{"id":36499,"date":"2022-07-01T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T11:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skeptic-wants-to-believe-everything-happens-for-reason\/"},"modified":"2022-07-01T11:51:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T11:51:00","slug":"skeptic-wants-to-believe-everything-happens-for-reason","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skeptic-wants-to-believe-everything-happens-for-reason\/","title":{"rendered":"Skeptic Wants to Believe \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The popular Pursuit of Wonder's video considers whether everything happens for a reason. In a fictional piece, a young man contends he has led a good and decent life, but in an instant an earthquake collapses his home and he is hospitalized with serious injuries. He is at a loss as to why.<\/p>\n\n

"I wonder, as I lie here dying in this seemingly reasonless way, what this means. If, I’ve never done anything deserving of such a tragedy, how then could there be any good reason for this event occurring onto me?" He admits his prior beliefs were wrong:<\/p>\n\n

\n

That every time I said, “Everything happens for a reason.” Every time I heard it and believed it. Every time I seemingly found a reason for why something happened to me … I meant that it happened for a good reason. A just reason. I meant that there was some considerate order to the universe, and everything in my story was placed there to allow me to become the winner of it. But how foolish was I to think this? That I was somehow special. Somehow important. And that somehow the universe agreed and gave me immunity from the fact that no one wins this thing.<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In spite of life's chaos and tragedies, the narrator still chooses to believe everything in his life happens for a reason. However, one day the reasons will dry up. "And when this moment comes, there will be no ink left to write a reason for running out of ink. And so, until then, I say I will lie here writing in this hospital bed, revolting against the hopelessness, creating every last reason I can."<\/p>\n\n

You can watch the video here<\/a> (3 mi. 13 sec. – 6 min. 16 sec.).<\/p>\n\n

Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n

The universe can be a frustratingly random place where “accidents happen.” Like Job, people struggle to find meaning in evil events. However, only the Christian has a Father in heaven who “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Rom. 8:28)”<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3464,3621,3861,3920,3934,4167,4168,4373,4441,4442,4748,4752,4906,4919,5152,5178],"tax_ctp_topics":[396],"class_list":["post-36499","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-awakenings","tax_ctp_tags-circumstances","tax_ctp_tags-emptiness","tax_ctp_tags-experience","tax_ctp_tags-faith-circumstances","tax_ctp_tags-hope","tax_ctp_tags-hopelessness","tax_ctp_tags-life-testing","tax_ctp_tags-meaning","tax_ctp_tags-meaning-of-life","tax_ctp_tags-purpose","tax_ctp_tags-questions","tax_ctp_tags-seekers","tax_ctp_tags-self-examination","tax_ctp_tags-theodicy","tax_ctp_tags-tragedy"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nSkeptic Wants to Believe \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/skeptic-wants-to-believe-everything-happens-for-reason\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skeptic Wants to Believe \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The popular Pursuit of Wonder's video considers whether everything happens for a reason. 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