8/7-8/2004 Selected

I Have a Friend Who…
Can’t Understand Why Bad Things Happen
By: Brent Storms

I. Two guarantees in life (besides death and taxes):

1. Everyone _____ _________________suffering at some point.

2. Making sense of suffering is just as hard as _________ ______.

II. There are some Biblical explanations for suffering:

1. Some suffering is simply a result of ______ _______ ______.

2. Some suffering is the result of __________ _________

3. Some suffering is the result of ________________

4. Some suffering is simply the result of _________
____ _____ _______ __________.

If you have friends who can’t understand why bad things are happening to them:

1. Don’t __________them
2. __________ them.

In the end, the only sufficient answer to the question of evil, pain and suffering is that __________ _______ _____ ________________ .

Because of his incredible love for us, God can work through suffering to:

1. Draw Us Closer to ______________.

II Corinthians 7:10 “God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life.”

Proverbs 20:30 “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.”

2. Make Us More Like ______________.

3. Take Us to Be With _______________.

II Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (NIV)

I Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (NIV)

Revelation 21:3-5 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" (NIV)