Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? This question has plagued the human race as far back as pyramids, chariots and 8-track tape players. In 1981, Harold Kushner even wrote a book about the topic entitled WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. To date, the book has sold over four million copies. That’s how central this question is to people.
The subject has been hijacked by folks who are antagonistic towards God. They’ve reframed the question: If God loves you, why doesn’t He take care of you? They even expand the question into the afterlife: If God loves us, why do people go to Hell?
This small essay is not sufficient in answering it. But let’s try.
The first part of the answer is we live in a fallen world. It’s a world in which Satan temporarily has limited control. Jesus speaks of this in John 14:30: “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
Paul emphasizes this in Ephesians 2:2: “…in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” Later, in Ephesians 6:12, Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
The fallen world also brought forth a world of susceptible sinners, throngs of people who willingly commit many wrongs against others and themselves. The list of potential offenses is as long as a frosty hike across the Antarctica. The list of offenders is as long as—well, it includes the entire human race, so it’s fairly long.
These two truths combine to create an incredibly difficult yoke for the peoples of the world. We are exposed to war, disease, crime, falsehoods. We are susceptible to pride, selfishness, anger, jealousy, insanity, addictions.
Yet God is sovereign over all. Nothing ever happens outside His vision. Nothing ever happens outside His will.
His primary will is to bring us to Him in order to enjoy a perfect eternal paradise, free from Satan, worldly evils and our own sinfulness. To accomplish this, He provides a crystal clear path: Allow my Son to be the Savior of your life. My Son has the power to erase every sin from your life.
His Son simply states, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6) Go ahead—bank it.
His Son also provides a grand result: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Does this mean everyone who puts his faith in the Son will live a trouble-free life? Not at all. Have you heard? It’s a broken world.
But Believers always live in the peace of knowing God has control of everything. Our Lord continually makes lemonade out of lemons in our lives, even when the lemons are putrid.
One of the best blueprints for prayer is found in Philippians 4:6-7. It begins this way: “Be anxious for nothing…” No doubt an absolute. Another absolute follows: “…but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God.”
God’s promise ends the blueprint: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
We believers trust in God’s sovereignty in every situation. Darius, the king of the Persian empire, said it best hundreds of years ago in Daniel 6:26: “For He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion is forever.”
Like, Darius, we Believers whole-heartedly know this truth. We rest in the easy yoke of God’s sovereignty.