How many times have we heard some athlete or celebrity herald this caveat in an attempt to explain why they were injured in a game, cut from the team, not re-signed to a contract, dumped from their TV role or some other equally unpleasant situation? Their disclaimer-on-demand is simply, “Everything happens for a reason… it just wasn’t meant to be.” Amazingly, while they appear to be so philosophical in their response to this crisis, they never seem to tell you what the reason was for their disappointment.
Could it be that they are philosophical imposters and, in reality, are clueless as to what is going on in their world? Their apparent resignation to the situation belies the fact that they cannot say more, because they apparently do not know more. The real tragedy is their smugness that attempts to disguise their naïveté. Even an imbecile can parrot the mantra, “Everything happens for a reason.” What these pseudo-sophic pronouncements accomplish is exactly nothing. They might as well tell us that “Nothing happens for a reason.” If their first statement that “everything happens for a reason” is true, then the reciprocal quote is equally true.
Our biblical view stands in significant contradistinction to that of the psychological concept of predetermination or the religious tenet of predestination. Both of these opinions espouse the ideology that God has scripted every life before it was born with all the bad and good things that would happen. The idea of free-will or “Cause and Effect” seems mostly, if not completely, irrelevant to these so-called pundits. “Que Sera, Sera: whatever will be, will be" is the tune that these proponents march to.
Their view is that over-indulgence or under-achieving have no bearing on our life. The subscribers to these views believe in fate more than faith. They believe it is fate that determines their accomplishments: things are meant either, “To be or not to be,” and that is their lifelong question. How comforting it is to know that God did NOT say according to your fate, be it unto you. It is stated in Matthew 9:29, “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.” Many people today also need their eyes opened to God’s ways. Otherwise, they will fall for the erroneous view of predetermination that their life has been totally scripted by God and nothing they can do will alter their fate.
God has instructed us that faith will trump “fate” and we can play a part in determining what happens in our lives. Faith, preparation, practice, skill, and study all work together to help determine our “fate.” As a world-class professional golfer once said after someone remarked about an amazing putt that he sank to win a tournament, “It’s a funny thing: the more I practice, the luckier I get.” He did not ascribe his victory to destiny, fate, or predeterminism but to the fact that he practices his craft incessantly so he will be prepared for this moment.
Lest we leave these previously mentioned high profile interviewees in some sort of a wisdom wasteland, let us look at their statement and connect the Scriptural dots that these celebrities omit. First, things certainly do happen for a reason. There is most definitely a “Cause and Effect” principle at work in our lives. Most of us focus on the effect and do not have a clue as to the cause. God graciously let us in one of His Kingdom secrets. God states that the cause of all evil is the devil. “Evil” is 80% of his name, and this should convince us that he is our eternal adversary.
Adversaries attack, usually striking quickly, and recoil until another opportunity presents itself. God declared the reason bad things happen to good people is because we all have a “personal devil” who is our archenemy (2 Cor. 2:11). His mission has been defined as, “to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). The “reason” something was stolen is the devil. The “reason” someone was killed is the devil. The “reason” something was destroyed is the devil. God has clearly described Satan’s mandate and we would be foolish to ignore this insight.
By contrast, look at what was written by James, the brother of our Lord. In James 1:17 he states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The Holy Spirit informed us that our Father God gives ONLY good and perfect gifts and He never deviates from His beneficence. God and Satan are both predictable: God always does good, and Satan always does bad.
It does not take a rocket scientist to determine that an overloaded circuit will blow a fuse, an empty fuel tank will stop an engine, the loss of thrust and lift will cause a plane to descend, and too many calories will cause weight gain. These are all part of the discovering, understanding, and codifying of effects derived from the laws of physics.
You will never hear someone who just failed their weigh-in at Jenny Craig’s, or Weightwatchers say, “Everything happens for a reason…it just wasn’t meant to be” Why? Because they KNOW the reason. They failed to control their adversary (their appetite) and it defeated them. They know that the wages of food is fat! This is the primary reason (in most cases where other health issues are not in play) that our waistlines expand. We simply ingest more calories per day than we burn.
The word “philosophy” comes from two Greek words and means “a lover of wisdom.” If we truly love wisdom, why don’t we seek the highest form of wisdom?” That would be the Inerrant Word of Almighty God. Instead of repeating some socially acceptable phrase as we have heard “ad nauseum,” let us use those moments of disappointment or apparent defeat to declare what Paul stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:9. He spoke of “… the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders…” If it falls under the umbrella of stealing, killing, and destroying, God said, “Satan did it!”
While it is declared in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for the good of the child of God, the Holy Spirit stopped short of saying that everything was good. The two poisons that comprise table salt are a mainstay in our diets when they “work together.” Separately, they are not good for us. However, together they work to provide some very necessary chemicals our bodies need. The individual elements of salt are bad for us, but the chemical compound “sodium chloride” is vital to our health.
The next time disappointment or disaster strikes you, do not succumb to the temptation to simply say, “Everything happens for a reason.” Be bold and declare that Satan may have meant it for your harm, but God will mix it with His grace and mercy and use it for your good and His glory. You can rest assured that your momentary setback is not the end of the story.
Satan may have knocked you down, but Jesus will lift you up. As you trust Him, you will see the “good and perfect” showers of blessing flowing from the hand of God. Just as everything bad happens for a reason, so everything good happens for a reason also. The reason for the bad is Satan; the reason for the good is our loving Lord. Be sure to give Him your praise for all the blessings He has freely bestowed upon you.
****A Personal Word to Our Readers from Dr. Frazier****
There are great insights to be derived from the study of the Greek New Testament. Each month I will endeavor to share a nugget of truth from the Book of Truth, God’s Eternal Word.
These will be concise and should not intrude into your time or opportunity to explore the richness of the vein from which they were extracted. That is for you and the Holy Spirit to excavate together. These nuggets are just to let you know where to begin the digging, if you so desire. They are NOT designed to be an exhaustive commentary providing all the answers on the subject. The Spirit will guide you in how deep to dig. Please feel free to share your questions, observations, or insights with our readers and me.
Website: http://www.donfrazier.com
Author: Donald Frazier
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Written: 01/01/2009
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Category: Golden Nuggets
Comments: 1
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Dr. Frazier, I wrote this comment on your first article, so I'll repeat it!
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