Why do bad things happen to good people? A friend passed away recently of a horrible disease. A middle aged couple died in a fiery crash a few months ago. A tiny baby was found to have a heart defect just last week. What is God up to? Why does He allow these things? How do we settle that question in our heart? How do we believe that the God of the Universe is a loving and a good God who cares for His creation as a father cares for his children? There are more questions than answers.
God has told us in His Word that "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." What does this mean? It means we cannot understand His actions and His purposes because He is God and we do not have His understanding. He sees the whole picture--we see only a tiny part. It means we have to have faith--faith to believe that what God says about himself in the Bible is true. He is good, He is loving, He is merciful, He is faithful, He is forgiving. Have I seen evidence of these things in my life? The answer is "yes"--many times over.
Here's the question:
Would you rather believe that the bad things that happen in our lives are just random--that they have no meaning or purpose?
Or would you choose to believe that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows what He is doing? That even though it is painful and impossible for us to understand, God has a higher purpose in our suffering or the suffering of others. Could you dare to believe that something good can come out of tragedy?
It's really an issue of acceptance--some people deny the existence of God because they cannot explain everything that He does. Can we accept the fact that there is not an answer for everything that happens in life? A strong and godly woman, Elisabeth Elliot, penned these wise words: "In acceptance lies peace." May we all find peace in the midst of pain.
