We may not be able to make out all the details of why certain things happen, but there are some key biblical truths that can illuminate some points of light for us. I have a God whose thoughts and ways are higher than my own (Isaiah 55:8-9). Job's friends give lots of bad answers. Losing Jude has been, by far, the most devastating thing that has happened to me. But anger only leaves us bitter and hopeless. Many people said to us, If there anything you need, just let us know. That day will come, but not yet. And as such, the pain, suffering, and tragedy that we see in the world around us today is a direct result of his influence. Why didnt God protect this person in this circumstance? He had been in and out of hospitals his whole lifeand yet he made the astounding comment that he thinks God is fair. Thankfully the Bible offers a better answer to the question: why does God allow suffering? If God Knew That Adam And Eve Would Sin, Why Did He Create Them? You might say, "No, he can't bring good out of my circumstance. You'd remember that first bad day. TheLordwas with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. How could a loving, powerful God allow so much tragedy, pain and agony, so many fatal diseases and deadly accidents? Remember these words were written by the apostle Paul, who suffered through beatings and stonings and shipwrecks and imprisonments and rejection and hunger and thirst and homelessnessfar more pain that most of us will ever have to endure. What shall we say then? God knew we'd rebel against him, but he also knew many people would choose to follow him and have a relationship with him and spend eternity in heaven with him. The people of God are not immune from this suffering, tragedy and tears. Despite the challenges that you are facing in the Christian race, have in mind that there will be a time in the future when Satan will be put away for eternity. He was broken, like bread, for us. on suffering, and measure human reasoning against God's Word. Blessed be theLord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;, Psalm 46:1 To the choirmaster. Suffering carries a message of mystery. Billy Graham: Why Does God Allow Suffering? As Christians, we often talk about God being the one that keeps our faith going, but I have never felt that so deeply like I have during this period ofgrieving. Register now for our 2023 conference for women! And it was all worth it for that, even though it would cost his son great pain and suffering to achieve our redemption. Second Peter 3:9 reads: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Because love always involves a choice. Are you broken? Romans 9:10-18 makes us to understand that God does as He desires and His ways are not our ways. However, He does not always do so. ", It's like the story that British church leader Galvin Reid tells about meeting a young man who had fallen down a flight of stairs as a baby and shattered his back. We can rest assured that this time will come because Gods promises never fail (Hebrews 6:17-20). And if we choose other than God, he leaves us alone. In other words, we've only read half the book! Now let me give you the entire verse: "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. But then every other day of the year was just incredibly terrific. The 364 terrific days far outweigh the one bad day. Why Doesnt God Reveal Himself More Clearly to Everyone? His answer is recorded in Romans 9. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. They just make the suffering worse. Even so, he will hold us (me!) Send a text saying, Im going to the grocery store, can I grab you anything? Offer to pick up their laundry, and drop it off clean and folded the next day. Truthfully speaking, life as a Christian isnt easy. and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:4, 6). Some who lose a child to a drunk driver turn inward in chronic rage and never-ending despair; another turns outward to help others by founding Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, Who are you, Lord? , Matthew 15:1-39 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. There will be no more suffering, no more tears, no more pains, no more sickness, no more hunger, and no more death (Revelation 21). Why does God let random shootings, fatal accidents, and other horrible He makes the solemn pledge that he will take the bad circumstances that befall us and cause good to emerge if we're committed to following him. As I drove, so many thoughts went through my mind. The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin into the worldand deadly accidents and murderous . Real love always involves a choice. It was through that cross that Jesus conquered the world for us. There was no sickness, no pain, no violence, not even death. On one hand is the absolute truth of Gods divine protection and provision, and on the other hand is the fact that our Christian brothers and sisters sometimes die in sudden, unexpected and tragic ways. There are consequences to our choices and we ultimately reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.2 Samuel 4:4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. And notice that the verse doesn't say we all will see immediately or even in this life how God has caused good to emerge from a bad circumstance. Our hearts sink just thinking about the family members still alive that are affected by this. We dont always understand why God does what He doeswhy some live and others do not, but we can be assured of the fulfillment of Gods promise that we will see our loved ones again in the wonderful Kingdom of God. And each other. When bad things happen, however, we can do one of two things: we can either be angry with God, or we can turn to Him in trust and faith. Instead, his point to the recipients of his epistle was: " Expect it." Satan is the god of this age (1 Corinthians 4:4). I pray that every accident before me or any of my loved ones is destroyed in the name of Jesus Christ. I got to enjoy Jude for all the days that God had chosen to give him. Some people ask, "Couldn't God have foreseen all of this?" But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.Isaiah 6:9-10 And he said, Go, and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed., Deuteronomy 28:47-48 Because you did not serve theLordyour God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom theLordwill send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. Well discuss this question in our next post. First came the wildfires, which ravaged the houses of hundreds of our neighbors, prompting many of them to ask the same. This is called Natural Evil, and Christianity has an answer. Even though we can't understand everything about it, I believe we can understand some things. You are suffering due to a lack of faith. And frankly, the people suffering from the Aurora tragedy don't need a big theological treatise right now; any intellectual response is going to seem trite and inadequate. Should Christians Believe in a Young Earth? Life as a Christian isnt easy. And when God completed his creation, he surveyed all he had made and declared that it wasvery good (Gen. 1:31). There are no easy answers, but we will examine the Biblical teaching In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:10-12). Why Does God Allow Suffering? (4 powerful truths you need to know) There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. Why Does God Let Accidents Happen? - BEST OF CHRISTIANITY And many people are asking the question, "Why? Don't miss this opportunity to find out more about this important subject! And when you think about it, there are only really only three options available for me to believe about God in this tragedy: If its the first option, I have a God that is distant and uncaring. That's where we should often stop. This goes beyond speaking just of physical places. Accidents and even mayhem are a part of life in a fallen world. We are likely to say its unfair because they had faith in God and served Him as a Christian. By the way, God still loves everyone to this day, and all he wants is forus to love him too. May you and your friend turn instead to Christ, and find in Him the comfort and strength you need. He shall surely pay. It was asked in the Old Testament by Job and the writers of the Psalms, and it was especially relevant during the 20th Century, where we witnessed two World Wars, the Holocaust, genocides in the Soviet Union and China, devastating famines in Africa, the killing fields of Cambodia, the emergence of AIDS, the genocide in Rwanda and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo. Lets ask God to have mercy on us and protect us and our loved ones from accidents. It could be within eight months, eight years or eighty years; from accident, drowning, or disease. This answers the question you hear so often: "Why didn't God merely create a world where tragedy and suffering didn't exist?" The answer is: He did! So as we ponder the mystery of pain and evil, we need to be mindful that God did not create them. What Is Some of the Best Evidence for the Global Flood? So,to havea boy dieat only 11 is really sad. There are so many tragic stories, so much pain. Heaven and Hell? ", I don't have God's mind; I don't share his perspective. What Does The Bible Say About The Beginning? (Rom 8:32) There is no easy pill to swallow when assessing why God allows tragic things to happen. Is the Earth Really Billions of Years Old? did in the excerpt above. Hundreds drown in a tsunami, while scores of others are buried in an earthquake. When we suffer tragedy and difficulty in our lives, we shouldnt think as though this is some strange thing that has happened to us. Reading on from 1 Peter 4:12, quoted at the beginning of this article where apostle Peter tells us to expect hardship and trials, we are told how we react to our sufferings is what counts (I Peter 4:13-17). God does much more than sympathize with you in your troubles. Why does God allow Christians to die in accidents. Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering? What about reported life-after-death experiences? If someone gets into a car without a seatbelt and gets into a horrible accident, and we question why God didnt protect them, the honest answer is that there are consequences to our choices and we ultimately reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. If you ask me, "Why did God allow the gunman to spray the Aurora movie theater with gunfire just two days ago?" What should we take as conclusion? Why does God allow Christians to die in accidents? The Bible Insights Weekly e-letter is freely available upon request. September 30, 2016 In the first situation, a number of brethren from Galilee were killed and their blood was mingled with the sacrifices by Pontus Pilate. Such are the questions we are likely to ask when untimely or tragic death takes any of our loved ones. When Jude died, one of the most common reactions we heard from people was that it was so tragic that he died at such a young age. I Needed God to Show Me Why. These are questions that the world could be asking these days after the loss of 162 lives in the AirAsia plane, Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200 that lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday 28th December 2014, during bad weather on a flight from the . That is a biblical principle. Let me finish the story of Leslie and I driving through the fog in Wisconsin. To answer that question, the apostle Paul responded with other decisions that God made that could be perceived as unfair. Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering? - Christianity Today In Matthew 4, Satan twists this passage to tempt Christ to throw himself from the parapet of the templeto somehow prove Gods protection. Why didn't God annihilate Satan after his rebellion? There are too many loose ends with the plot. Christs point regarding these two incidents was that these people were no worse sinners than anyone else, but that this fatedeathwould come to all men and that we must redeem the time and repent while we still can. But then a truck appeared in front of us and we could clearly see his taillights through the fog. This is when suffering, sickness, disease, viruses, violence, all bad things, including death, came into the world for the first time. Several years ago, I commissioned a national survey and asked people what question they'd ask if they could only ask God one thing. So in a real sense, Adam and Eve ruinedeverything. God hasn't promised that we'll never get hurt or sick, or have other problems in life. It is for this reason that we must stand strong in the faith as we hold to the strength, power, and authority of Jesus Christ to overcome every obstacle put on our way by Satan. So how do we rectify these two things? Christ illustrated to those gathered that this fate death would come to all men and that they must redeem the time and repent. What Does The Bible Say About Actions Speak Louder Than Words? (CCC 312) ", you'd instantly react by saying, "It has been absolutely wonderful! A preacher reflects on a local mass shooting. , Genesis 4:1-26 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of theLord. And again, she bore his brother Abel. From the greatest moral evil ever committed - the rejection and murder of God's only Son, caused by the sins of all men - God, by his grace that "abounded all the more",brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption. Why didnt He send an angel to bump their car back on the road? Send a restaurant gift card in the mail. I guess that Adam and Eve must not have loved God very much because they didnt want to honor his wishes. You might think, that was a bad day, no denying it. Most of the Bible speaks to us, but the Psalms speak for us. He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured. Cameron described OceanGate's use of a carbon-fiber hull as "fundamentally flawed" and said he had warned another . He knows our words and our thoughts even before we speak them (Psalm 139:4). A friend betrayed you. He's delaying everything out of his love for humanity. And the 21st Century didn't start any better. What Does The Bible Say About Accidentally Killing Someone? Likewise, Psalms 46:1 makes us to understand that God is our refuge and strength, and a help in time of trouble. It appears that God would even come down to the garden of Eden where they lived and walk and talk with them in the cool of the day (Gen. Because you knew there was also the potential for tremendous joy and deep love and great meaning. There would be no fatal accidents, no random shootings. After all, any close friend can do that. Maybe you're suffering from a physical ailment or heartache at this very moment. Jesus said, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). In simple terms, this is seen as a cosmic bank account that credits and debits your future with each action and consequence however unrelated it might be, is a result of the balance of your account. It was programmed to say those words. In our hardest times, we dont need longwinded expressions. But with God, he already knows our thoughts. ", And he will. This is how sin contaminated the world. And God isn't some distant, detached, and disinterested deity; he entered into our world and personally experienced our pain. And then there are the tragedies of everyday life, such as premature death due to illness and accidents, or suffering from long-term disability. What Does The Bible Say About The Beginning Of Time? We can go to the Lord in prayer and just lay our burdens before him. That day just sort of fades away. This is hard to accept but we must accept. The Bible says that the story of this world isn't over yet. . And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I can worship a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminate it, more easily than I can worship a God who chooses to make children suffer and die, for whatever exalted reason. But in it all, I am thankful that I have a God who knows me, is with me, and is sovereign over all things. He shall surely pay. He has been given control over the earth for a time. 5. Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also killed in the crash. He will have mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy on, compassion on whom he chooses to have compassion. Scripture tells us that God never leaves us or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6). It will be a great time of joy as we will meet our loved ones who departed in Christ. You crashed your car, and had no insurance. Thus, we should put our trust in Him despite the persecutions or trials or temptations or tribulations that we are facing. Your spouse got sick. The Scripture says that we should call unto God in the times of trouble and He will rescue us. Why did God allow this?" This has been a heart-rending summer for Colorado. One answer is that he's actually delaying the consummation of history in anticipation that more people will put their trust in him and spend eternity in heaven. It is harder than anything I could have ever imagined. There is literally no place we can go, where God is not there with us. But God doesn't force anyone to love him, does he? Just because he hasn't done it yet doesn't mean he won't do it. And it is through Jesus, in his finished work on the cross, that I have assurance that Jude is now in heaven experiencing Gods presence. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord., John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.Romans 13:4 For he is Gods servant for your good. We live in a fallen, imperfect world that has been corrupted by sin, and we all share in its brokenness.