Why do bad things happen?


The recent terror attacks in Mumbai and senseless killing of scores of people, including a Singaporean lawyer, may well make us question why, if there is a good God, do bad things still happen? For others among us, the current economic crisis along with job and investment losses may raise the same questions.

But this is the whole story of the Bible, Jesus and those who follow him. Certainly, Jesus being whipped and strung up on a cross was a bad thing to happen. It was a bad thing for Joseph to be sold into slavery by his own brothers. It was a bad thing for the Israelites to be slaves for generations in Egypt. It was a bad thing for Daniel to be exiled to Babylon. It was a bad thing for Paul to be locked up in chains.

Oftentimes, we will not be able to immediately understand why God has allowed terrible things to happen. But Hebrews 11:1 says: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

What then do we hope for? What are we certain of?

First, that God always knows what He is doing. Joseph said to his brothers who sold him into slavery "do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.." Gen 45:5. Paul said, even as he was in prison "Now I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." Philippians 1:12-14.

But merely knowing that God knows what He is doing is not much comfort if His plan involves our suffering. So the second thing we remain certain of, is that despite the immediate pain of suffering, this thing that God is doing, is the best thing that He could be doing for our lives, both in the present and ever after. This is horribly difficult to hold on to when in the middle of a crisis, but it is the most important time to do so as well.

I often say to my friends that people stop maturing after they reach about 20 years of age. After that, only experiences make you grow, not the mere passing of years. You can be 50 years old, but if you've never married, never had kids, never lost a loved one, or never had to fight through a health crisis, you'll never be as mature as a 20 year old in any of those aspects. So if you're reading this and wondering when you'll be ready to be married or start a family, the answer is, you never will be, until you actually do it.

In the same way, God often uses terrible experiences to help us grow. Paul says "We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Romans 5:3-5

More than a year on, I still wonder today why God took away my brother, who would have been 31 last Monday. I'm sure those who have unexpectedly lost loved ones "before their time" wonder the same. Those who are facing huge investment losses or job losses and worry about their family will wonder why too.

1 Corinthians 13:12 says "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." I look forward to meeting Jesus and having Him explain it all to me one day. But in the meantime, I know that I am "fully known" by Him, and in all things, He works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

God bless everyone with a meaningful and spirit-filled December and Christmas season.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bullying? Stand up!

Image
When I was a kid, I remember being bullied a fair bit.  I was small for my age, bespectacled, shy.    The teachers didn't help by putting a target on my back by making me Vice Head Prefect.  I would get my stuff just taken away from me by bigger kids, dragged out into the field to be tickled until I collapsed (much less fun than it sounds), and pushed into the storm drains.  Not all the kids were full-blown bullies of course.  But I remember some of them standing by, and politely holding my spectacles (so they wouldn't be broken) while the bullies did their work on me. Most of this stopped when I got to secondary school, where a much larger proportion of my fellow students were now just as nerdy!  And of course I grew up too.  I don't really look back on those days with any kind of animosity, because I think it never occurred to me that it was unusual.  But I do think my experience made me a bit more sympathetic about people around me who...
Read more

Life as a pie chart

Image
Someone told me recently about a "life exercise" in which one compiles all the stuff that makes up your life, and puts it in a pie chart.  So let's say for me, something like this. The idea is to visually demonstrate to myself that, in the event I lose one of these things, then I can see that, hey life is not so bad, that wasn't such a big deal.  Say for example, if I suffered a blown ACL, and couldn't run or play basketball any more, like this: At first blush - I'd say, hey, I still have my wife, children, parents, career, church life - so, chin up, things are not so bad.  Pretty good life visualisation tool to bring some optimism back into play! ... But what if, a month later, something happens at work, and boom, career gets sidetracked, I lose my job, or get put in cold storage somewhere, like this: Oops, now only half my life is left!  With only half of life's meaning left to me, what do I do? And what if something happens to...
Read more

Family AND Team

Image
I heard an interesting viewpoint this weekend. A family is not inherently a team. Hmm.  Sometimes at work, often in church, and most of the time at home, you hear people say to each other that we are family. And often, we really are. We care for each other above and beyond transactional matters.  It matters to me when my colleagues and cell group members (and of course my actual family members) go through illnesses or family issues or work challenges. I root for their success at presentations and projects and relationships. I care about what they care about, even if it has little direct impact on my own life. In a way, a family is sort of an amalgam of people who support each other in pursuit of each member's personal goals. For example, as a father, I support my children in their academic, career and ministry goals. But where they go to school, the grades they get, and the careers and ministries they build - they're really their goals, not mine.  Ditto for my role as a c...
Read more