The Good News About Bad News
I’m no stranger to bad news. Believe me. Live long enough, and you’ll get your share of bad news too.
I don’t want to slap a happy face on bad news either. Some news is simply awful. Life is hard. Anyone who reads Job, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, or plenty of other passages understands that suffering is real, and it’s okay to buckle under the weight of suffering. The Apostle Paul himself spoke of suffering so much that he despaired of life itself (2 Corinthians 1:9).
This world isn’t the way that it should be.
The Christian message is not that you should deny the reality of bad news or its impact on you. Scripture is surprisingly about how bad this world can be, and its effect on us.
The Christian message doesn’t deny the reality of bad news, but it does give us some good news about bad news.
Specifically, it reminds us of three things that are true for those who know Christ.
God is With You
It doesn’t matter what you go through. You won’t be going through it alone. God himself has promised to be with you. He never turns his back on you even when you go through the worst circumstances.
It seems that some of the recipients of the letter written to the Hebrews may have been worried about money. Maybe they faced financial hardship because of their commitment to Christ.
The writer told them to cultivate contentment with whatever they had — no easy task then or today. It’s always easy to want more, to worry about the future, to fear bad financial news, and to want a more comfortable life.
The writer quoted Psalm 118:6 to his readers: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Talk about a profound truth. No matter how hard things get, you can count on God’s active presence in your life. This can bring us confidence no matter what we go through. As the writer to the Hebrews continues, “So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
One day you will face your ultimate trial alone. No one will be able to walk with you when you die. Even then, God won’t abandon you. You can count on his presence then, just as you can count on his presence now no matter what you’re going through.
God is Using Your Trials
God also uses what we go through — even the worst of what we go through — for our own good. Somehow, God is able to take the worst situations and bring some good out of it. Actually, a lot of good.
James wrote:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)
God uses our trials for our ultimate good. That’s why so many who go through trials eventually say that they wouldn’t want to go through them again, but they are grateful for them because of what they learned. I wouldn’t trade some of what I’ve gained from trials for the comfort I missed. God uses our trials for our good.
Your Trials Will Be Worth It
Somehow, our trials will one day be worth it. 2 Corinthians 4:17 never fails to encourage me: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…” Our afflictions right now are light and momentary compared to what George Guthrie calls the eternal tonnage of glory that’s waiting for us one day. It’s like our small trials prepare us for glory that’s we can’t even imagine now. It will all have been worth it.
The Bible doesn’t deny the existence of hardship. It doesn’t tell you not to feel honest emotions. But it gives us good news about bad news. God is with you, and he won’t abandon you. He will use your trials; they’re never without meaning. What you’re going through now is preparing you for a future you can’t even imagine.
Hold on to this good news whenever you receive bad news.
