Why Bad Things Happen to Good People
The question of suffering is as old as humanity. Here's what Scripture offers.
It's perhaps the hardest question: Why does a good God allow suffering? If you're asking this, you're in good company—Job, David, and even Jesus asked similar questions.
What the Bible Doesn't Say
The Bible doesn't give us a neat formula explaining every instance of suffering. What it does give us is something better: presence.
"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)
What We Can Know
1. We live in a broken world. Sin entered, and with it, suffering. This isn't how it was meant to be.
2. Suffering is not always punishment. Job's friends got this wrong. Jesus corrected similar thinking (John 9:1-3).
3. God can redeem suffering. He doesn't waste our pain—He can bring beauty from ashes.
4. This isn't the end of the story. Revelation promises a day when God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
In the Meantime
We're not promised a life without storms. We're promised a Savior who walks with us through them.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." (Isaiah 43:2)
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