Some unusual or difficult events are messages from God. But not all. Some are temptations by Satan. But not all. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes, rain is just rain. Let’s explore the tension of figuring out how our choice and His sovereignty coexist in interpreting the source of those events.
“Rain”
In literary fiction
and sensitive cinema
rain often foreshadows another style of storm striking
one of loss
or doom
maybe pain
perhaps discouragement
this storm soon to follow
should warn the discerning voyeur
Sometimes
rain merely signifies
getting wet
How can we determine the source of unusual or difficult events? Can we? Let me suggest some questions to use to analyze them.
1. Does it match what God has already said in the Bible, either by the act or the likely consequences?
2. Does it match the desires Satan has toward us, that would lead us away from God?
But, even when we thoroughly analyze these, sometimes the acts seem spiritually neutral, we can get no clue as to their source. Sometimes looking back helps, sometimes we’ll never get an answer in this life. We may need to give up on asking unanswerable questions. 😉
But we have another option. Life happens. Coincidences do occur. The events may have no spiritual or greater significance at all.
In New Testament times, many believed that if bad things happened to a person, that person had committed sin, and this was the result. Or, bad things happen because you sinned. Very simply, Jesus destroyed that assumption.
“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish’” (Luke 13:1-5).
Two principles come from this passage.
First, Jesus clearly said in both cases, when people were attacked by soldiers or were killed when a tower fell on them, their sin had no connection to the pain. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Coincidence. Rain was just rain. But, God does give us nudges and shoves in life, have no doubt. And every time bad happens, for whatever reason, he’s still with us and working.
Second, Jesus tells us to mind our own business. They asked Jesus about the sins of others, he said look at your own. Or, let the events work as a mirror, reflecting yourself, and not binoculars, that enlarge the acts of others (by the way, I stole this analogy from one of our pastors, Larry Osborne). When bad happens to us, let’s look at ourselves, what changes we need to make.
One last application: be very careful about claiming that bad acts experienced by others is a judgment from God. We don’t know, and saying God is behind something that he hasn’t said he’s behind verges on taking his name in vain. We see this in interpersonal relationships and in politics. I’ve heard some conservatives claim California’s earthquakes and fires are God’s judgement on liberals, and some liberals say that Florida’s hurricanes are God’s judgement on conservatives. Let’s leave that to God.
Perhaps, when bad occurs, we’d do better to not ask why it happened, just ask how we can learn from it.
PS If this poem speaks to you for its accessibility, for frankly examining life, please consider purchasing a copy of my new book, Outdoor Adventures, Sacred Trails: Poems of a Traveling Man. You can get one at all the major outlets, like Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or a signed copy at the discounted price of $12, including tax and shipping. timriter@aol.com