Questions and Answers

Why Do Bad Things Happen If God Is So Good?
By Adam Bartlett

I would like to start the answer to this question with another question; if a person drinks poison what will happen to that person? Why? The reason is that there are laws of nature and God will not violate those laws to protect someone that ignores the consequences of their actions. This does not mean that all bad things happen because there was something they did in the natural to invite it.

To answer this question requires that we go way back… back before the creation of the human race to be exact. You see, God created the angels and they were given a choice to follow Him or not. At some point in time Lucifer, better known as satan, decided that he wanted to be as God, or in fact to be above God. He wanted to usurp the authority of God and tried to revolt. Because God is the creator He casts satan out of heaven and all the angels that chose to follow Lucifer instead of God.

As hard as it is to imagine or believe there were actually other angels (one third to be exact) that believed Lucifer’s absurd plan of overthrowing the creator of the universe and chose to follow him over God. They were all cast out and thus, we have the devil and his demons. God wanted his angels to have a choice to serve Him just as He wants us as humans to have a choice to serve Him of our own free will. He didn’t desire robots but a willing love and obedience much like what we desire of our children.

Because this choice is given it also creates two common forces known to us today, good and evil. The devil is not happy unless he is creating turmoil, hate, strife, death, envy, jealousness, grief, bitterness, and every evil attribute known to man. God also gives each of us a conscience and in our minds and hearts we know what is inherently right. We make a choice every day as to whether we will be honest and upright or whether we will be dishonest and evil. For those that have a relationship with Jesus they have the power of the Holy Spirit to give them the strength to overcome the evil desires and temptations. For those that are without Christ, they are at the mercy of the devil and his demons and all the temptations and trials they can create for them.

The Bible gives us some insight to how this works in our world:

What the Bible says:


John 10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Ephesians 6
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.


Romans 6
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--
7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.
10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?


James 1
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.


Ephesians 2
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.


Galatians 6
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.


I know that the scriptures above mean absolutely nothing to a lost person without Christ. They cannot understand spiritual principles when they do not have the power of the Holy Spirit to open their spiritual eyes. A saved person should be able to understand the verses above and understand how they apply to our daily lives. The Bible makes it clear that the enemy or devil has only one goal; to destroy all humanity and keep them from serving God or actually to keep them from committing to Him to start with. It is a spiritual battle as we can never understand that without the power of the Holy Spirit opening our spiritual understanding.

Sometimes bad things happen as a result of our actions; Example; if a person smokes it is very possible that they will develop cancer. If a person is an alcoholic yet they continue to drink and develop liver problems, is it right to expect God to stop that from happening even though we know it is a result? God wants the best for us, that is why He warns us of the dangers, but He will not force us to follow Him. Our ‘will’ allows us that freedom to choose. In most cases it is our bad decisions that cause or future heartaches. There may be times when God chooses to heal a person from these circumstances and it has happened many times. However, there are many times when He does not heal also and these are the times when these questions arise.

There are times when we just do not have the answers as to why a person has to suffer and there appears to be no visible or known reason for it. In those cases we just have to believe that God is allowing it for a reason and have faith that even in the bad there will be something good come out of it. It is hard for us to keep in mind also that God sees the whole picture and not just a small piece that we are viewing at the time. Because of that knowledge He makes the best decisions and things are allowed that may not ever make sense to us.

In summary, I believe that bad things are “allowed” to happen as a result of our freedom to choose. To have that freedom means that there will be good along with the bad and we have to continue to lead people to Jesus who will give them the strength to make it through any bad situations. Jesus is our only hope for all of life and whatever it may bring our way.

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