“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
While my fellow Chiefs fans and I are still mourning our pretty tragic Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, I wanted to share something the devastating loss taught me about God.
For context, I’ve been really chewing on a big theological question for a while.
Why does God let or make bad things happen?
Since I was a child, I understood on a surface level that bad things happen, but I always attributed them to it being the work of the enemy.
But that isn’t the whole story, according to the Bible.
The Bible gives several examples of God allowing bad things to happen.
The male babies who were murdered at the hand of Pharaoh in Exodus chapter 1.
The women suffering from infertility. (Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth, etc.)
The children who are killed because of the sins of their parents. (I think about Korah’s rebellion in Numbers Chapter 19. His whole family ends up being wiped from the planet in a matter of seconds, to include his children.)
The countless people suffering from physical disabilities and impairments, at a time in history when they made you a complete social pariah.
Joseph’s journey through slavery and imprisonment because his brothers were jealous of him.
The way Jesus had to brutally suffer and die for our salvation.
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
I’ve read most of the Bible in the last year (I hope to finish the New Testament before Easter) and the question of God’s goodness has been on my heart the whole time.
(No, it has not been a good feeling.)
I have believed my whole life that God is good and on some atomic level, I just know it. However, these stories have continued to bring this question to the surface of my mind repeatedly.
Like Jacob, I’ve metaphorically wrestled with God over this question for months.
So, I guess now you’re wondering, what do the Chiefs have to do with this?
I’m glad you asked.
Source: https://www.chiefs.com/photos/photos-game-action-from-super-bowl-lix-vs-philadelphia-eagles#ce640b22-5f8f-4389-abc4-bc66d0f6f133
As we drove home from my sister’s house, Bennett was excited about the Eagles’ win (I’m going to believe this is only because they have a cool mascot and my child hasn’t betrayed me already in his five short years of life.) He asked me how I was feeling, noting that I seemed sad.
I told him that I was a little sad that the Chiefs lost, but I would be okay, then made another comment about how “we can’t win every year.”
Bennett had lots of questions and thoughts about this. “Why can’t they always win?” “Losing is boring.” “Losing isn’t fun.” “Why would you want to lose?”
It was in my answer to Ben that I heard God’s answer to me.
“If you always win, it stops being exciting, fun, or meaningful.”
Immediately, my brain went to the theological impasse I’d been stuck in for months and I realized, “If everything is always good, we begin to take for granted the blessings God has given us.”
On the surface, that felt really shallow of a reason for children to die of cancer, women to be infertile, and good people to die young.
But the more I thought about it, I began to see a wider picture.
Have you seen the Disney Pixar film Inside Out?
If you haven’t, *spoiler alert*.
At the end of the film, when Joy rewinds a core memory to just before the memory that was captured, she finds that the joyful memory was born out of sadness. (I’ve included it below if you haven’t seen the movie but would like to know what I’m referencing!)
There is plenty before the event and after the event that I wasn’t taking into consideration.
Without the decree from Pharaoh, Moses wouldn’t have ended up in the palace.
Without the years and years of being barren, the mothers of these miraculous babies wouldn’t have had such strong faith or dedicated their children to God the way they did.
Without the end of rebellious family lines, the entirety of Israel might’ve been poisoned and never entered the Promised Land.
Without the folks who had been blind, deaf, and lame from birth, the miracles of healing Jesus performed wouldn’t have had the same impact or been miraculous at all. Without those miracles and merciful acts, some people may never have met or followed Jesus.
Without the jealous acts of Joseph’s brothers, he wouldn’t have been poised to save their lives at the time of drought.
Without the inhumane punishment and murder of Jesus, people might have believed His resurrection to be staged, the prophesies wouldn’t have been fulfilled, and our sins wouldn’t have been atoned for by the blood of Christ.
In all of these sad and sometimes incomprehensible stories, the Lord brings new life, hope, and beauty from ashes.
In His time, it became beautiful.
Ecclesiastes 3 actually begins with Solomon’s observation that, here on earth, there is a time for everything - to include bad and sad things.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace. ”
I believe every preacher in the world has said, “Not IF, but WHEN, the hard times come…”
After I prayed and thought more about this whole concept, I was reminded of Jesus weeping.
Jesus knew He was about to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead.
He knew it wasn’t the end of Lazarus’ story.
He knew everything that would ever happen to Lazarus from this point forward, and yet, He still wept.
Do you think God weeps?
I never used to think about what God did or how He might react to our toils and trials here under the sun. When I did, I often just assumed He was more like my frustrated parent when they were punishing me, assuming if something bad was happening to me, I was being punished for my sins.
But now, I wonder if every time a child gets sick, or a horrific car accident happens, or lawmakers create policies and laws that could cause harm to His children…He weeps.
Someday, maybe I’ll be able to ask Him, or watch Him, but for now, it brings me comfort to acknowledge that our suffering doesn’t bring Him joy or satisfaction, no matter how much we might deserve the bad thing.
It brings me comfort to know He truly and deeply understands our pain and He knows the joy that follows the sadness.
So if you’re not a Chiefs fan, that’s okay. But if you’ve skipped to the end, just know that for everything there is a time…and the Chiefs will be back to win the Super Bowl again soon.