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When nothing makes sense in life, people desperately grasp at straws for an explanation.
“Well, God never makes mistakes so this must be His perfect will.”
Have these heavy words ever dropped on you like a ton of bricks in the face of tragedy? I imagine they stirred up a fair amount of hurt and anger.
Rightfully so.
After all, is it really God’s perfect will for children to be sexually exploited by human traffickers? For innocent victims to be brutally raped and murdered? For terrorists to attack and kill innocent people? For servant-hearted missionaries to be kidnapped and violently put to death? For a well-adjusted, vibrant adolescent boy from a loving Christian home to feel so hopeless that ending his own life felt like the only option?
I would venture to say that a God who “perfectly wills” such evil acts wouldn’t likely collect many followers.
Scripture points to two clearcut truths about good and evil in this world.
Everything dark comes from the enemy. Period. (1 John 3:8)
And everything light comes solely from God. Period. (1 John 1:5, James 1:13)
So then why do bad things happen to good people?
If this question had a well-defined, logical answer, then hundreds of books would have never been written for its purposes.
This brief discussion will in no way quench our thirst for a comprehensive, concise understanding of all pain and suffering. While some hardships result from the sinful choices of we make, this blog post will strictly consider those that arise due to the sinful choices of others and the effects of living in a fallen, broken world.
My own quest for a reply to God, how could you let this happen to me? will provide hope-filled guideposts for those whose fear, confusion, and doubts are colliding with God’s grace, love, and mercy.
Defining God’s sovereign will can aid us first in gaining a general understanding of the difference between two important concepts: His perfect will and permissive will. Scripture is clear that, as the Sovereign ruler of the earth, nothing happens outside of God’s knowledge. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2, Isaiah 46:10). Some of God’s decrees are efficacious (“directly contribute to the fulfillment of God’s desire”) and others are permissive (allow for “an indirect fulfillment of God’s desires”). In both cases, God’s omniscience (knowledge of everything) enables Him to remain in control in all situations (omnipotence).
Next, we must dive into the most logical place in history–the beginning. The book of Genesis describes that when God created the earth, He intended for us to live in a perfect place free of pain and sorrow. At the exact moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the world was fractured by sin, God’s perfect will for us to experience the absence of suffering and eventually death shifted to rescuing all of humanity from permanent separation from Himself (Although He already knew the outcome: ultimate defeat of sin’s consequences).
To accomplish a loving act of such magnitude, God’s permissive will had to allow an insanely evil act: the brutal, unjust murder of His Son. Through the sacrificial blood of Jesus, mankind no longer has to live under the reign of sin and the sting of death.
God’s permissive will righteously fulfilled His perfect will.
While the example I described occurred over two thousand years ago, the same principle still applies today. Our Heavenly Father, with remorse and anguish, often permits horrific events to achieve His righteous purposes.
A concept well beyond what our finite minds can tolerate.
Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
In The Night Is Normal, Dr. Alicia Britt Chole says it this way, “though a friend, God is not our peer; though loving, God is not confined by our logic.”
If God is logical to us, then what purpose is there in serving him as a deity? In this case, He would be our equal rather than our Sovereign.
So we’re left with what we do know: Trusting Him based on His endless display of love, faithfulness, and goodness enables us to press on as He guides us through the Dark, even though we can’t see where we’re going.
We humbly declare, God, I don’t understand You. But Your Presence and Promises make it possible to trust You when Your behavior doesn’t align with who I know You to be.
Some Christians argue that God cannot be restricted to merely a permissive role in our suffering. One author explains it this way.
“Either God rules or Satan sets the world’s agenda and God is limited to reacting. In which case, the Almighty is Satan’s clean-up boy. Finding a way to wring good out of the situation somehow. But it wasn’t his best for you, wasn’t Plan A, wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. In other words, although God would manage to patch things up, your suffering itself would be meaningless.”
As I read this, my mind goes directly to the creation of the world. God intended perfection but mankind shattered the sinless design by listening to Satan’s damaging lies. Plan A went awry so God set an alternative plan named Jesus in motion to overcome death (As I said before, He knew the solution before Adam was even formed). Did Jesus’ death happen in vain simply because Satan was responsible for its necessity? Of course not! His death has life-giving meaning for every single human who has ever lived. Is it possible that God could still be working in exactly the same way today?
Our Savior isn’t reacting to or cleaning up Satan’s messes. He’s proactively demonstrating victory over sin and death every time He rescues one of His children.
Although mystery abounds behind the whys of our trials, the What is this for? stands in plain sight.
What God allows, He redeems.
As Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “He would never ask us to suffer for nothing.”
The redemption phase, entirely crafted by the one and only master Redeemer, is the sweet spot of it all, unlocking beautiful gifts that give purpose to the pain. It’s where we get to say, “Take that, Satan. What you meant for harm, God used for good.”
In no way, shape or form was Jesus’ death beautiful. But the redemption that occurred through His resurrection, giving each of us eternal salvation, is nothing short of glorious.
The short answer to the long question is, in our human form, we won’t ever fully understand, in their entirety, the purposes behind the senseless tragedies of life.
But there’s certainly nothing wrong with asking God for glimpses of the beauty that arises out of the ashes (redemption).
If you don’t get anything else out of this discussion, I pray these truths will stand firm.
Suffering isn’t God’s will. It’s Satan’s.
(Side note: Hardships we face stemming from God’s loving discipline due to our sinful choices reside in their own category. Because they are lovingly administered by a righteous and just Father, these situations possess zero ability to be considered evil. In the thick of it, the painful impact often feels needless. When the waters subside , the hidden shield of protection and opportunity for spiritual growth become crystal clear).
God often enacts His permissive will to achieve His perfect will.
Our tears won’t be wasted if we let God use them! (Genesis 50:20)
Satan’s primary interest is destruction. God is solely interested in redemption.
God’s Presence and Promises lead us to trust Him–even when life circumstances don’t align with His character.
We don’t need to know the why behind our suffering. We just need to know the Who that is leading us through the Dark and back into the Light.
If you are the friend or loved one of someone whose world just turned upside down, know that your response profoundly impacts his/her healing journey.
Giving what you consider a “plausible” explanation for the senseless events does more harm than good.
Instead, validation of the person’s pain and dedication to love them through their pain will be far more accepted, appreciated, and valued.
Explanations result in hurt.
Validation and dedication result in healing.
The next time you hear someone dangerously categorize suffering as God’s perfect will, graciously remind them that pain, grief, and sorrow were never an intended part of the plan.
But God will stop at nothing to use what He hates (evil) to accomplish what He loves (bring all of His creation to eternal life with Him).
