Take the Good with the Bad

Mantis vs Grasshopper

James 1:17 states "Every good and perfect thing comes from above."  I have heard and even believed for myself that when bad things happen to good people that it must be evil at work in their lives.  Not true necessarily.  Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 says "Consider what God has done:  Who can straighten what God has made crooked?  When time are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other."  It can be a challenge for us to consider that a loving God would allow for bad things to happen to His children but it should be viewed without rose colored glasses.  As a parent, I don't wish harm on my child but I have knocked her in the head more than once when I was moving too quickly or knocked over when I didn't know she was under my feet. God is certainly gracious to give us bad times because otherwise we would be living in a fantasy world.  Adam and Eve lived in the first ever fantasy world.  They did not have to work, had all they needed and were created for each other for the purpose of furthering the human race and being companions for each other.  They were the first perfect marriage as I believe God selected Adams mate so there could not have been anyone better for him.  Still, they made a bad choice and bad things happened to them. Some of those things were consequences of their actions and their choices but others were a result of being outside the perfect place God had created for them to dwell (the Garden).

Solomon says to consider when times are bad.  What a great statement.  Don't be sad, mad, irritated, blaming God, asking why, but consider.  What should we consider about that?  I think just to look at things from different angles and try to understand (which is not always a possibility  why it happened or even consider how you can make good from the bad; the proverbial lemons to lemonade.