Since really bad things happen in this world, many people think God doesn’t care about their plight. They feel justified in following their own paths without God. But can people really justify their actions this way?
Rather than believing what we feel might be the truth, let’s look at this from God’s perspective through His word. Why do bad things happen and what is God’s answer?
Why do bad things happen: Sin
Human perspective: Bad things happen, so God doesn’t care.
God’s perspective: Bad things happen because of sin, and there is a division between God and man.
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.
Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of asps is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18)
God says humans lie, curse, love violence, and disrespect God. All of us have committed at least some of these wrongs. And from God’s perspective, what naturally happens to people who do these things is “ruin and misery”. It is true that some of our pains are caused by ourselves, because we have made decisions that cause us to be unhappy later on.
Why do bad things happen: Sin is a big deal
Human perspective: These are small mistakes; no big deal.
God’s perspective: Before a holy and righteous God, any sin is unacceptable.
Let’s take a look at how “small” sins can roll into giant ones. The Bible describes in Genesis 34 what happened when a prince named Shechem lusted for a girl named Dinah. Shechem wanted Dinah so badly, he raped her. But he loved the girl and tried to right his wrong by proposing marriage. Dinah’s brothers, however, grew angry after finding out what had happened, and they murdered the prince and the people in his village. In this example, lust turned into rape and anger turned into murder.
How many of us have heard of news stories detailing how someone really “lost it”, went on a rampage and committed huge crimes?
Why do bad things happen: Everyone guilty
God says in His word:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
“The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)
People might say that they can’t help what they have done. But the truth is all of us have willingly and purposefully made some really unrighteous decisions that led to sin. And the punishment for sin is death before a sinless and righteous God.
People might complain that the punishment for sin is too great. However, God is the Creator and we are His creation.
“Has the potter no right over the clay…?” (Romans 9:21)
“Why should any living mortal, or any man, offer complaint in view of his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39)
God’s answer to bad things: Eternal life
Everyone dies because of his sins. But God has provided a way for us to have eternal life and blessings.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus, the righteous Son of God, came to earth and died on the cross. He took the punishment for our sins upon Himself when He died on our behalf. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins are forgiven and made right with God. Even though everyone will eventually physically die, those who believe in Jesus will live on with God in paradise.
So the paradise that was lost, because of our sins, is recovered through Jesus. There will be no pain or death in the coming Kingdom of God. We will have exceeding joy, which no one can take away.
God’s answer to bad things: We have help in this life
But what about suffering in this world?
A lot of the suffering in this world is caused by humanity, such as robberies, rape, assault, murder, etc. Also there are natural disasters that God allows, because we live in a fallen world which He cannot fully bless.
Even so, God helps anyone who does what is right, and anyone who seeks God earnestly will be blessed.
“For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)
Therefore, we should seek God with all our heart. As we strengthen our relationship with God, He will help us with everything else. God encourages us to not be anxious or worry about anything in this world.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
God provides help to all His children. But we also need to do our part by turning away from our sins and following Him sincerely.
God’s answer to bad things: Compassion and abundant life
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
Jesus is our high priest. While on earth, He underwent the hardships of being poor, hungry, and having nowhere to stay (Matthew 8:20). Jesus was persecuted and killed.
Yet Jesus showed a lot of compassion for people, and “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) for His people. God certainly understands our pain, because He suffered Himself. But pain is not all there is to life. God wants to give us abundant life.
Jesus said, “I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). By obeying God, we can experience the fulfilling life He has planned for us on earth. Do you believe this — that God has a wonderful plan for your life on earth?
Q: Why do calamities or disasters happen to certain people?
It is not true that those who suffer certain disasters have sinned more than others. Jesus clarified that when He talked about various calamities that fell on some people:
“Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)
We all suffer because we all have sinned. And even those who are sinless (Jesus) suffered for our sakes.
Q: Isn’t God cruel for allowing very bad things to happen to Job?
Sometimes bad things happen to “good” people. The entire book of Job illustrates this point.
In the book of Job in the Bible, a man named Job lost his children, his health, and everything he had. But he was very devout.
As a test, God allowed Job to undergo these trials. However, after Job was found to be faithful, God restored everything back to him, and blessed him more than before (Job 42:12-17).
From a human perspective, we might think it cruel that God allowed such pain. But let’s dig deeper.
1. Enemies want to harm us but God is in control
First, we have enemies, fallen angels, who rebel against God. These enemies are evil and they want to harm us. But God is greater, and He will not let us be tempted beyond what we are able to bear.
God did not allow the Adversary to do whatever he wanted. God set limits on the Adversary depending on how Job responded. God did not allow all the calamities to befall Job at once. First, God told the Adversary to not touch Job’s health (Job 1:12). So the Adversary struck everything else. Then, God allowed the Adversary to touch Job’s health, but He never allowed the Adversary to cause him to die (Job 2:6).
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Job was tempted to curse God throughout all his suffering. His wife even told him: “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9).
However, Job never did so. He was able to withstand the temptation.
Sometimes God tests His people to build their character. God cares a lot about our character. God wants His people to be like Christ, and to be holy just as He is holy. Without tests and challenges, it’s easy to become complacent and stagnant.
Even in our world in school, there are always tests and quizzes to see if we have truly learned. So it is the same in this life.
“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
2. God has the right to say when we live and when we die
All have sinned and the punishment of sin is death. So every person’s days are numbered. And there were no completely innocent people (including Job’s children). We know from the Bible that Job’s children partied quite a bit (Job 1:4), and Job prayed for them because he worried they might curse God (Job 1:5). Perhaps God prevented Job’s children from committing egregious sins, and thereby took them before they did something really bad and irreversible.
And if Job’s servants who died were devout, then they were also taken to a better place:
“The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from evil,
He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.” (Isaiah 57:1-2)
3. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
God’s thoughts and ways are noble. Even in our world, we consider people noble who suffer for others. Job suffered in a noble way. He did not know it at the time, but God used his suffering to teach billions of people even today (through the Bible) — how to trust God and how to live in a noble way.
Human thoughts are often shortsighted. We simply think: “Oh this is painful. Why do You do it to me?”. But we need to build character. And compared with eternity, the suffering we endure on earth is nothing.
“For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
4. God works everything out for good
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
There was someone who suffered physically more than Job. Jesus told his story in Luke 16:19-31.
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried” (Luke 16:19-21).
Imagine what Lazarus suffered. In all his life, he knew pain and poverty. Yet great was his faith in God that he kept his faith even in such horrible circumstances, so that he is comforted in Abraham’s bosom, who is the father of faith (Romans 4:16).
Again, God used Lazarus’ suffering to help billions to understand how we should also respond to suffering in a noble Christ-like manner.
Compared with helping billions of people and eternal glory, temporary suffering is truly just temporary.
5. God does not want to grieve us
We need to remember that God does not want to grieve us, but sometimes pain is necessary so that lives can be saved.
“Though He brings grief, He will show compassion,
so great is His unfailing love.
For He does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.” (Lamentations 3:32-33)
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
In the future kingdom, there will be no more pain:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'” (Revelation 21:3-4)
So even though there is suffering for now, it was never God’s intent since creation, and He will bring back paradise in which there is no pain.
6. We know in part
For now, God gives each person a choice. We can allow ourselves to be overcome by evil or we can overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Job was not overcome by evil. He did not choose to curse God and die.
What do you choose? To be noble and to seek truth, or to curse God when you suffer?
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:12-13)
So before we blame God for our pain, let us consider all these things carefully, because there are many things we do not see and do not yet understand.
“I know that You can do all things,
And that no plan is impossible for You…
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.” (Job 42:2-3)
Conclusion: We are never apart from God’s love
Remember, through all our pain, God has given us His Son who died for us, and God has given His Spirit to those who trust Him (John 14:16). God’s love also never leaves us.
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?…
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-32, 37-39)
Read Job 39 in the Bible.
Meditate on God’s character.