Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?
This is one of the most difficult questions in human understanding.
God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
Why should human beings (not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent) expect to be able to fully understand God’s ways?
The book of Job deals with this issue. God had allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job except kill him.
What was Job’s reaction?
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.
Why do bad things happen to good people? The biblical answer is there are no “good” people.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all of us are tainted by and infected with sin.
Romans 3:10-18 could not be clearer about the non-existence of “good” people:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Every human being on this planet deserves to be thrown into hell at this very moment.
Every second we spend alive is only by the grace and mercy of God.
Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell in the lake of fire.
Yes, sometimes bad things happen to people who seem undeserving of them.
But God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them.
Above all, however, we must remember that God is good, just, loving, and merciful.
Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. ”
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?
This question is similar to its opposite: "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"
Both questions refer to what seems to be the perplexing injustice we witness every day.
The 73rd Psalm is our answer to the very same questions that also tormented the psalmist.
Finding himself in terrible distress and agony of soul he writes,
“But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalms 73:2-3).
The writer of this Psalm was a man named Asaph, a leader of one of the temple choirs.
Obviously, he not a wealthy man, but rather one who had dedicated his life to serving God (see 1 Chronicles 25).
But, like us, he had experienced some difficulties and questioned the injustice of it all.
He watched the evil people around him living by their own rules, enjoying all the wealth and pleasures of the world and piling riches upon riches.He complains...
"They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills" (Psalms 73:4-5).
Asaph was looking at these people who didn't have problems.
They could pay their bills. They had plenty to eat and plenty of luxuries.
But poor Asaph was stuck with directing the choir and trying to live godly.
And to add insult to injury, it didn't seem to be getting him anywhere.
He began not only to envy these people, but even to question God as to why He would allow such a thing to happen!
How often do we find ourselves relating to Asaph?
We dedicate our lives to serving God.
Then we witness the wicked, the ungodly people around us get new cars, luxurious homes, promotions, beautiful clothes, and take fabulous trips, while we struggle to pay the electric bill.
The answer lies in the rest of the psalm. Asaph envied these evil people until he realized one very important thing.
When he entered the sanctuary of God, he fully understood their final destiny:
“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” (Psalms 73:16-20).
Those who have temporary riches on earth are in reality spiritual beggars because they do not have true riches
—eternal life.
There are many times when we do not understand what is happening to us, nor do we understand how providence works.
Asaph began to see that there was no need for him to be envious of the prosperity of the wicked because their prosperity is in reality an illusion.
He began to comprehend that the ancient deceiver, Satan, had played tricks with his vision and used lies to distract him from the reality of God.
He realized that prosperity is a fleeting fulfillment, a fashion show of what is to pass away, like a pleasant dream that pleases us only for a little while but when we awaken, we realize it was not real. Asaph rebukes himself for his own stupidity.
He admits to being “senseless and ignorant” to envy the wicked or to be jealous of the perishing.
His thoughts then returned to his own happiness in God when he realized how much more joy, fulfillment and true spiritual prosperity he had in the Creator.
We may not have everything we want here on earth, but we will one day prosper for all eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Whenever we are tempted to try the other road, we should remember that the other road is a dead end.
But in all truth, the narrow road before us through Jesus is awesome and is the only road that leads to eternal life.
That should be our joy and our comfort.
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge . . .” (Psalm 73:25, 27-28)
We need not concern ourselves when good things seem to happen to bad people. We only need to keep our focus on our Creator and enter into His presence every day through the portal of His holy Word. There we will find truth, contentment, spiritual riches and eternal joy.
God Bless Us All...
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