Free Course: Encounter the Faith & Wisdom of C.S. Lewis!

Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - June 25, 2012

No Exemptions

“For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matthew 5:45)

When a crisis comes into our lives, the first thing we usually ask is, “Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?” At the outset there are no real answers to questions like this. In fact, it is very unlikely we ever will have the answers to the whys of life until we get to heaven.

Somehow in our minds, we may believe that, as Christians, we are exempt from suffering. We just won’t have tragedy befall us. We won’t get cancer. We won’t have spouses ever leave us. We won’t ever have anyone we love die in any kind of accident. We won’t have problems with our kids. But no matter how much we may love the Lord, crises will come into our lives. We cannot control that.

Ironically, people said to me after our son went to be with the Lord, “Why has this happened to you, of all people?” I find that to be a curious question, the assumption being that I get a free pass because I am a pastor. But I live in the same fallen world as everyone else. Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and the unjust (see Matthew 5:45).

So I think it is very important not to make the mistake of always trying to find cause and effect for everything that happens. For example, if something bad happens, we may say, “Well, they were evil, and because of that, this came into their lives.” That may be true.

However, sometimes bad stuff happens, and there is no cause and effect at all. It is simply because sin is in the world. And because sin is in the world, we have aging and sickness and disabilities and even death. But those things never were part of God’s original plan.

Summary sentence: We cannot control the crises that sometimes come into our lives.

Tags: accident, sin, original plan

Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

You can receive, Start! to Follow: How to Be a Successful Follower of Jesus Christ by Greg Laurie, as our thank-you for your financial support of Harvest Ministriesthis month.

To help you do a little spiritual checkup, Pastor Greg has written a book called Start! to Follow: How to Be a Successful Follower of Jesus Christ. In this new resource, Pastor Greg defines what discipleship is and encourages believers to become disciples.

“I thank God for everyone out there who listens to our broadcast and uses our resources, and who has also chosen to be a supporter both prayerfully and financially. Your gift brings relevant teaching from God’s Word through our daily broadcast A New Beginning, our crusades, and our online ministry channel, and this year across our country through Harvest America.

SHARE

Christianity / Devotionals / Greg Laurie Daily Devotions / Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - June 25, 2012