The answer to why bad things happen to good people may not be what you think!
Understanding why bad things happen to good people is difficult to understand. I certainly don’t claim to have this one nailed down. However, I want to share a few experiences with you that will give you cause for thought. The answer may not be what you think!
My Pastor once shared an experience that he had while driving home from the airport one night. It was very late and very dark. He said he was going a little faster than normal because the roads were completely empty.
Finally, he thought, “Maybe that’s the Lord!”
He said he felt a tiny prompting on the inside, “slow down.” He checked all of his mirrors and his surroundings on the road. All signs were clear so he brushed it off. As he continued he felt it again, down on the inside, just a still small voice softly instructing, “slow down”. He thought he was being paranoid, everything was clear on the road and all around him. A third time this nudge persisted, this time a wee bit stronger, “slow down!” Finally, he thought, “Maybe that’s the Lord”, so he slowed his speed significantly. He was approaching the crest of a hill where the road had a blind spot. He came over the hill to find 5 or 6 big deer standing right in the middle of the highway!
Because he had obeyed the gentle prompting he was going slow enough that he could control his vehicle and avoid what could have been a life threatening accident.
People would have blamed God.
When he shared this story with the congregation he told us that if he hadn’t obeyed that prompting he probably would have died that night. He said people would have said, “How could God take that young pastor in his prime?” People would have blamed God but what they didn’t know was that God was warning him about the danger that was ahead! Not just once but three times!
I think the better question here is, “What kind of God would be so loving and patient to continually prompt us as we’re approaching danger?” And maybe, “How can I be a better listener to said God?” Right?!
It’s not God’s fault that bad things happen to good people.
It’s completely up to us to choose to obey Him or not. This is the beauty of free will. I can only imagine what extraordinary patience this must require on the part of our ever kind and loving Father God! He can always see what’s ahead of us. What a privilege we have as believers to personally know the one who sees our tomorrows! When we get to know our God we discover how reliable and trustworthy He is. Knowing him this way enables us to yield to His directions, like my pastor driving home that night, even when it doesn’t make sense to us in the moment. .
I bet you can think of a time when you did something, made a decision or a choice and when it blew up in your face you said to yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that!”
I know I can! Ugh! That’s the worst!
Why do we blame God when bad things happen to good people?
Why are we so quick to judge God and blame him when things go wrong? I guess this would be easy to do if you weren’t familiar with his character. For example, you know the people who live in the house 5 doors down on the same side of the street as you? How well do you know them? If you heard that the husband had just robbed a bank you might be inclined to believe that story if you didn’t know him very well. I believe it’s like that with our God. When people don’t know him very well they can find it easy to believe that he would do something “like that.”
When in actuality He’s completely trustworthy. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says, “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”
He’s always faithful to us! Exodus 34:6 says, “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…” This is who God is! He is faithful to us & we can trust him to guide our lives.
Maybe the next time you ponder “Why do bad things happen to good people?” you will consider that God may have been sending messages that were either not received or ignored instead of assuming that He was at fault.
We have a tendency to get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we don’t make time to spend with the Lord. Being sensitive to His voice comes from quiet time with Him.
God is never in a rush, he also isn’t loud!
It takes time to cultivate a relationship with the creator of the universe and yet that’s exactly what He wants with you and me. He wants us to tune in & take time to get to know His voice. In John 10:27 Jesus says that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. Let’s determine today that we will covet and prize the time we get to spend with the Lord, knowing that in doing so we are also heightening our sensitivity to his voice. Since we know that He is trustworthy and faithful we can know that God isn’t responsible when bad things happen to good people. You can check out more thought provoking and inspiring videos at our youtube channel. Get in touch with us there!