The Difficulty of Bad News

Having already suggested the difficulty of identifying good news, I would like to muddy the waters.

And we know that God works all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

How is that for clear as mud? We already know that it's easier to identify "bad" than good. Now we have this word from Paul. God works all things together for good. Just when you thought you figured out what was bad, I confused you with "But do you recognize what is good?" And then, while you're mulling over what is good, God says that He works everything for good.

Let's look at some unlikely examples. Starting in Genesis 37, Joseph angers his brothers with his dreams. They turn on him, planning first to kill him, then moving instead to sell him as a slave. Joseph has a tough time of it. He served well in Potiphar's house, only to get falsely accused of attempted rape. He spent years in jail, forgotten by people who owed him a favor. Then, one day, he ended up in front of the pharaoh. He interpreted a dream and wound up as Egypt's number two man. When it all came to fruition and Joseph's brothers found themselves at their brother's mercy, he told them, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20). You see, God causes all things to work together for good ... even evil men's evil intentions.

Or how about the story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab (1 Kings 22)? The evil King Ahab asked the good King Jehoshaphat to join him in a battle against his enemies. Jehoshaphat agreed, but wanted to verify that God said they should go. Ahab assured him that all his prophets said it was God's idea. Jehoshaphat asked, "Don't you have any real prophets?" "Oh, sure," Ahab said, "but he always says mean things to me." "Let's ask him." Ahab sent for Micaiah and his errand boys told Micaiah, "Tell the king what he wants to hear." So Micaiah told Ahab, "Go to war." And Ahab wasn't impressed. "Tell the truth!" "Okay," Micaiah said, and proceeded to tell of a vision of a gathering in heaven. God told them He wanted Ahab to die in battle. Someone said, "I will entice him" (1 Kings 22:21). "So," Micaiah concluded, "the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you" (1 Kings 22:23). This is not what one would consider a "good thing". God did. Ahab, believe it or not, dies by a "random" arrow (1 Kings 22:34) and God accomplished what He intended.

Then there is God's statement in Isa. 45.

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things (Isa. 45:5-7).

This is a God who claims to create calamity. He doesn't sidestep the issue. He doesn't deny it. He claims it.

God, then, uses the evil intentions of evil people for His good. He uses lying spirits for His good. He actually creates calamity for His good. What, then, is "bad"? He works all things together for good. Is the "bad" getting more difficult to identify? You have to wonder if we have any reasonable concept of "good" and "bad".