“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”  Genesis 50:20

When starting a new support group, I ask participants to define a few words.  Two of those words are good and bad.  A quick search provided the following:  good – “to be desired or approved of”; bad – “of poor quality; inferior or defective” and “not such as to be hoped for or desired; unpleasant or unwelcome”.  The synonyms are more direct with words like healthy, fine, sound, fit, robust, sturdy, strong, and vigorous versus substandard, poor, inferior, unsatisfactory, inadequate, unacceptable, imperfect, defective, faulty, and miserable.  These are consistent with participants’ responses.  Admittedly, for a significant portion of my life, I would have agreed with these definitions.   However, God has brought me to the place where I understand that, in our haste to categorize, we are often missing two key components: complete information and perspective.  Specifically we often lack all of the finer details and regularly forget the eternal perspective which can significantly change our overall view of any given condition, situation or trial.  In that light, my health may be substandard, poor and inferior, but I would not classify my situation bad.

Thanks to the ministry of others and God’s grace, Joseph (the son of Jacob) is a new found hero of mine.  As a quick refresher, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and spent 13 years in slavery and prison.  When Pharaoh had an uninterpretable dream, Joseph was called to assist.  With God’s guidance, he explained the dream and was elevated from prisoner to second only to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt.  When his brothers came to buy grain and he eventually revealed himself to them, they were terrified.  Yet he sought to calm them by telling them that “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”  At the end of his difficult ordeal, God graciously allowed Joseph to see God’s hand at work in his circumstances and happily accepted the trial as a good thing. Sadly, his brothers had trouble accepting this truth as reflected by the fact that, at the death of their father 17 years later. Joseph had to remind them that “what they meant for evil God meant for good”.  So why is he a new hero of mine?  Because, I can relate to him for several reasons:  his circumstances changed quickly; he endured difficulty for a significant period of time without knowing why; his integrity was attacked; he understood that God’s greater purpose was worth his personal pain; and his story encourages me to endure and hope because God is in control.

Unfortunately we often have trouble identifying with biblical characters because we’ve heard the stories so much that we forget that they are human beings that didn’t know how things would turn out.  Therefore, let me give you a few personal examples.  For perspective consider that I’m your average sinful human who is often a slow learner.  First, my illness is rare.  I waited for two years to be diagnosed and still there is not real treatment plan.  In fact, most doctors are not very experienced with respect to my illness.  However, it is the complexity which has caused so much frustration that God used to allow my disability to be approved.   Second, in 1992 my wife lost her job shortly after we bought our home.  Because there were limited opportunities in our local area related to her field, it would be nearly a year before she secured a new permanent position.  During that time God provided contract work through my employer which allowed great flexibility in her schedule.  It would be years before we would look back and realize that God used that situation to allow her to accompany me and care for me through surgery and diagnostic testing.  Another was losing my job shortly before I had to quit working.  While the circumstances of that loss were quite difficult to overcome, God used that change in employment and the timing of it to provide long term disability insurance.  Further, in that job, God provided a godly supervisor who witnessed my struggle and suggested that maybe it was time to end my career.  That change was readily supported by my wife and doctors and has opened up the door to ministry.  In addition to the specific provisions, God has also used these and other difficulties to teach me: to rely on Him; that I need to be open to instruction; endurance is worthwhile; and to look for God at work.

Even after sharing these and other events with people looking for answers, there is still a reluctance to accept hardships as good.  My short list of reasons is as follows:  bad theology, forgetfulness, distraction, envy, and refusal/bitterness.  Theology is an issue because many believe that faith in God will provide a comfortable life.  Nowhere does scripture teach that our relationship with God will provide financial or physical comfort.  In fact 2 Corinthians 1:5 warns us that we will share in the suffering of Christ.  Further, if that were true, we would not need passages like Romans 5 and James 1 to remind us how to view and handle the challenges in life.  Forgetfulness is an issue because we often fail to recall God’s promises and that He, in fact, has a plan for us.  This may be due to a lack of attention or our souls or it may be related to the fact that we get so distracted by our symptoms or other difficulties, that we lose sight of them.  Akin to distraction is envy.  In short we want a “normal” life.  We see people that we believe have an easier time and we become jealous.  However, often, like many illnesses, their battles are there but are invisible to us.  Refusal and bitterness are the worst.  When we refuse to accept God’s will for us and become bitter, we separate ourselves from God by putting up a wall and deprive ourselves of His comfort.  Further, whether verbal or behavioral, our attitude sends a message to the world that God is not: sovereign, good or trustworthy.

So…how do I define good and bad?  I look at it a lot like surgery, that is, what was the end result.  We all accept that surgery will involve pain, but the final outcome determines whether we label it successful or unsuccessful.  With that consideration, I offer that good is what draws me closer to God.  Whether it is through adoration, dependence, joy or sorrow, if it moves me to a more intimate relationship with Him, it is good.  Bad is what draws me away from God or puts a barrier between us.

In closing, let me leave you with a few passages to consider for encouragement.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16

O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!  Psalm 34:8

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.  Romans 8:6

And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  Luke 12:22-23

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.  Psalm 103:19

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.  2 Corinthians 1:5

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.  Psalm 9:10

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.  Psalm 103:13-14

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:2

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:37-39