By Jeanni Ritchie
In the wake of tragedies that have unfolded recently, I had to revisit the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people?
The flooding in Texas that took the lives of so many innocent people, including young girls from a Christian camp who’d arrived to have fun and learn more about Christ. The teenager of a friend whose life had barely begun cut short in an unexplainable instant. A mass shooting in Philadelphia, now so commonplace it barely makes news.
Why?
Answers come from those seeking to make sense of tragedy. They blame the world. “It’s God’s judgment. He’s angry.”
They blame God. “He should’ve prevented this.”
They deny the existence of God and blast others who call on His name. “Stop spreading fairy tales.”
They are all wrong.
The rainbow was God’s promise that He would never flood the earth again. Hurricanes and tsunamis and floods occur in this fallen world but they are never punishment. Jesus came to Earth so that God’s spirit would be poured out, not His wrath.
It is true that God could prevent many tragedies. He performs miracles every day. I cannot answer why some are spared and others aren’t. I was angry at Him for a long time when my daughter with an 85% chance of survival died while the baby next to her with a 15% lived. It wasn’t fair and I wanted to know why. I blamed Him as well.
While I still don’t know why, I no longer blame God. I, too, question why bad things happen to good people. But I know that things could be worse. If Satan had his way, we’d all be dead. There’d never be laughter. There would be no healing. This fallen world would be worse. It can always be worse. It’s hard to understand why God doesn’t intervene.
But not understanding God sometimes isn’t the same as not believing in Him. I believe He is gracious when we question Him. Even Jesus cried out in pain at the cross.
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
There was no doubt that God was there, but Jesus didn’t understand. There are some questions we will never have the answers to this side of Heaven. But we know one thing….God loves us. He is not punishing us. He is not forsaking us. He is weeping with us. He is holding us.
And one day- if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior- we will understand it all as our tears are wiped away and we spend eternity with Him.
Read more faith essays at www.faithunfaded.com.
