Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People?

This is a question that has been asked by many people, usually someone who is suffering from the loss of a loved one, or someone seeking an excuse to reject God and His ways, or perhaps someone who doesn’t understand the reason for the hardships and trials in this life. 

I have been there. Allow me to share what I have found.

Before we can delve into this question, we first have to ask some more of life’s greatest questions: why are we here, why do we exist, and where are we going?

If you believe that in the beginning nothing exploded, and reverse entropy has been the law of the land for billions of years, thus bringing you to this exact point in time as an intelligent being, then you are well on your way to being introduced to the cause for this reverse entropy. 

If you believe that we exist in this dimension as the result of intelligent design by The Creator, and that we humans are in training to learn proper conduct and morality so that we can be trusted to be given immortal spirit bodies, then everything in our lives must be for the furtherance of this goal.

Now, to answer the question “Does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” we must first define “bad.”  We generally define bad as anything that inconveniences us: it might be encountering a red traffic light, or catching a cold, unforeseen expense or terminal illness, a car accident or termination of employment--in short, a circumstance or action that is not what we want to happen.  This is the narrow minded perspective that we humans often employ.

While we are concerned with the relatively insignificant setbacks of this life, God is more concerned with the character and integrity that we are building. These are the things that really matter. "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts"' (Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9 NKJV). "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV).

So then, it is all a matter of perspective. 

A great example of this is the story of Joseph. Joseph as a teenager was assaulted by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, and then as an adult he was falsley accused of sexual assault and imprisoned for years. Much later he became ruler of Egypt and saved many people from a famine. When he encountered his brothers they thought that he would be angry with them for setting in motion the series of unfortunate events that he had endured.

After their father died, “Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive’” (Genesis 50:19‭-‬20 NKJV).

Another example is the story of Job. There are few people who have suffered and lost more than he. He had his oxen, donkeys, sheep and camels raided (a vast amount of wealth), his servants killed, and his ten children killed. All in one day! Then Satan struck him with boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

After much pondering of his plight, arguing with his friends and talking to God, Job said to God, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You" (Job 42:5 NKJV).

The benefit that Job received was a closer relationship with God.  He was then blessed with twice as much as he had lost.

In Hebrews chapter 11 we are told of the sufferings and persecutions of the saints. “...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented…” (Hebrews 11:35‭-‬37 NKJV).

These people’s names are written in the book of life; they will be resurrected into immortal bodies and will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. If their martyrdom is what solidifies this, then was it a bad thing? Physically, yes! Spiritually, no!

There are many terrible things that happen to people physically, and yet the spiritual gain is significant. Whether we recognize the good that comes from seemingly bad situations in this life or not, the good is there.  

“But wait!” you may say, “What could possibly be the good that could come from a child dying of cancer?” Well, the next thing that child will know is being awakened into a world of peace and beauty, a world free from the influence of Satan and all of the disparity that we have known. There, that child will learn God’s way of life, and will live to be 100 years old (Isaiah 65:20).  Is that not better than anything this world has to offer anyway? There is nothing negative in this life that cannot or will not be fixed in the next.

What about mass shootings? How could God allow these to happen?

Keep in mind that He told us humans to not murder. Any such event and the sorrow it brings is the direct result of disobedience to God. 

Right now it seems that to a large extent mankind is free to do things it's way, and to reap the consequences of those actions. What a contrast that will make when in the next life people will not suffer from such tragedies. It will make the choice between God’s way of life and man’s way of life much easier.

If God did stop the evil actions of people in this world, would everybody else appreciate it? NO! That would cause mankind in the next life to think that they had a pretty good handle on things and have no need to change from their wicked ways. To do so would be counterproductive.   

You can be sure that God has a lot invested in us, and that He knows just what each individual needs to become the person he is meant to be. “From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works” (Psalms 33:14‭-‬15 NKJV).

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV). 

With regard to the big picture, and the reason we are here, there are very few events that befall us that we cannot gain from in the long run, and if that is the case, was that event actually bad? It is the big picture and the ever-after that really matters.