisdom, but upon the God who is leading us. It’s God who leads us to do the right thing. It’s God who is drawing us to follow after Jesus.

Why is God leading us? Because God is good. God is faithful. As he told Moses, “I Am who I Am” (Exodus 3:14). As Paul told Timothy, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13) He leads us in paths of righteousness because we have a Savior and a Redeemer who is righteous. We don’t earn his love. We don’t deserve his love. We have his love because God is Love (1 John 4:8).

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …

Sometimes the path of righteousness winds through dark and low places.

Read that again and let it sink in.

When you find yourself in a bad situation, a dark crisis, a valley of the shadow of death, know that you’re not there because God is punishing you, or because God has abandoned you. Remember, he’s the one who is leading you. Just as Jesus himself experienced, sometimes doing the right thing takes us into dangerous, depressing, and sorrowful seasons.

The Christian walk isn’t all sunshine and roses. Jesus never said it was. Rather, he warns us that we will suffer. We’ll be reviled, persecuted, and have many enemies (Matthew 5:11-12).

In my own past, I’ve had to cut dangerous people out of my life to protect myself and my children. To say that my dad and I have a complex relationship is an understatement. I cannot be an emotionally stable person with him in my life. I cannot trust that he would not hurt me or my kids. Because of this, I have not spoken to him in many years. My children will never know their grandfather. Not going to lie, that really hurts.

And so, I walk through this valley of the shadow of death. It’s the death of my relationship with my dad. It’s the death of my hopes and dreams of what should have been. Most horribly, it’s very likely his spiritual death, because he’s refused to repent or change his ways. God has not led him in paths of righteousness, and so, I can only conclude that God does not lead him at all.

But the path of righteousness requires me to protect my children and guard my heart against evil. As Jesus says in Mathew 5:29, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.”

Just so, if there is a person – even a spouse or a family member – who is causing you to sin, or who is breaking you down psychologically, or who is actively working to destroy your faith, tear them out of your life and throw that relationship away. It is better to lose a loved one than to sacrifice your spiritual wellbeing. It is better to defy evil than to let evil eat away at your hope.

So, no matter what suffering you experience in this life – no matter what your valley of the shadow may look like – know that it’s no sign that you are not loved by God. The path of righteousness sometimes winds through dark and low valleys. Following Jesus means picking up a cross.

Never let anyone tell you that suffering is a sign of weak faith, or that hardship is God is teaching you a lesson. Sure, God teaches us. That’s what the Bible is for. But when we suffer – when we walk through those dark valleys – God is right there with us, walking alongside us, much like he walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve before sin ever entered the world.

Remember?

He leads us.

He leads us in paths of righteousness, down through the dark valleys, but then up the mountainside and into his Heaven of peace.

Much love,

Jenn

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The social media preview image for this edition is by Mohamed Almari.