One of the hardest questions for someone to answer is, “Why
does God let bad things happen." It could be the death of a loved one,
child, spouse, or friend, or it could be person enduring a long illness, the
total destruction of all property by a killer tornado, or this maybe the senseless
act of a criminal. If we are so quick to ask why God allows something bad to
happen, Shouldn’t we ask Why He allows something good to happen as well?
This great “Why” is the one of the most difficult questions any Christian has to face. In Luke 13 Jesus does not equate individual sin to suffering. But he does point out that it’s a question of one’s heart. Because of sin everyone is separated from God. Jesus urges repentance by all people whether things are good or bad.
Jesus was addressing a problem that was important in his day and is still important today. The view people have of God that shows him to be an angry father, punishing His children for every little act of disobedience. The question that is asked time and time again is, "Why?"
Think about it. If God is always angry at us , wouldn’t
we be getting more pain, more suffering and more problems
than we do now? Many people view God this way because they don’t know Him or
trust Him. God is not the angry Judge. He does not hand out punishments of sickness,
death and tragedy. This is not the correct view of God as we see him in
scripture. However, this is why so many people blame God when bad things happen
and forget him when good things happen. Everything that happens, everything
good or bad, God allows to happen to
keep our hearts completely focused on HIM.
God does not love us because He must love us, He loves us because He wants to love us. We tend to forget that. Sometimes that means He will use whatever is necessary to get our attention. Isn’t that the view of God that we see from the cross? A God who cared enough for his people that he died on a cross so that the people would live? God's love is so huge that He sent Jesus His son to earth to die so people would not be separated from him any longer. God did everything he could to be caring and loving for his people.
Instead of blaming God in the bad times, we should fall on our knees and ask God to walk with us, to strengthen, us, to build us up, to give us the courage to continue building His Kingdom, not our own kingdom. And, because God is there when we are blessed, we should, in His mercy and His power, fall on our knees and ask God to walk with us, to strengthen, us, to build us up, to give us the courage to continue building His Kingdom, not our own kingdom. Yes it’s the same thing.
God can handle whatever situation comes up. If we think the situation is terrible and overwhelming, God is bigger and better. If we are blessed beyond measure, God is still bigger and better. We must let God do His job in good times and bad. When we do, then we will come to know the great and powerful love and mercy He has for us. God can handle it, period. Let Him. God is a patient God who wants his children to come to him. Our response to God when we encounter bad things or blessing in the brokenness of the world is not to blame Him, but to come to Him in repentance, as he waits for us.
God does not want to see his children separated from Him, He will wait, He will give them many chances to change their ways, to repent, to build a relationship with Him. God is so much more than an angry judge, He is a patient, kind, loving father. He gives His children many chances to rely on Him. Romans 8:28 says “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan.” Trust Him now with ALL your life.
