I know it sounds cliche but God allows certain bad things to happen to strengthen us, to teach us, and (believe or not) to protect us. During all of the bad each of us have been through, if you are reading this, I am 100% certain that you are able to say, "I'm still alive." We could be in a much worse place...like lying in a grave. Everyday we wake up and the devil is out to steal, kill, and destroy our souls. To successfully do that, we must die "not ready." We often complain about the bad things we go through, not recognizing all of the bad things that God protected us from.

The slow old woman driving in front of you who made you late for work/class protected you from being in a fatal car accident ten cars ahead that had your name on it. God put a slow old woman in front of you to spare your life because you weren't ready. You were late for work/class but you get to say, "I'm still alive."

You were abused physically and/or mentally when you were younger (generational curse) but that made you promise to break the cycle. It caused you to desire to be the best father/mother/aunt/uncle/cousin you can be. Yes, you suffered but it made you a stronger person. You work harder and love harder than anyone around you. These incidents have given your children a future with a loving father/mother.

You had a miscarriage the first time (even the second time) because God saw something in your future that you couldn't handle if you had the baby at that time.

The doctor said you couldn't have children. Through this, God wanted 1 out of 2 things to happen:

1. He wanted to strengthen/renew your faith in Him. Even if it took years to happen, He wanted you to believe that you were not barren by the grace and power of God, despite the word of man, so that He can show His power through your faith alone.

2. There's a baby out there that needs exactly what you have to offer in their lives. A baby that isn't biologically yours but someone who will change your life and mentality forever. Someone talented, smart, healthy, and in need of nothing but exactly what you have to offer. A baby that came to give and not to take away. A baby that never would've crossed your mind to take in if you were able to have your own. What a life you and the baby would've missed out on?

God allowed you to fail multiple classes (after you've worked hard and done everything you can do) maybe because college is not where He wants you to be. (College isn't meant for everybody.)

The death of your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancé/husband/wife was something you thought you would never be able to get through, but then God brought someone just as wonderful that makes your heart happy. You can never replace a loved one, but now try imagining life without your "new-found" love, or the future you have planned with him/her, or the baby you two have created.

The divorce that you went through protected you from something much worse that could've happened in the future.

There are so many real life scenarios I could type up for days but the point is, when we're on God's side and He's on our's, everything bad that "good people" go through is actually good. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28. God works for our good, especially in bad situations. Bad situations are ultimately meant to strengthen our faith, to protect us, and to give us a better life. It's not meant to keep us down forever. If it does, it's because we do not recognize God's hand in the situation or His power. It takes strength to have faith in a horrible situation.

God doesn't make bad things happen (don't get it twisted), but He allows them to happen. There are so many things that the devil plans to hit us with, but only some of those things are allowed by God. He knows what we can handle and what we can not. The devil's job is to hit us hard and make us fall, so that we never get up again. So when it is our time to pass, he will have won a few souls. God allows Satan to throw things at us so we can cry out to Him to pick us back up. So we can stand up stronger than we were before we fell. Life is a cycle of falling and getting back up that's never ending until death. As humans we get tired of repetition. We lose faith and that causes us to stay down. And while we're down, the devil continues to hit us with things because his goal is to make us as weak as possible. Which is why faith is so powerful and important. Faith allows us to hope, to love, and to have peace in the midst of chaos. Faith allows us to trust in a being that we can not see. "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1. Faith allows human beings to connect to a spiritual reality. Faith allows us to believe in things we do not and can not fathom. God himself is beyond our mental capabilities. He or the things He does and how He does them is not for us to understand (which is hard for humans to accept). Our job is to just believe and have faith in Him and His ways. Faith allows us to grow stronger so that it will be harder to knock us down each time we get back up. God allows bad things to happen to good people so our faith and reliability on Him can strengthen. We should stop seeing bad situations as a curse, but rather a second chance. God is preparing us for death, so when our time comes we will be standing, leaning on Him, and not down, being pummeled by all of the bad situations the devil threw our way. God allows bad things to happen to good people so that we will be ready.