Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People?

There are countless stories of good people going through extraordinary hardships. Some are Christians who have spent their lives trying to follow Jesus. Others may not share our faith at all. They raise families, work hard, care for others, and try to do what is right. Yet some of them experience suffering that is almost impossible to comprehend.

I've witnessed people going through difficult seasons and, more often than not, my first response has been sympathy. I don't immediately start questioning God or trying to figure out what lesson He might be teaching them. Sometimes I've simply looked at what another person was enduring and quietly thanked God that I wasn't the one going through it.

Of course, it's a little different when the hardship arrives at my own front door.

I've had plenty of moments when I've wondered why I was going through a particular struggle, especially when I felt I was genuinely trying to live faithfully. I don't spend much time asking, "Why me?" anymore, but that doesn't mean I enjoy the circumstances.

And I think that's something Christians need to understand.

Accepting that suffering can produce growth doesn't mean we have to enjoy suffering.

I can recognize that a difficult season may change me for the better while still telling God, quite plainly, that I don't like what I'm going through.

You Can Trust God and Still Hate the Season You're In

When I'm going through something difficult, I try to bring my frustration to God rather than direct my anger at Him.

Sometimes my prayers are as simple as admitting that I'm uncomfortable, that I'm tired of the situation, and that I would really prefer not to be experiencing it.

But I also acknowledge something I've learned over the years: much of my greatest personal growth has come through hardship rather than comfort.

James 1:2–4 tells believers to consider trials an occasion for joy because the testing of faith produces perseverance, which contributes to spiritual maturity.

That passage doesn't mean we should pretend pain feels good. It means there can be something valuable developing within us even when the experience itself is unpleasant.

I didn't always understand that.

In my early twenties, shortly before I got married, I went through a particularly difficult season. I had done a pretty good job of walking away from the path I believed I should have been following. I was determined to do things my own way.

When the consequences began catching up with me, I spent a lot of time pointing fingers.

It was somebody else's fault. Somebody else had made my life difficult. Somebody else was responsible for the circumstances I found myself in.

I spent months wrestling with God during a period of solitude, and eventually I had to face a truth I didn't particularly enjoy.

I had nobody to blame but myself.

That was humbling.

It also changed me.

I had been so occupied with what other people had done that I wasn't honestly examining my own behaviour. Until I was willing to do that, I wasn't going to make any meaningful changes.

Looking back, I believe God used that season to confront something in me that desperately needed attention.

There was one less sharp edge for Him to work out.

My life didn't suddenly become free of suffering afterward. But my relationship with hardship changed because I was beginning to understand that being uncomfortable wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Sometimes discomfort is exactly what forces us to examine what we've been unwilling to confront.

Not Every Hardship Is a Lesson We Can Explain

There is an important distinction here, though.

The suffering I experienced in my twenties involved choices I had made and responsibilities I needed to accept. That doesn't mean everybody who suffers is responsible for what happens to them.

Some people suffer because of another person's actions. Some experience illness, tragedy, or loss through circumstances completely beyond their control.

We should be extremely careful about telling those people that God must be teaching them a lesson.

In John 9:1–3, Jesus encounters a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples immediately want to know whose sin caused the man's condition.

Jesus rejects their assumption.

That passage matters because it challenges our tendency to look at suffering and automatically assign blame.

The Book of Job confronts a similar mistake. Job's friends were convinced there must be some explanation involving his wrongdoing. Their attempts to explain his suffering only added to his distress.

I've experienced seasons when the pain was so overwhelming that I wasn't in a position to receive encouragement, even when someone genuinely meant well.

Sometimes encouragement feels hollow when you're in the middle of something terrible.

We Christians can become so eager to offer a biblical explanation that we forget the person in front of us may simply need compassion.

There is a time to speak, but there is also a time to sit with someone who is hurting.

I believe God can bring good out of suffering. I've seen that happen in my own life. But I don't believe we are entitled to tell another person exactly what God is doing through their pain.

Romans 8:28 gives us reason to trust that God works for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It doesn't promise that every tragedy will make sense to us or that we'll always recognize the good during our lifetime.

Sometimes we simply don't know why something happened.

And admitting that isn't a failure of faith.

Does an Easy Life Mean God Is Pleased With You?

Another thing I've noticed is how easily Christians can associate comfort with God's favour.

When the finances are good, the family is healthy, and everything seems to be falling into place, it's natural to feel blessed.

And we should absolutely thank God for the good things in our lives.

But I think we also need to examine ourselves.

Are we growing closer to Christ, or have we become so comfortable that we barely think about Him?

Jesus never promised that following Him would produce a trouble-free life.

In John 16:33, He tells His followers that they will have trouble in this world, while encouraging them to take heart because He has overcome it.

In Matthew 10:34–36, Jesus describes how following Him can create division, even within families. His words about bringing a sword concern the conflict that allegiance to Him can produce, not a command for His followers to become violent.

Christian faith isn't a guarantee of comfort or popularity.

I've wondered whether comfort itself can sometimes become a spiritual distraction. If everything is going well, we may stop examining our decisions, questioning our priorities, or recognizing how dependent we are on God.

That doesn't mean prosperity is evil or that a comfortable person is being deceived. God gives good gifts, and we should receive them with gratitude.

But comfort deserves examination just as hardship does.

A person struggling financially isn't necessarily being punished by God. A person enjoying financial security isn't necessarily more faithful.

We cannot measure God's approval by looking at somebody's bank account, health, or circumstances.

The more useful question is what we're doing with the life we've been given.

Are our blessings encouraging gratitude and generosity? Are our difficulties producing perseverance and compassion? Are we becoming more like Christ, regardless of whether life feels easy or hard?

Those questions reveal far more than simply declaring ourselves blessed whenever things go our way.

I Wouldn't Trade the Growth for a Moment of Comfort

When I look back at that difficult season before my marriage, I can say with certainty that I wouldn't be the same man today without it.

Had I never been humbled, I believe I would have continued acting like a victim.

I would have kept blaming other people, defending my behaviour, and avoiding the uncomfortable work of examining myself.

That doesn't mean every painful thing I've experienced was good. It means something good came out of a particular season that I would never have chosen for myself.

Would I want to go through it again?

Absolutely not.

Am I grateful to be on the other side of it?

Of course.

But if I could erase that suffering at the cost of losing what I learned, I wouldn't do it.

I would not want to throw away the growth for a moment of comfort.

I also recognize that someone enduring a terrible loss may not be able to say the same thing about their circumstances. I wouldn't expect them to.

The Bible doesn't ask us to celebrate tragedy or pretend that suffering doesn't hurt. It gives us permission to grieve, to lament, and to bring our questions before God.

What I've slowly learned, through years of observation and experience, is that hardship doesn't always mean something has gone wrong in my relationship with Him.

Sometimes it reveals something in me that needs to change. Sometimes it teaches me to endure what I cannot control. And sometimes I simply have to acknowledge that I don't understand what is happening.

I still don't enjoy being tested, stretched, or made uncomfortable.

I doubt I ever will.

But I no longer assume that every difficult season is hardship for the sake of hardship.

When I can recognize an opportunity to grow, I want to be willing to take it. When I can't see one, I want to remain faithful without inventing an explanation.

Because the question isn't always why God allowed a particular hardship.

Sometimes the question I need to ask myself is what kind of man I'm becoming while I walk through it.

Continue Reading

Suffering can raise difficult questions about our relationship with God, especially when we're trying to live faithfully and life seems to be getting harder. If you've ever wondered whether your circumstances are a sign of God's displeasure, read Is God Punishing Me?. And if hardship has left you wrestling with your own mistakes and the weight of your past, If God Has Forgiven Me, Why Can't I Forgive Myself? explores the struggle of accepting forgiveness while learning to move forward.

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Habakkuk's decision to rejoice even when circumstances were painful speaks directly to faith that endures hardship. Explore the Yet I Will Rejoice — Habakkuk 3:18 Christian T-Shirt.