Have you ever gone through a bad experience and wondered where was God? Why did God let this happen? If God is good and loving, why does he let bad things happen to those he loves? When we say: God is good, what are we really saying? In what way is God good?
First of all, God is good morally. God is pure and holy. God cannot do anything bad or evil. God is good.
Secondly, God is good integrally. God’s integrity means that he is complete and perfect. God isn’t missing anything. God has no weaknesses. There are no chinks in his armor.
Third, God is good emotionally. This means that God’s attitude and actions towards us are good. God loves us. God loves us by having positive emotions and intentions towards us.
The Bible says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).” This verse shows us that God is good morally and integrally. In other words, God cannot do anything bad. God can only do good. God’s goodness means we can trust him to always act consistently. God is faithful to his own perfect character.
The Bible says also that “God is love (1 John 4:16).” This means that God relates to us as a loving heavenly father. He has our best interests at heart. God is on our side. God’s goodness means that he will always relate to us in a loving way. We can count on God to help us and to take care of us.
So, what does God’s goodness mean to you and me personally? All this means that when we find ourselves in a bad situation, we should not blame God nor should we doubt God’s goodness.
So, if is a good God, why does he allow bad things to happen to those he loves?
The Bible give answers, but none of these answers can fully explain why God allows bad things to happen to those he loves. The best answer I’ve found is in the book of Job. The book of Job spends forty-two chapters trying to answer the question: why does God allow bad things to happen to people he loves?
Job was the richest man alive, he loved God and God had blessed him with a wonderful family and a wonderful life, then God allowed Satan to take everything away. And Job wants to know why. Job can’t understand why God has allowed him to suffer so much pain and tragedy. The amazing thing is God never answers Job. God never tells Job why he let Satan ruin his life. He does give answers but not to Job’s question. The only answer we get is that God’s ways are beyond human understanding. Job says: “Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?. . . God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells (Job 28:12, 23).”
In other words, the answer to the question is beyond our grasp. Only God knows.
Our response to the mystery of why a good God allows bad things to happen, is to have faith. We must simply have faith in the things we can understand. And the most important truth to believe is that God is good.
We must have faith that whatever God allows to happen in our life—the good and the bad—ultimately flow from his goodness. God may not be the direct cause of our circumstances, but behind all events there is a good God who allows us to experience pain and tragedy. The Bible says: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).” Always remember, God is good.
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