In His Name Devotionals
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
In His Name Devotionals
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4 NKJV)
Every text has a context. This one stems from the death of my parents. When I was ten years old, my father was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of lung cancer—a bit ironic for a non-smoker. The cancer transformed his robust frame into a frail mass of tissue. Dad lived for two months with his kidneys functioning at roughly 15% their normal rate. His was a slow, painful death.
My mother was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, skin cancer, when I was 17. From my studies, most patients live three weeks after diagnosis of a full-blown case of melanoma. Mom lived seven. By the time of her death, the disease had spread into her lungs and brain. As slowly as my father’s condition worsened, Mom’s deterioration was incredibly quick. Despite her strength and courage, the cancer was victorious in the end.
My sister has experienced three miscarriages in the past 18 months. Having endured the pain of our parent’s deaths, she claims nothing can compare to the loss of your own child. The emptiness, the void that can never be filled, is indescribable. My family has experienced grief, perhaps more than our share. Countless times, I’ve wrestled with the question at hand: Why do these things happen to us? Why must we suffer? Is there a God? And if He exists, is He really all that concerned?
The Bible offers substantial rebuttal to our question. Human beings were willfully created by God. In his pre-fall state, man shared in intimate relationship with God. Upon disobedience to Him, the relationship between God and man is severed (and later bridged by the Son). Through self-sufficiency, man is isolated from God. We live in the fallen world described in Genesis 3. God promises to “...greatly increase your pains in childbearing” (3:16), and that working the land will produce “painful toil” (3:17). Pain appears to be a consequence of the fallen world.
Biblical examples of righteous sufferers abound. Joseph, Job, and Paul each endured tremendous suffering as a direct result of their faith. James admonishes his listeners to consider trials as “pure joy” (1:2). Similarly, Peter teaches to rejoice in our sufferings for they refine our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7). The Bible never promises longevity, prosperity, happiness, etc. It only gives counsel on facing adversity.
Therefore, the question at hand isn’t “Why do bad things happen to good people?” From the Bible, we see that pain and suffering are consequences of The Fall. It is almost a foregoing conclusion from Scripture that if you’re a Christian, you’re going to suffer. I suggest we pose a different question: “When bad things do happen to me, does God care?” I believe God’s answer to this question is a resounding, ‘Yes!’ His compassion is evident at the cross. In one divinely altruistic act, God forever links Himself with His suffering followers. Christ abandons the comforts of heaven to bear the towel of a servant (Phil. 2:6-8). We do not serve an ‘ivory tower’ deity far removed from His people. Rather, Immanuel (God is with us) was “a man of sorrows...familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3). God knows the pain of separation from a loved one; He experienced it at Calvary. God relates to our pain and He promises that one day the unjust shall be made just.
Praise be to God that “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.” The intimate relationship between God and man will one day be restored. How glorious it will be when “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev. 21:4). When bad things happen to me, how can I do anything but continue to praise the holy name of God for every good thing in my life? My hope doesn’t lie in the pain and agony of this terrestrial sphere. My hope resides in a loving God that can relate to my suffering and cares about my pain. Praise be to God!
