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Why does God let bad things happen to good people?

We live in a fallen world and there is evil and sin in the world. There are evil people who do bad things to other people. God has given us free will, and some freely choose to do bad things.

But, what about bad things not caused by man? What about famine, earthquakes and other natural disasters?

The fall not only affected mankind, it also affected the physical world. Before the fall there were no natural disasters.

"For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now." - Romans 8:22 (NASB)

So it's not God, it's mankind that created this problem. Now God is dealing with the problem.

God's view: God has a much bigger picture than we could ever imagine. So there is no way we can know God's purposes in all instances. There are times when bad things "happen" to good people, and we will not be able to understand why.

We don't know what God knows: We don't know what is in people's hearts. We don't don't what their future holds. We may not like it, but spiritual growth usually requires some physical suffering.

We don't know God's plans: We don't know God's mind and possibly His need to call some people to Himself NOW, or discipline them, or help them grow through suffering, or to motivate people to do what needs to be done to accomplish His purpose.

We do know that God is righteous. We do know God is loving. We do know that God is just. And we do know that God's purpose will be accomplished.

Think of how we, as parents, raise our children. We love our children VERY much - in most cases we would willingly die if it would save the life of our child. Yet, there are times when we must discipline our children. There are times we must rebuke them. There are time we must force them to do their homework, no matter how badly they want to watch TV. And there are times we must punish them, if they are to grow up to be responsible, knowledgeable, capable adults. In the same way there are times when God finds that He must rebuke, instruct and discipline us.

Another possibility: I suggest reading the book "Jesus Freaks" (by D.C. Talk). It tells the stories -- many of them heartbreaking stories -- of Christians who have been martyred. Sometimes horribly tortured. Almost every story, however, shows how that person's death served God's purpose. With each martyr God's kingdom grew and spread.

God's purpose can be served through sickness, a loss of a job, injuries, mistreatment - God's purpose is accomplished through bad things that happen to good people.

Free will: God has given us a free will. We can decide how we are going to live our lives. We can decide to do good or do evil.

If everything is predetermined, if we are just puppets with God pulling our strings and directing our every move, there is no purpose in our existence. Why should we struggle for a better life? Why should we work to improve ourselves? Why should we sacrifice to improve our community or world, if we are just puppets with our future predetermined by a supreme power? If we do not have free will, nothing we do makes any difference.

But, we do have free will. How we live our lives is important. We have a choice. God leaves us free to do evil. And free to obey Him and do His will.

We are filled with grief when we lose someone we love. We are heartbroken and overcome with sorrow when we see innocent people killed by evil. "It's not right!" we say. "It's not fair!" But, God is righteous and just. We know that our time on earth is brief and unimportant compared with our time in heaven. We know that everyone who dies as a result of an evil act has had a chance to be saved (and have eternal life) by God's grace.

And we know that God is all powerful -- if there is someone whom God wishes to be alive, then that person will live. No matter what happens. No one dies, no one can be killed, unless it is allowed by God, and a part of God's plan and purpose.

Remember this lesson: Life is fragile. For you, there may be no tomorrow. When God gives you the opportunity to know Him better, don't turn away. It may be your last chance for salvation.