Sometimes, tragic things happen. We live in a world full of mass shootings; terrorist bombings; parents, spouses, and children lost in wars; genocide; starvation; sex trafficking; rape; domestic violence; infidelity; and whatever else you can name. The world is just a mess. People die at young ages, men and women of all ages are diagnosed with cancer, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and our leaders get more corrupt by the day. How could God allow such tragedy and evil to exist?
To be honest, I can’t answer that question. God doesn’t consult with us about how He should allow the world to run, and I wouldn’t want Him to. I can’t even write an article without screwing it up; I certainly wouldn’t want to be in charge of the entire universe. But what He has done is provide a book that is filled with men and women handling the suffering in their lives.
So, how do these men and women respond when the sky is falling down around them? One of the primary things that they do is remember. Instead of looking up and asking “why,” they look back and say “thanks.” In the book of Nehemiah, the Jews are returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple that was destroyed when the enemy Babylonians came and brought them to captivity. At this point, they have returned and rebuilt the altar, the temple, and the walls. Now they are seeking God and His mercy on them. The ninth chapter is filled with a prayer.
In it, they describe how God has been sovereignly and divinely working to bring them to where they are. He was with Abraham. And He was faithful to the people during the Exodus despite their repeated blasphemies and sins. In all things, He glorified His name. When they were wicked, He was good. When they were disobedient and ungrateful, He was faithful and loving. He had always been a good God. Even when it seemed like all was lost, He blessed them and never broke a promise to them.
When the world seems upside down and things just don’t make sense, sometimes the best thing we can do is remember God’s faithfulness to us. We were lost sinners deserving of the ultimate penalty. God should never have let His own creation disobey and disrespect Him like we have, but His love has overcome our sinfulness. His wrath is no longer ours to bear.
If the world didn’t exist as it does and if the events in the world hadn’t happened exactly as they have, we wouldn’t be who we are. If your parents hadn’t been together, you wouldn’t have been born. The world is more than a random sequence of events. Rather, it is a process that is working toward an end – an end that sees God glorified for all eternity. How it reaches that end is up to a mighty God – the one true God of heaven.
The corruption and evil that exist make us cry out and long for a world without suffering, without tears, without death. As Paul says in Romans, “the whole creation has been groaning together with our labor pains.” Even all creation is waiting and longing for that day. That world is coming, and we can be a part of it. But it is only by the great grace and mercy of a God who chose to give us a way out of what we all truly deserve: an eternity separated from Him in hell. This should change our perspective on life. It is not a right, but a gift. God allowed us to live and be loved by Him, and that is far more than we deserve.
