Why Does God Allow Tragedy in Our Lives?

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First, why do bad things happen to good people?

Because we live in a fallen, sinful and suffering world (see Genesis 3).

The Bible says that God created the earth without sin. He had great plans for it. Adam and Eve had a great time in the Garden of Eden. I imagine they lay around in hammocks, soaking in the sun, eating grapes, and sipping pomegranate nectar. But when they rebelled against God, the earth itself was cursed. Suffering had entered the scene. Satan took control of this fallen world. Adam had to weed weeds and burn under a hot sun. Camelot disappeared.

Immediately after sin entered the world, God devised a plan that would one day culminate in restoration and no more suffering. Jesus would come to redeem the world from sin by sacrificing Himself on the cross, and, according to the Book of Revelation, He will eventually restore the world to God’s control. Suffering will stop, and peace will prevail. 

But until that occurs, bad things will continue to happen to good people.

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Second, the purpose of suffering is to shape us to look like Jesus.

Consider, J, that all you have endured was designed and/or allowed by God to fashion you to look more like Jesus! For non-Christians, suffering is for nothing. For Christians, suffering is for Someone. In other words, God uses suffering to mold us to look like Jesus. 

How we respond to our trials makes all the difference in the world. When we suffer, we can get bitter, angry, or depressed. Or we can say, “Thanks, God, I know that You will use even this to help me look more like Jesus.”

Let me share several passages for you to ponder:

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:7-11).

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10). 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30). 

Notice in the last passage that the “good for those who love God” is to be “conformed to the likeness of his Son.” Respond properly to pain; God is in the business of making us more like Jesus.

Brie: Dad has challenged thousands of Christ-followers to pray a simple—but absolutely terrifying and transformative prayer: “God, make me a spiritual mother or father at any price.” 

If we want to be like Jesus, if we want to fulfill God’s ultimate purpose for our lives, if we want to honor Him fully, we will have to endure the suffering He endured. James 1:2-4 describes this process clearly: 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Ponder this with me for a moment. It takes trials to make us look like Jesus. Are you willing to endure them? Are you open to praying that prayer? Be sure you count the cost.

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Third, we will only understand the workings of God when we see the big picture.

Roger: In Psalm 73, Asaph struggled just like we do. He was serving God and was frustrated because his ungodly neighbors were doing better in life than he was. Asaph even wondered whether or not he was wasting his time in following God. He was sick and tired of the God he had followed since childhood. But then he went to the synagogue and saw what was really going on behind the scenes:

This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth.

Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak thus, “I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:12-26).

I love Psalm 73. Do I dare tell you that during my doubting period, I preached for several years and wasn’t sure that there was a God. Thank God for this Psalm. I knew that the Bible teaches that when the Word of God is proclaimed, it will be strong and powerful. I could still preach with integrity, because that’s what Asaph did during his angry-doubting period. God told him to keep his mouth shut about his doubts and keep on preaching while he was working out his issues with God.

Brie: It's normal to doubt, rationally and emotionally. But walking in faith can be a rational decision, choosing to obey God outside or even in spite of our emotions and doubts.

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Fourth, God has not promised to remove all suffering from the earth, but to help us find victory through the power of Jesus Christ.

Roger: Lying in a hospital bed the night before major surgery, I came across Philippians 4:10-14: 

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

For the first time, I began to engage with the fact that troubles were going to come whether I liked it or not. The secret to enduring them is to learn contentment and to find peace even in the most difficult of circumstances. How? Through the poured in power of Jesus Christ.

Brie: Don’t miss that Paul found victory in the company of others who shared their grace and sustenance with him. It is never good to handle pain and suffering alone.

Roger: You shared some of your sufferings in your letter. I shared some of mine at the beginning of my letter to you.

I want you to hear Paul as he described the troubles he had endured in life. We are in good company.

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). 

Brie: How could Paul endure these things with contentment? Because of the power of Jesus Christ and the sufficient grace of God. 

Look at how God works in the following passage.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

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Fifth, the Bible is the best source for telling us what God is really like, not our own wishes or preconceived notions.

Roger: God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you'” (Exodus 3:14).

According to God, He is Who He is. He is operating in a fallen world where things don’t always work out as they should. One day He will retake this broken world from Satan and sin. Until then, He is helping us find power, grace and contentment in a variety of difficult circumstances.

Let me close with this. I loved Albert Fox. He was my mentor during my growing-up years. He taught me to have an appreciation for science and physics—and many other things—and Jesus. Then he got brain cancer. About three weeks before he died, he called me to his bedside and whispered in my ear: “Watch carefully, I will show you how a Christian dies.” And he did. Three months later, he passed on to glory, strengthened and content by the power of Jesus Christ.

Brie: Well, J, I hope you find here a few principles which will help you along in your spiritual journey. May God bless you with forgiveness for how God seemingly has hurt and abandoned you. Perhaps you will begin to look at God more like a partner through life’s struggles instead of One Who disappoints and lets you down.

I am sorry for your pain. Yet, I pray for much better days ahead.

Love, Brie and Roger

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