God is good!: "Reasons why bad things happen to good people"

By Atwijukire Edgar (Dr)

"GOD IS GOOD!": Reasons why bad things happen to good people.

“Why did this have to happen to me?” sobbed a single mother whose only son had been declared dead. “I’ve tried to live godly but I’ve been disappointed!” she added. 

One of the most difficult questions to face is “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” 

Let’s face this together! God is Sovereign and so all that happens must have at least been allowed by Him as in the case of Job (Job 2:5.6) or directly caused by Him like Hannah’s barrenness (1Sam 1:6) This concept can be troubling to many and dissecting it needs a clear understanding one pivotal aspect of ages ..one of the ‘great controversy” 

 The Great Controversy put simply is a universal conflict between God and Satan. This conflict whose origin was heaven (Rev 12:7) started when Lucifer out of pride rebelled against his Creator (See Isa 14, Eze 28) Since then, the battle between the loving Creator and the rebellious creature has been raging sore. With this world being an arena of the conflict, every human being born is by default a part of the conflict. It’s therefore important to establish that as long as this world remains, there’ll always be good and bad, birth and death, love and hate, peace and war (Ecl 3:1-8) Below are a few of the reasons I find in the Holy Scriptures as to why such mischief befalls the good.

Gold must be purified by fire to be used. The metaphor of “gold purified by fire” is one often repeated in the bible (1Pt 1:7, Job 23:10, Zach 13:9) Fire burns the chaff, it consumes the stubble but purifies the gold. It’s because of the value you hold that you must be passed through the furnace; not to be consumed, but purified. In this world, most of us are like rough stones with jagged edges, bruising and marring whoever we come in contact with. Our rough edges must be made smooth for us to fit our proper positions in the heavenly building. We would do well therefore to welcome without murmuring the blows of the axe and the hammer. Trials, tribulations, temptations, name them; are all for purification and perfection of a noble character.

Consequences of actions. One can argue that the most misused valuable gift ever given to humanity is one of free will. Our liberty to make decisions if wrongly used can enslave us. The phrases; A curse causeless shall not come (Prov 26:2) you reap what you sow (Gal 6:7) is all talking about a principle of nature... the “principle of cause and effect”. Many a times the bad or the good that happens to us is one whose cause we’re directly responsible or a ripple effect of others upon us. 

Chastisement. Ouk, let’s face this: we’re not always as good as we often times think of ourselves. We sometimes fail on our allegiance to God and as surely as the father chastises his son whom he loves, the Lord chastises us (Rev 3:19). And He says, he does it because He loves us as dear children. He wouldn’t punish us for good if we were bastards! (Heb 12:8)

When faced with such a seemingly unbearable heat of the flame, don’t lose your hold on God, instead; Focus on the eternal perspective of everything. As Stephen looked up and saw the glory of God, we’re to look up and behold the eternal glory that awaits us. As Paul beautifully stated in 2Cor 4:6-18 “…. though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day…While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Keep a clear understanding of God’s character. God’s response to Moses when he asked to see his glory was profound. “...I will make all my goodness pass before you” Exo 33:19. God is good (Nah 1:7, Luk 18:19), all good things come from Him (Jam 1:17) and anything that happens to His children is meant for their good (Rom 8:28)

We should never forget that whereas bad things happen to good people, the worst thing happened to the best person, Jesus Christ. He is therefore no stranger to our pain. It is those with battle scars who can better help those going through battles. Instead of doubting God when faced with the same perplexity, our reaction should be trust. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” (Prov 3:5,6) We Walk by faith, not by sight.