WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

It is a question that gnaws at every human heart sooner or later—why do bad things happen to good people? It presses upon us with an unrelenting weight, for we know the goodness of God and we feel the misery of the world; we see the innocent suffer, the faithful bear burdens, the righteous tested, and we wonder—how can this be, and yet God remain just and holy? As the psalmist cried, “Why, O Lord, do You stand afar off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1).

One of the most troubling questions is this: why would a good God allow evil, pain, and suffering to dwell in His creation? How can a loving Father permit the innocent to cry, the faithful to fall, the righteous to endure trials they never asked for? Job wrestled with this, saying, “Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?” (Job 3:23). And yet, Scripture never turns away from our anguish; it points unerringly to the cross, where the answer is revealed not in words alone, but in the suffering of the One who is truly good.

For the only time a truly good person bore the worst imaginable suffering—was when Jesus Christ died. The Son of God, holy, sinless, betrayed, beaten, mocked, and nailed to the accursed tree (Isaiah 53:3–5). The Lord of Glory, the One who held the stars in His hands, was struck down by the sins of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yet in His agony, He did not falter in love; He did not forsake His purpose; He did not cease to care. He is the ultimate Good, bearing the ultimate Bad, that we might live.

Here is where hope rises even from the shadow of despair: the Christian life does not promise freedom from hardship, nor the absence of sorrow, nor that the righteous shall escape suffering. But it does promise an ever-present Helper, a Shepherd who knows every pain, a Savior who walks with us through every valley (Psalm 23:4). As the writer of Hebrews declares, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus Himself, fully God and fully man, is with us in every trial.

Therefore, when bad things happen to good people, we lift our eyes to Calvary; we see Jesus—God incarnate, sinless, yet suffering—who turned the sting of evil into the gateway of salvation (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). As believers we do not minimize suffering, but we trust a God who is good, who redeems suffering, and who walks with us one cross at a time. And in that trust, even the darkest questions begin to have a glimmer of light.

Lord Jesus, my Good Shepherd and faithful High Priest, I come to You weary and burdened, perplexed by the trials of life and the weight of suffering; grant me grace to trust Your goodness even when my eyes cannot see, to cling to Your love even when the world strikes hard, and to rest in the shadow of Your cross where every sorrow is known and every pain is redeemed; shape my heart by Your presence, strengthen my faith by Your Spirit, and let me walk each day leaning on Your mercy, until I see fully the glory You have prepared for those who love You. Amen.

BDD