Why do bad things happen?


Ecclesiastes 3:14 (NIV)
“I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added or taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.”

I get asked often by non-believers, “If there is a God, then why does he let bad things happen?”

I have worked for many different bosses in my life, and I have been a boss as well. There are bosses who are so easy going that no one will take them serious, and they do not discipline their employees, therefore production suffers greatly. There are bosses who are so micromanaging and overbearing that they cannot keep employees, and it is almost as if they take joy in punishing their employees. Then there is that boss who cares about their employees, commands their respect, and takes righteous disciplinary actions when needed. They generate a healthy level of fear knowing that there is the possibility of punishment. The latter is the boss every “good” employee wants to work for. The sluggards will prefer the first and no one really wants the second.

I believe God is the type of “boss” that everyone wants to work for. Everything that God does in our lives, he has a purpose for it. He cares about every one of us, and he alters how he “manages” us depending on our needs. But at times he needs to make known his power and authority for some to “straighten up.”  There have been multiple studies that show that after a natural disaster or a grave tragedy (such as 9-11), church attendance spikes. God has to stimulate a certain level in fear in some before they turn to God. To look at it another way, there are some children who will not obey until they are punished, there are some who seem to never need punished, and then there are the ones who see those who are getting punished and it is enough to keep them “in line.”

Sometimes we are so immersed in this world that we forget that God works everything for the greater good. The terrorist may mean things for evil, but there are people coming to know Christ in spite of their actions. When disastrous events occur people flock to churches, and that offers exposure to Christ. Which leads me to the first part of the verse. If someone truly accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, the salvation that Christ freely gives endures forever. It cannot be added to or taken away. God is faithful and fulfills his promises.

Challenge: Pray for those who are in areas of war, pray that God would use the circumstances around them for good and that people would turn to Christ.

 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 (NIV)


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