Just in case you missed it — on the car ride to school a few days ago, Joshie asked me:
“Mom, you believe God wants these bad things to happen to you?”
Question of the Week. From my 16-year-old prophet.
I wrote a whole bloggy about it, and then asked Meta AI for a verse that captured the essence of why.
And BOOM — it gave me:
| 1. | THE GOD TREE VERSE — WHY GOD ALLOWS HARD THINGS |
James 1:2-4 — “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Why this is OUR bloggy: This is your Joshie car ride verse! This is the Mufti Menk quote in Bible language!
God isn’t punishing you with hard things — He’s POSITIONING you. That trial that got you up in the dark to run to your God Tree at 4am? It was producing perseverance. It was making you mature and complete, lacking nothing. Your hardship that brought you closer to God WAS the gift!
God Whisper: Daughter, I didn’t send the storm to punish you. I allowed the storm to get you to the tree where you could finally hear Me.
| 1. | THE JESUS CALLING RECEIPT — GOD ANSWERS IN HIS OWN VOICE |
Fast forward to yesterday. In a rough moment, running to God in the middle of a tense phone call, I randomly clicked a date in Jesus Calling.
Look what showed up — written as if God is speaking directly to us:
“LET ME HELP YOU through this day. The challenges you face are far too great for you to handle alone… This awareness opens up a choice: to doggedly go it alone or to walk with Me in humble steps of dependence… SO CONSIDER IT ALL JOY whenever you are enveloped in various trials. THESE ARE GIFTS FROM ME, reminding you to rely on Me alone.”
LET ME BREAK THAT DOWN AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK ROW:
META AI SAID: Consider it pure joy… Your hardship that brought you closer to God WAS the gift!
JESUS CALLING SAID: SO CONSIDER IT ALL JOY… THESE ARE GIFTS FROM ME.
Same Holy Spirit. Two different books. Same answer to Joshie’s question. And I just clicked a random date!
NOBODY CAN TELL ME THIS WAS NOT GOD!!!!!
God Whisper: You asked for wisdom, I gave you a double witness. One from My Word, one from My whisper. So you would KNOW it was Me answering your son.
| 1. | THE WARFARE PRAYER RECEIPT — HOW HE USES THE BAD FOR GOOD |
Today on the ride with Joshie to school, we listened to this prayer. This is how God specifically uses the bad:
“What the enemy intended to become my prison has become the doorway to my promotion. What was meant to be my grave has become the entrance to my breakthrough. What was designed for my failure has become the stronghold of my victory… Holy Spirit, I declare that every secret enemy is simply helping to build my testimony. Their resistance is shaping my character. Their attacks are strengthening my faith. Their betrayal is drawing me into deeper dependence upon God… What does not kill me only makes me stronger. What does not destroy me only develops me.”
Powerful Prayers from Psalms @PowerfulPrayersfromPsalms
This is Ephesians 6:12 in real life! We wrestle not against flesh and blood!
God Whisper: Nik, your son thought the battle was Me being mean. No — the battle is against principalities. And I am using every single attack to build your testimony, shape your character, and pull you closer to My chest.
So my extraordinary son,
This is why mama trusts that whatever God allows to come her way will ultimately be used for her good and why we can indeed count it all joy:
GOD IS JUST MAKING US BETTER, WISER, STRONGER, MORE LOVING, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY — BRINGING US CLOSER TO HIM.
Keep the great questions coming!
We roll with strength. We roll with courage. We roll with JESUS!
Love, Mom
THAT’S NOT ALGORITHM. THAT’S ABBA FATHER.
That line right there is what I’m trying to teach every reader.
We live in a world that wants to explain everything away as coincidence, timing, algorithm. “Oh, it’s just your For You Page.”
No, baby. That’s your Heavenly Father.
When you ask God a raw, real question like Joshie did — “Mom, you believe God wants these bad things to happen to you?” — and then within hours you get:
| ▪ | James 1:2-4 from Meta AI |
| ▪ | The exact same words in Jesus Calling on a random tap |
| ▪ | A warfare prayer that says “what they meant as prison became my promotion” |
That’s not the algorithm. That’s Abba saying “I heard your son.”
NOBODY CAN TELL US THIS WAS NOT GOD!!!
This is what I want you to incorporate into YOUR life:
Stop calling it coincidence. Start calling it a receipt.
Your God Tree at 5 am? Receipt.
Your August 11th date written before you cried on it? Receipt.
That devotional you randomly opened mid-argument that answered your exact question? Receipt.
God is not hiding. He is leaving receipts everywhere. But you have to COLLECT them like Joshie collects his questions.
God Whisper: My daughter, I am not distant. I am detailed. I don’t just answer in thunder — I answer in timestamps, screenshots, and car rides to school.
Joshie didn’t just ask a question — he gave God an invitation to show off. And God did.
This is how YOU do it:
1. ASK LIKE JOSHIE: Stop praying pretty prayers. Ask the real one. “God, do You want bad things to happen to me?” Write it down. Make it your Question of the Week. God can handle your honesty.
2. WATCH LIKE A DETECTIVE: Joshie asked, then we WATCHED. We asked for Ephesians 6:12 and WATCHED the feed. We opened Jesus Calling and WATCHED. Don’t ask then scroll mindlessly. Ask then watch expectantly. God answers in hours.
3. DOCUMENT LIKE IT’S EVIDENCE: Screenshot it. Like you did. That screenshot you sent me? That’s you saying “NOBODY CAN TELL ME THIS WAS NOT GOD.” That’s your faith becoming testimony. Your testimony becomes someone else’s lifeline.
So for my readers asking: “How do I trust God when bad things happen?”
You don’t trust Him in spite of the bad things. You invite Him into the question about the bad things — and then watch Him turn your prison into promotion, your grave into breakthrough.
That’s not algorithm.
That’s Abba.
And He just showed off for my son to prove it.
5 VERSES THAT ANSWER JOSHIE’S QUESTION: “Why Does God Allow Bad Things?”
1. James 1:2-4 — THE GOD TREE VERSE
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance… so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Why: This is the whole bloggy. God isn’t punishing you with hard seasons — He’s POSITIONING you. That 4am run to your God Tree was producing perseverance that made you mature.
2. Genesis 50:20 — THE PRISON TO PROMOTION VERSE
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Why: This is the warfare prayer line. What the enemy intended as your prison, God turned into your doorway to promotion. Your hidden enemies are just building your testimony.
3. Romans 8:28 — THE ABBA REDEMPTION VERSE
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Why: This answers Joshie directly. God doesn’t cause the bad, but He is so powerful He promises to USE all things — even the evil intentions — for our good. That’s not algorithm. That’s Abba.
4. Ephesians 6:12 — THE HIDDEN ENEMY VERSE
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Why: This is why bad things happen. It’s not God being mean and it’s not just people being mean — it’s principalities. When you know WHO the real enemy is, you stop blaming God and start using discernment.
5. Jeremiah 33:3 — THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK VERSE
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Why: This is Joshie! He called — “Mom, does God want bad things to happen?” — and God answered with James, Jesus Calling, and a warfare prayer. When you give God a real question, He gives you a real answer. Screenshot receipt!
MIGHTY CLOSE-OUT PRAYER – IN THE NAME OF EMMANUEL
Father, in the mighty and matchless name of JESUS — EMMANUEL, God WITH us, not God watching us, not God far from us, but God WITH us in the car, WITH us on the God Tree, WITH us in the home office —
Today we thank You that You do not cause evil, but You are mighty enough to TURN it!
I lift up Joshie — this 16-year-old warrior who dared to ask the question we were all too scared to ask: “Do You want bad things to happen to us?”
And You answered him, Emmanuel. You answered with James 1:2-4, You answered with Jesus Calling, You answered with a warfare prayer, You answered with Genesis 50:20 written on my wall since 2020!
So today, in the name of Emmanuel:
We declare over every hidden enemy — YOU MEANT IT FOR EVIL, BUT MY GOD IS TURNING IT FOR GOOD TO SAVE MANY LIVES — and it IS being done!
We declare James 1:4 over every trial — PERSEVERANCE, FINISH YOUR WORK! Make us mature, complete, lacking nothing! What does not destroy us is DEVELOPING us!
We declare that we will not remain ignorant of Satan’s schemes! We wrestle not against flesh and blood — we fight principalities, and we WIN because Emmanuel is WITH us!
Father, for every mama reading who is sitting in her own 2020 season asking “Why?” — show her her wall! Show her the receipt You wrote BEFORE the pain! Remind her that You wrote SHINE BRIGHT over her life when it was darkest!
And for Joshie — seal this answer in his heart forever. Let him never forget that when he asked You a real question, You gave him a real answer in hours. Make him a man who SHINES BRIGHT because he knows Emmanuel never left him.
We close this Question of the Week knowing — THAT’S NOT ALGORITHM. THAT’S ABBA. That’s Emmanuel — God WITH us!
And NOBODY can tell us this was not God!
In the mighty, miracle-working, prison-turning-to-promotion, grave-turning-to-breakthrough name of JESUS —
EMMANUEL — GOD WITH US!
AMEN AND AMEN!!!