Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen ??
We hear this question or something similar so often . I think it’s time that question was answered in a way that the average person can understand. I am going to attempt to answer this complex question in lay man’s terms. Not from a religious point of view as much as from an every day good old boy’s point of view. Now this good old boy has had a running debate with God for some 53 years now. He has spent a great deal of time being critical of God’s actions or actions he assumed were God’s. He has blamed God for just about every trial and tribulation Life has handed him but also has thanked God for His help in over coming those trails and tribulations. Sounds very confusing doesn’t it ? It is confusing. That’s the running debate. God why are you doing this to me ? Please help me God ? Thank you Lord for helping me through this. Lord please guide me ? Now why would God cause us to suffer and then help us when we are suffering ?
I was walking with my two year old grand daughter at the edge of a very deep pond on our property. I remember thinking the pond would be a concern as she became older and roamed the property more freely. I picked up a rock and threw it in the water. Of course she wanted to throw a rock in the water too. So I found her a rock and with a wild throw her rock fell just short of the water. In her enthusiasm she ran to the edge, picked up the rock and this time threw it into the pond. I said be careful don’t fall in but I knew she would and I would be there to save her. In that brief moment in time I had without hardly thinking decided to let her fall in. Why ? Because I knew if she fell in it might prevent her from being careless when no one was there to help her. I knew that the brief moment of fear now might help her avoid an accident in the future. She is my grand daughter and I love her but I was willing to let her fall in the pond to teach her a lesson that might save her life later. I tell you this story to ask you this question. Would God be any different with us ? Couldn’t there perhaps be times where God in His wisdom would let us suffer to teach us a lesson and prevent us from some greater harm ? The answer has to be of course He would .
I received a phone call from a customer and friend who said he needed to talk to me. He was mourning the loss of a loved one and couldn’t understand why God had let that person suffer so . I picked up a friend and went to visit the gentleman who called. We discussed life in general and God’s part in it until 2am. He told me his loved one was a true believer who had suffered terribly before passing. He said he could not understand why God would let that happen.
Here is what I told him. So many people think God is to blame for everything. You can not believe in God and not believe in the devil. We know suffering is one of the devil’s greatest tools just read the book of Job in the Bible. I said to my friend. Your friend’s suffering before he died was Satan’s last desperate attempt to get him to give up his faith. You see there is a battle taking place here on earth and it is a battle for souls. Suffering brought about by God is designed to make us stronger by over coming but suffering inspired by evil is designed to make us give up our faith and disown God. You see God gave man the freedom to make his own decisions. We can chose to have God in our lives or not. Jesus says “I stand at the door and knock” . You have to chose to let Him in. So in my opinion there are many types of suffering in this old world how you handle that suffering determines who you become and how you developed spiritually. For Christians it is all about life after death. Do You Believe in God ?
One last thought. This is not about Church. This is about faith. I believe what the human mind can believe the human mind can achieve. I believe believing in God makes Him real and belief combined with faith is the greatest power in the Universe. I believe if everyone in the world believed in a good and loving God and had faith that He existed. That one common belief and faith would make God real and mankind could and would conquer the Universe. You see the great debate about God’s existence is not as important as believing. For if you believe He exists He does and your faith makes Him real. Christ said “The kingdom of God is within you.”
Thanks and God Bless
Larry Matthews
June 16th 2010
