Many individuals suffer as a result of others’ sinful acts, but it’s important to realize that suffering can also be seen as a source of strength and resilience.
Example: If someone steals money and uses it to live an extravagant lifestyle, has God given them that blessing? No.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. God is good.
People typically interpret saying God is good as meaning He possesses power–as though speaking creation into existence or making the clouds rain down upon us. Yet when we say, “God is good,” it’s important to note that it refers to His character – who He is in relation to us. Not only powerful, but loving, faithful, kind, and true too! His goodness serves as our standard against which all other things may be judged – it cannot be corrupted or polluted with anything evil such as hatred or envy; thus leading us all closer toward happiness and fulfillment!
God shows his goodness by sharing his righteous laws with humanity, providing guidance for living lives that please and fulfill his plan. Additionally, He blesses those who adhere to these laws and teaches them the joys of obedience and spiritual purity.
However, while God is good, He doesn’t always protect His children from the consequences of their own sinful choices. If someone opts to ignore His warnings then they will suffer for it – though this doesn’t indicate God punishing them; rather it means they’re reaping what they sowed!
God shows His goodness by providing comfort and strength during difficult times. As an all-loving Father, He wants what’s best for His children – even if that means suffering to encourage repentance and their return to Him.
God showed His goodness by offering up His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins. This act demonstrated His all-powerful and loving character – He would rather strike than let His people perish eternally in hell. Furthermore, His grace and forgiveness extends to all who believe in Him; these benefits include giving strength when needed when weak, healing when sick or providing hope when everything seems hopeless.
2. God loves you.
God loves you so deeply that He gave His only Son to die for you. Despite everything you’ve done – be it good, bad, or ugly – He still chose to love you despite everything He knew about your actions – incredible! Understanding this depth of God’s love may help alleviate anxiety about whether or not He still cares for you.
Even those who profess to follow God with all their hearts can fall prey to temptation. David was an example of this. Despite having dedicated his heart and life to following God, he fell prey to adultery and other terrible sins that caused severe harm both to those close to him as well as himself! Sin harms those around you while discordantly disrupting God’s universe – not only that but it causes you to become distant from a holy God which contributes to so much death, destruction, hatred and negativity throughout humanity – something only God could prevent.
God detests sin (Romans 6:3) as it marrs our souls and diminishes humanity’s nobility. Scripture describes sin as something like putrefying corpse; something to take seriously and not dismiss lightly. However, regardless of this terrible reality of life in general and of humankind in particular, He loves you and wants the best for your wellbeing despite this threat called sin – humans being special creatures within creation that He cherishes more than any other.
As part of His great love for you, He shows it by doing all He can to rid you of sin. This includes throwing it behind His back, drowning it in the sea, treading on it beneath His foot, forgetting about it altogether, covering it up or simply taking away. All these acts show He does not wish for your past to dictate the present – only freedom from past memories!
Think of all the broken people God restored through Scripture – Moses, a murderer; Rahab, an adulterous prostitute; King Saul as well as you as an individual sinner – whom He made into something beautiful if they would just trust in Him instead of trying to be their own gods. God can do the same for you if you let go and trust in Him rather than trying to be God yourself!
3. God wants you to be happy.
People strive for happiness, yet we often define it incorrectly. Many believe happiness lies within fulfilling romantic relationships, good jobs, beautiful houses or healthy bodies – these could all be factors in attaining satisfaction with life and pursuing happiness. Truth be told, however, material things alone cannot bring true happiness; as Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes, they only provide temporary satisfaction and will eventually fade away. True joy lies in having an intimate relationship with God. The Bible uses one word to refer both happiness and joy, making it easy to become confused between the two concepts. Happiness is often defined as a temporary feeling based on external factors while joy refers to an inner peace that doesn’t depend on external conditions.
God desires for you to find happiness, but not through sin and unrighteousness. Instead, He desires that you seek happiness through obeying His laws and looking forward to the rewards He promises us. When focused on these goals, hardships of this world become easier to bear while staying focused on Christ–the author and finisher of our faith–who endured suffering to achieve ultimate triumph (Hebrews 12:2).
Sin always has consequences; for example, stealing cookies from the store will affect you financially as well as harm your conscience and relationship with God. God punishes our wrongdoings but He’s also a loving Father; that’s why He offers us an option: Either follow him by repenting of our transgressions or remain stuck in self-pity, anger, pride and rebellion?
Repent of your sins, and God will reward you. He will take away your transgressions just like He did David’s sin; drowned it in the sea, crushed it underfoot and reduced it to dust – showing His goodness and mercifulness along the way.
4. God wants you to be a good person.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, God has already taken care of your sinful behavior (Colossians 2:13); now the task lies with us: living lives that honor and glorify God – this may not always be easy but is necessary if we wish to continue serving him faithfully and maintain His holiness and glory in our daily lives.
Sin is never easy, and one temptation that often arises when we fall into sinful behavior is to cover up our transgressions from others. King David found this tempting when trying to conceal his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:5-13). Unfortunately, covering up your transgressions won’t bring peace; rather it leads to feelings of guilt and remorse that cannot be alleviated by hiding them away from others.
Your responsibility in relation to sin lies with God alone (James 5:16). He does not act like an unjust judge who overlooks injustice – that would be unjust and corrupt! Rather, He takes your sin seriously and deals with it thoroughly; He throws it behind His back, drowns it under water, stomps on it hard enough for its blotting out, removes it altogether and covers over any remaining signs – then cleanses you of its influence in your life.
The Bible teaches that only those who abide by God’s laws will reach heaven. That’s because sin is an incurable leprosy inflicting damage upon souls that cannot be healed until its Creator releases His wrath against it (Jeremiah 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Your salvation must not be taken lightly and sin must be fought off with all of your strength. Doing this will bring trials that strengthen their faith and character – allowing them to be more effective members of Christ’s kingdom. In doing this, trials may come their way that strengthen these attributes further while simultaneously deepening appreciation for God. Their sufferings will benefit others while glorifying Christ – with eternity providing the ultimate purpose behind all trials being shared in God’s holiness through them (1 Peter 4:11; Romans 8:37). Eventually they’ll enjoy God’s goodness and beauty as the ultimate purpose behind all trials!
