Why does God let bad things happen?
Few questions are asked more honestly, or more painfully, than this one — by people who have lost a child, a home, or a hope. The commentary in this collection does not treat it as an awkward question to dodge; it answers on several levels at once: where evil came from, why God permits it, what He does with it, and how it ends.
Where the Trouble Started
Writers here trace suffering back to a decision made by man, not a defect in God.
J. T. MawsonGod is good, ten thousand times ten thousand voices bear witness to His goodness, but the world as such has rejected God and despised the riches of His goodness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that His goodness would lead them to repentance. It has chosen to follow Satan, the adversary, instead of God. In Eden Adam listened to the voice of Satan and turned his back on God, and by that act of disobedience sin came into the world, and death through sin. When sin came in, peace spread its wings and flew away.
Allowed, Not Caused — and Never Out of Control
A popular answer says God is good but simply cannot stop evil. One writer takes up that exact claim and rejects it.
Alfred E. BouterHe suggested that we should not blame God for sufferings (which is right); then he goes on to say that God is good, but that He cannot help it when evil befalls His people (which, of course, is a wrong thesis)... God not only allows adverse circumstances, He is even in full control and uses them to form believers in His school. His ways ultimately and surely lead to the fulfilment of His purpose, that we should be conformed to Christ.
Even where an enemy's hand is obvious, another writer insists there is a hand above it.
Peace and JoyThe devil is powerless to do anything without God allowing it. He is only a creature, as are all his hosts of demons. God is above them, no matter how mighty they may be. So even if we see the devil's hand in what happens, we must not forget to see God's hand above the devil's.
Not Every Sorrow Is a Punishment
Job's friends assumed his suffering proved his guilt. Commenting on that book, one writer says sin really does bring suffering — but that this is not the whole account.
William KellyIt is a positive principle of God's righteous government that evil never can be indulged in without bringing the solemn dealing of His hand, though room is left for the distinct working and even suffering of grace... Is it the sole or the whole truth? Is God limited to His government? In no way. That was where Eliphaz and his companions were wrong.
The warning against reading every hardship as a verdict is made plainly elsewhere:
The Bible TreasuryNot all trials are chastisements. We should gravely err if we judged every suffering saint to be under discipline through failure. Where there is faithfulness we often see what appear to be the heaviest trials, but in truth it is for the display of the sustaining power of grace, so that others may see and learn.
When God Is Training a Child
For God's own children, the writers describe hardship as a father's correction rather than a judge's sentence.
The Christian's FriendSuppose the Lord's hand is on one of you — the great principle is that He is doing it for your good... Do not despise it. God loves you too well to punish you for nothing. You say, "Oh, I don't despise it; my heart is sinking under it!" Not so either. Do not faint; it is love that does it, and love will bring good out of it... He knows the thoughts and intentions of your heart when you do not, and He is not a Physician for nothing.
Reasons We Are Not Given
Some cases stay dark. One writer counsels a settled honesty about that rather than endless worrying.
H. Forbes WitherbyTrials are portioned out by perfect wisdom, and their ultimate object we know, though their present pain may be a mystery. Our Father's chastenings are for "our good, that we may share His holiness." God does not always explain the reason of His governmental dealings with us, but He has fully unfolded His heart to us, and so it is our privilege to walk by faith.
The Cross Answers the Charge of Indifference
If God were distant from human pain, the cross would be inexplicable.
J. T. MawsonInstead of the cross proving that God is an angry, hard-hearted Being, it is the very thing that has revealed His love in all its glory.
Evil Has an End Date
The final answer is not an argument but a scene, where suffering is removed at its root.
J. A. TrenchGod had gone to the source of all that brought in sorrow, and swept it away in the judgment of the Cross... The God who had to drive the man and woman out in tears from the Eden He had made for unfallen creatures is able to meet us on the threshold of a new heaven and a new earth as the One who wipes away all tears from our eyes.
Summary
- Cause. Evil entered through man's turning from God, not through any failure in God's goodness.
- Control. God allows what He could prevent; even Satan acts only within limits God sets.
- Care. For His children, hardship is a Father's correction — aimed at their good, not at settling a score.
- Caution. Suffering is not a reliable measure of guilt; Job's friends were wrong to read it that way.
- Cure. The cross shows God entering the sorrow He will finally remove, when every tear is wiped away.