If God Is Good, Then Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
It’s one of the oldest and most gut-wrenching questions in human history:
If God is good, then why do bad things happen to good people?
This isn’t just a philosophical puzzle or a question for armchair theologians—it’s the question we whisper through tears when the diagnosis comes in, when the car accident steals a life, when another innocent child suffers, or when betrayal cuts us deep. It’s real. It’s raw. And it touches something inside us that demands an answer.
So let’s wrestle with it—honestly, biblically, and in context.
The Cry of Every Heart: Why Do the Innocent Suffer?
This question didn’t begin with modern thinkers. In fact, it echoes through the pages of Scripture:
Job, a man described as blameless and upright (Job 1:1), lost everything—his children, his health, his wealth—without any apparent cause.
David, in the Psalms, cried out: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1).
Even Jesus, hanging on the cross, cried: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Suffering is not new. And neither is the ache to understand it.
Free Will and the Nature of Love
One of the most consistent theological answers to this question points to free will. If God is truly loving, then He doesn’t force us to love Him back. Love that is coerced is not love—it’s control. And in granting humans the freedom to love, God also granted us the freedom to harm, betray, and sin.
Much of the pain in the world is human-caused: war, abuse, exploitation, neglect, greed. These are not acts of a cruel God—they are consequences of human rebellion.
But what about natural disasters, disease, and tragedies that no one seems to cause?
A Broken World Groaning for Redemption
Romans 8:22 says, “The whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The Bible tells us that even the earth is broken because of sin—fractured from its original design.
According to Genesis, creation was declared “very good” (Genesis 1:31), but when humanity chose rebellion, not only did our relationship with God shatter, but all of creation fell under the curse. Pain, decay, and death entered the scene—and we’ve been feeling it ever since.
This doesn’t mean God is absent. It means we live in a world that is not yet fully redeemed. The story isn’t over.
Jesus: The Suffering God
Christianity offers something radically unique: a God who suffers with us.
Jesus did not remain distant from our pain. He entered it. He walked dusty roads, cried at tombs, sweat blood in Gethsemane, and died in agony on a Roman cross.
Theologian John Stott once said, “I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross.” Why? Because in the cross, God doesn’t just allow suffering—He absorbs it. He joins us in it.
That changes everything. It means we don’t worship a God who stands aloof from our questions. We worship a God who has felt the sting of injustice, the weight of sorrow, and the pain of betrayal.
Historical Perspective: Faith Through the Fire
History is full of people who’ve clung to God even when the world crumbled around them:
Corrie ten Boom, a Christian who survived the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp, later said, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed for resisting Hitler, wrote from prison, “Only a suffering God can help.”
The early church, persecuted under Roman emperors, didn’t turn away from God—they spread His message with even more fire.
They didn’t have easy lives. But they had an unshakeable hope.
Philosophical View: The Problem of Evil vs. the Presence of Good
Philosophers call this the Problem of Evil—how can evil exist if God is all-good and all-powerful?
But let’s flip the question: How can we even recognize something as "evil" unless we have an idea of what "good" is?
C.S. Lewis, once an atheist, wrestled with this exact issue. He wrote:
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust?... A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.
In other words, our longing for justice and goodness points us back to God—not away from Him.
God’s Goodness Isn’t Proven by Our Comfort
Let’s be honest. We often equate “goodness” with “pleasantness.” But God's goodness isn’t about making life easy—it’s about making life whole.
He is not just interested in our momentary happiness. He’s after eternal redemption. Romans 8:28 promises that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” Not all things are good—but all things can be used for good.
Even suffering. Even heartbreak. Even the worst chapters.
So Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Because we live in a broken world.
Because human freedom comes with real consequences.
Because pain is sometimes the megaphone that awakens us to deeper realities.
Because Jesus never promised a pain-free life—He promised His presence in the middle of it.
Because our story is not over.
Hope That Holds
The real question might not be “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
The deeper question is: “What will we do with our suffering?”
Will we become bitter or broken open? Will we draw near to God or drift away?
Faith doesn’t always give us answers. But it gives us anchors.
It gives us Jesus—the God who suffered, the Savior who rose, and the King who will one day wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4).
Until that day, we wait. We wrestle. We hope.
And we walk by faith—in context.
Want to go deeper?
Subscribe to the Faith In Context Podcast—available on most platforms—as we begin a multi-part series tackling this very question, with biblical insight, and deep, honest conversations.
