The Good, The Bad, and the Volleyball

Despite the rumors, I am not a character in the previously posted Superhero story. :) Sad to say, 'tis true.

Last week, we won 1 of the 3 volleyball games we played. We played with 4 players one game, and 5 players the other two games, against 6 each game. Oddly enough, the game we won was when we had 4 players. So maybe less is more. :) We earned 4th place in the league of 8, with a final record of 10-14. Tomorrow starts the playoffs, where we play the 5th ranked team in the league. If we win (and we've beaten this team before), we will (assumably) play the top ranked team in the next round. So we'll see how that all goes.

This weekend, our Bible study group is heading up north, to near the area of Grand Marais, for a weekend at the Adventurous Christians camp. We'll do a little snowshoeing and other snow-related activities. We'll be leaving late Friday and getting back on Sunday. Should be fun.

Now on a slightly more serious note (what fun is that?). Last night at our Bible study, the topic was Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People, which is an interesting topic and created good discussion. Weirdly though, I still have troubles talking and interjecting my thoughts into such discussions, even with people I know very well. I don't really know why. However, here are a few of my basic thoughts on the subject.

1. As humans, we tend to always focus on the negative. We always see the bad sides of a situation, and often fail to see the good sides of it. I honestly believe that God can bring good out of any bad situation, no matter what it is. It's not that God wants bad things to happen, but sometimes those bad things are used to fulfill His will in our lives. We fail to see the big picture. If someone dies earlier than expected, we look at it as a tragedy. Personally, if God's will be done through my death, then I would be happy to lay down my life for His plan. His will is greater than the number of years that I will walk this Earth.
2. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. When in high school, I read a devotional that talked about silversmiths. It referred to Malachi 3:3, which states "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." In the devotional, a silversmith explains his art. He says that he must hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest, in order to burn away all impurities. He says that he must keep his eyes firmly on the silver at all times, for if it was in the fire too long, it would be destroyed. When asked when he knows that the silver is done, he replied "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it." I believe that God puts us in certain situations - including difficult or fiery ones - in order to turn us into the people that He wants us to become. Also, the Bible says to take joy when trials and difficult times come, because God will be using them to shape us. For anyone interested, you can read the entire silversmith devotional.
   
3. It happens other ways too. Though we might not always notice it, but good things also happen to good people. Also, good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to bad people. Basically, life is full of situations that are good and situations that are bad, and you're going to get a mix of them no matter the kind of person you are. Scripture does not say that, once we receive Christ's forgiveness, we will be living on Easy Street. We do not get an Easy Button. Well, maybe we do at some point, but we have to die and go to Heaven first.
4. God is good. He is perfect and just and He knows you better than you know yourself. God will not give us more than we can handle. He will not bend us so much that we are forced to break. I believe that those people who do break did not break because God pushed them too far, but because they underestimated God's power in their lives. Trust in God and know that, no matter how bleak the circumstances look, that everything will always end up okay. God will never forsake us.