Jesus said a day is coming when the wind and rains will beat upon the house of every man. He’s referring to the unavoidable storm of death. No one can avoid it. No one side steps it. And, turns out Jesus was right—every human being who has lived since Jesus spoke these words has built his house (life) until the storm came. When the storm arrived the foundation of the house (or life) was revealed—rock or sand.
Jesus finished His most famous sermon—the Sermon on the Mount—with a comparison contrast of several things—the two roads (one leads to life, the other, destruction), the two trees (one produces fruit, the other, nothing), the two foundations (One withstands storms the other cannot). We all have a choice as to which direction, tree, and foundation we will go with.
Why do I share all this? Because of a larger, more troubling question that each one of us has at one time or another—why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Can’t God stop the devil if He wants to? Yes, and one day He will. However, for now, He allows storms to arise that will test our focus, foundation and fruit—so that we may know beyond any doubt where we actually stand.
Consider the following true story…
Years ago, East Coast cod fisherman had such an enormous demand on cod fish that they began shipping it out frozen all across the USA. Almost immediately, however, they discovered an issue—In the freezing process, the cod was loosing it’s flavor. To fix this, they began shipping the cod ‘live’ in salt-water tanks. The fish arrived okay, but they tasted spongy and soft. For several years this stumped the fisherman—they had no idea what to do.
Then, someone had a brilliant idea—Keep shipping the fish in the salt-water tanks with one minor change—throw in some catfish as well. Why? Because catfish are natural enemies of the codfish. Therefore, during the entire journey to wherever they were being shipped, the catfish chased and generally harassed the codfish.
Result?
The codfish arrived (the one’s that lived, that is) more flavorful than ever and fetched premium prices at market!
Seems the catfish were necessary to keep the codfish moving, thereby enhancing their texture and flavor.
Now, try to view the storms of life through this lens. Because God wants the very best for you and I—both now and in eternity, He will allow an occasional catfish (storm, trial, pain, hurt, etc.) to come into our life (tank) and chase us around for a little while.
The alternative? Sadly, we see this all too often with believers today. They sit around and get all soft and mushy. That’s not the adventurous (John 10:10) life that Jesus came to bring!
So God allows the tests to keep us sharp and to mold us ever more into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Take heart though. He will not try us beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13) and He will be at our side the whole time (Matthew 28:20).
So, if someone told you following Christ Jesus would be a cake walk where you could be assured of health, wealth and prosperity—they lied to you. But the real deal is better. You get God!