Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?

We live in a world of pain and suffering. There is no one who is not affected by the harsh realities of life, and the question “why do bad things happen to good people?” is one of the most difficult questions in all of theology. God is sovereign, so all that happens must have at least been allowed by Him, if not directly caused by Him. At the outset, we must acknowledge that human beings, who are not eternal, infinite, or omniscient, cannot expect to fully understand God’s purposes and ways.

The book of Job deals with the issue of why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Job was a righteous man (Job 1:1), yet he suffered in ways that are almost beyond belief. God allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job except kill him, and Satan did his worst. What was Job’s reaction? “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21). Job did not understand why God had allowed the things He did, but he knew God was good and therefore continued to trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well.

The Joy We Know Only in Suffering

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I see that sufferers often have secret access to happiness.

I used to think Satan loved suffering, that it was his weapon of choice against our faith. But while he certainly (and viciously) tries to make the most of it, I now suspect Satan secretly hates suffering. He’s simply seen it draw too many people closer to Christ. He has watched, for thousands of years, while God has taken all that he meant for terrible evil and worked it for undeniable good (Genesis 50:20).

The apostle Paul, for instance, was imprisoned over and over, beaten with rods, slandered by his enemies, flogged with lashes five times, stoned almost to death, often deprived of food, water, shelter, and sleep — “in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers” (2 Corinthians 11:26) — and yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10). The chief of prisoners could write from the loneliness, injustice, and distress of his cell, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

Paul used to seem abnormal and extraordinary, even spectacular. I thought he was an anomaly. Until I began witnessing more and more men and women like him today, braving inconceivable trials — conflict and cancer, betrayal and abandonment, persecution and loss — with surprising joy in God. They prove what we all experience in one way or another. If we look to him when we’re thrown into the wilderness of suffering, he will lead us to secret sanctuaries of peace, strength, hope, and even joy.

What does it mean to be a man of God?

“Man of God” is the description given to a man that follows God in every way, who obeys His commands with joy, who does not live for the things of this life but for the things of eternity, who willingly serves his God in giving freely of all his resources yet gladly suffers as a consequence of his faith. Perhaps Micah 6:8 sums up the man of God in one neat verse: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

The man of God does not swindle or defraud his employer by turning up late for work or spending an hour on the internet during work hours; he doesn’t gossip or slander; he keeps his mind and heart pure by guarding his eyes and ears from the filth of the world; he is the spiritual leader of his family. He does everything opposite to what the world does or approves of; he goes "against the grain" of society because he knows these things displease God; he considers those who are "disadvantaged" or those rejected by society, those that are lonely or despairing; he is a listener to other people’s problems and does not judge.

Most of all, the man of God understands that when our Lord commanded him to "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), he is only able to accomplish that because God enables him to be “holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4) through His power and the indwelling of His Spirit. On our own, we are incapable of holiness and perfection, but through Christ who strengthens us, we can "do all things" (Philippians 4:13). The man of God knows that his new nature is that of the righteousness of Christ which was exchanged for our sinful nature at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:9). The final result is that he walks humbly with his God, knowing that he must rely solely upon Him to be able to live to the full and persevere to the end.

Perhaps the Christian today is lacking in these qualities, but this is what simple religion is all about—the simple religion that is yet sufficient to please God: helping those in distress and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:23). We can have an awareness of all biblical doctrines, we can know all the theological terms, we may be able to translate the Bible from the original Greek and so on, but the principle of Micah 6:8 is the principle that the man of God must follow: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Recommended Resource: The Making of a Man of God: Lessons from the Life of David by Alan Redpath

Honor your Father and Mother

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. [Exodus 20:12]

“Daddy the Superhero”

Superman Brandon and Sean loved superheroes. They loved Superman and Batman and the Fantastic Four and dozens and dozens more. Their rooms were overflowing with action figures and comic books of all of the most amazing super heroes in the imaginary world and they knew their names and their stories to the tiniest little detail.

“Tell me the favorite thing you like about a superhero.” Mommy asked them as they settled in for their evening devotionals.

“Well,” Sean started. “They always defeat evil. Evil monsters and people who want to hurt innocent people are always wiped out by superheroes when they use their superhuman powers.” He said making punching thrusts into the air sitting on the couch with mommy in his footy pajamas.

“What I like is that superheroes are never afraid and always know what to do.” Brandon added looking into space like he could see his favorite superhero right there in front of him.

“Well I am going to tell you of a real superhero that you live with. We will call him SUPERDADDY.” Mommy said happily.

3 Things Jesus Tells Us about Worry

Jesus had a lot to say about worry. He came into an unstable and unpredictable world. He lived in an agricultural society where one summer’s drought could wipe out crops for the winter. He hung out with fishermen, who might fish all night long and catch nothing to sell or bring home to family. And Jesus knew the human heart and the temptations presented by the cares of this life. So he gave his disciples some excellent instruction on worry in Matthew 6.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (25)

First, Jesus says God gave us our human life and our bodies without us even asking. Human life and our physical bodies are incredibly valuable. Our life is much more valuable than the food we put on the table; our body far more valuable than the shirt we put on. If God gave us life, which is so very valuable, will he not give us food, which is of far lesser value? If God gave us these bodies which are fearfully and wonderfully made, will he not give us clothes to cover them? And even further, if God has given us eternal life, will he not provide for our temporal life?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (26)

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Jesus reminds us that God faithfully provides for dumb animals. Birds don’t sow or reap or store their food in barns—and they don’t fret about whether they’ll have enough for tomorrow or to get through the winter. Yet God feeds them. And Jesus tells us that humans, the crown of God’s creation, the only creatures made in God’s image, are of much more value than birds. If God provides for birds, then surely he’ll provide for those he made in his own image. Furthermore, will not God especially provide for those he bought with the blood of his Son?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (27)

Worry does absolutely no good. It won’t bring in money, food, or clothing. Worry only has negative results: it chokes the word of God and distracts us from God. It is unbelief, the opposite of faith. And it leads to more fear and anxiety. And the different scenarios we play out in our minds can’t prevent a single thing from happening. And besides that, most of the things we spend so much time fretting about won’t happen anyway.

To sum up:

So don’t worry, trust your heavenly Father who cares for you.

Mark Altrogge has been senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, Pennsylvania, since 1982. He has written hundreds of songs for worship, including “I Stand in Awe” and “I’m Forever Grateful.” Mark and his wife, Kristi, have four sons and one daughter. Find out more on his blog, The Blazing Center.

What God Says to Your Tears

For centuries, Christians have called this world a “valley of tears.” Yes, Christ has come. Yes, he is risen. And yes, he will come again. But still we mourn and ache and weep — and walk alongside those who mourn and ache and weep. We plod through the valley with hearts heavy laden, grieving for any one of a thousand reasons: our depressed children, our distant spouses, our dashed hopes, our deceased loved ones, our ruinous sin. “The God of all comfort keeps watch over your weeping.”

Sometimes, we cry because life’s sorrows have become chronic, filling our life like unwelcome house guests who just won’t leave. Other times, we cry because some unexpected misery lands like a meteor and carves a crater in our soul. And still other times, we cry and don’t know quite why; the grief evades description and analysis.

To such mourners, the Bible’s message is not to dry up your tears. No, the Bible says weeping is typical of life in the valley, and its message to mourners is much more sympathetic — and much more steadying.

“I See Them” Not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s notice (Matthew 10:29), and neither does one of your tears.

When Hagar lifted up her voice in the wilderness of Beersheba, God drew near (Genesis 21:17). When Hannah wept bitterly outside the temple of the Lord, God noticed and remembered (1 Samuel 1:10, 17). When David became weary with moaning, God didn’t become weary with listening (Psalm 6:6–9).

The God of all comfort keeps watch over your weeping. He gathers up all your tears and puts them in his bottle (Psalm 56:8). Like a mother sitting beside her child’s sickbed, God marks every sigh of discomfort and pain. No matter how much of your anguish has gone unnoticed by others, not one moment has escaped the attention of the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4).

As God says to King Hezekiah, so he could say to each of his children, “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears” (2 Kings 20:5).