Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

Why would a good God allow bad things to happen? If God is all-powerful and perfectly good, why doesn’t he just stop evil? Why do pain and suffering have to be a part of his plan? Why does it have to be a part of his plan for me? We desperately want to know the answers to these questions. Not merely for intellectual or philosophical reasons but because we have all experienced the impact of evil and suffering in our lives. 

Many of us know what it’s like to lose a loved one we care deeply about, to feel devastated by a horrible diagnosis, or to experience pain or heartbreak at the hands of others. Even if we haven’t walked through much suffering in our own lives, we check our social media accounts and see the news of some natural disaster or tragic accident that has claimed many lives. We hear about political unrest, wars, and the abuse of ruthless leaders around the world. How can we acknowledge the good in this world while we are constantly battered down by evil? 

This difficult question leads many to wrestle with their faith and trust in God. On a personal level, we may wonder, “If God allows me to suffer so, does he really love me?” 

Or on a wider scale, “Does he truly care about his creation if he does not intervene to stop the pain they experience?” 

This article will not be exhaustive, and while I will touch on some of the theological and philosophical answers to the problem of evil, I want to address the deeper question we often ask and demonstrate that God’s goodness is compatible with the existence of evil in the world. Finally, I’ll share some reflections from the book of Habakkuk and highlight how the prophet’s faith was strengthened as he wrestled with some of these very same questions. My hope is not that this article will answer all of your questions but that it will help you to see the goodness of God in your life and in the world, and may set you on a path towards a deeper, more robust faith in the Lord. 

Did God Create Evil? 

If God is the creator of all things, did he also create evil? This question assumes that evil is a created being like everything else God made. However, evil is not a thing, it is the absence of something — namely, goodness. 

Phillip Cary writes that

God did not create evil. Evil is simply the absence of God’s goodness. 

Although God did not create evil, he did give both humans and heavenly beings the capacity to choose good or evil. Why? Because he is loving. 

While he wants us to live for him (and it would be best for us to do so), he doesn’t take away our ability to decide. Our love for him would not be genuine if it were forced. 

Again, God did not create evil. It is simply the absence of his goodness. However, he’s given us the ability to choose him or to reject him. When we reject the Lord, we reject goodness and consequently, embrace evil. 

Related: The Road To Emmaus: The Need for Faith In Suffering

Two forms of Evil: Moral and Natural 

It’s also important to note that there are two forms of evil. There’s moral evil — bad things that take place as a result of human decisions. There’s also natural evil — natural disasters and devastation that causes suffering. 

Both forms of evil came after the Fall. In Genesis 3:17-19, we learn that the ground was cursed because of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden. This does not mean that God causes the instances of natural evil we experience. Instead, natural evil occurs because creation was under a curse due to human sin.

Evil and God’s Sovereignty

Next, as Christians, we believe that God is sovereign. Therefore, the question we often ask is that if God is sovereign, how can evil exist except that God causes it? 

One might answer this question in many different ways depending on their theological viewpoint. But, divine sovereignty does not necessarily imply meticulous control over everything.

For example, a king or queen is sovereign over their kingdom but they are still not involved in the day to day happenings throughout their kingdom. They often give certain autonomy to governors who rule parts of their kingdom on their behalf. 

God can meticulously control everything but he doesn’t. 

The Philosophical Argument about God and Evil

Now that we’ve established that God does not cause evil, we are still left with the question of how God could be perfectly good yet still allow bad things to happen. 

Often, the argument that follows is used to deny the existence of God:

A perfectly good being will prevent evil as far as he can.

God is perfectly powerful and good.

So, if a perfectly powerful and good God exists, there will be no evil.

There is evil.

Therefore, God doesn’t exist.

However, as Christians, we do not believe that the third premise is correct. We believe that God is good, and yet evil still persists. So, we offer theological reasons for the existence of God and evil. These are called theodicies.

Christian Theodicies About the Problem of Evil 

These are some of the most common Christian theodicies for the problem of evil

Free Will Theodicy

We discussed this one briefly earlier. Moral evil exists because of human free will. Because of love, God gives humans the ability to choose him or reject him (and choose evil). 

Natural Law Theodicy

This states that if we want to live in a world where creatures can choose freely, the world must have predictable laws. Unfortunately, sometimes these laws of nature can cause harm to humans and animals. 

Punishment Theodicy

This theodicy explains that God sometimes punishes people for doing evil. Suffering is a result of this punishment. 

Natural Consequences Theodicy

A consequence of our ancestors turning away from God is separation from God. Evil is introduced to help human beings find God again. In other words, pain gets humans’ attention and leads them to pursue God.

Higher Order Goods Theodicy 

This theodicy explains that certain goods such as mercy, compassion, and generosity require evil. 

But, what about instances where a particular evil doesn’t seem to fit our theodicies? 

Skeptical Theism is a view that suggests God has reasons for evil that we may not always understand². Just because we don’t see what God is doing in a certain situation, doesn’t mean that God isn’t working in the midst of it. 

If God loves me, why does he allow bad things to happen to me? 

Beyond the intellectual and theological questions we ask about evil and suffering, I believe this is the deeper question we wrestle with. Why would a loving God allow bad things to happen in my life? If he allows me to go through suffering, how can I still believe that he’s good?

Personally, in the last few years, I’ve dealt with financial and health challenges that I didn’t expect or desire to experience. I wrote more about this here. In my life, I’ve experienced sexual abuse, I’ve dealt with social anxiety and I’ve walked through seasons of depression. These experiences are painful. 

I love what William Lane Craig writes though:

Of course God wants us to be happy and experience joy in our lives but he doesn’t want us to have these things if they will lead us further away from the only thing that will bring true fulfillment in life — knowing him.

Does this mean that God wants these bad things to happen to us?

No, not at all. But, sometimes he allows them because he knows that by doing so, it would draw us closer to him.

Related: An Open Letter to the Weary Christian Woman: Keep Holding On to Jesus

Remember when we discussed skeptical theism? Well, there are some things that we just don’t understand. Theodicies are good and they help us make sense of evil in the world. It’s natural to want to know why certain evils take place. But, sometimes speculating about the “why” behind a particular evil can cause more pain than good. It’s okay to not know. God is God, and we are not. 

When I struggle with this question, I look to the scriptures that point to God’s character as good and loving. Yes, bad things happen but God is truly good. Even when I cannot understand why he would allow something to take place, I can rest in his goodness. 

A Case Study: the Book of Habakkuk

The book of Habakkuk is the perfect place to go when you are struggling with understanding why God would allow bad things to happen in the world. Habakkuk cried out to God because of the sin and injustices in Judah. He asked God to do something to stop the problem. However, God sent the Babylonians to judge Judah, causing more pain and suffering. Habakkuk couldn’t understand why God would do something like this. 

Throughout the book of Habakkuk, we see God revealing his purposes for this judgment. Eventually, it would lead to the redemption of Judah and the incorporation of Gentiles into the covenant people of God. 

Why do righteous people suffer along with the wicked? 

As I read the book of Habakkuk, I noticed that the righteous people in Judah would have to suffer too. 

In our world today, we see that people who are faithful to God still suffer alongside the wicked. We don’t know exactly why God allows this. But from scripture, we can see that suffering appears to lead us closer to God. It purifies us and builds our faith. 

In Habakkuk, the righteous in Judah did have to suffer but they did not perish along with the wicked. They were able to live through the pain because of faith (Habakkuk 2:4). 

Habakkuk was one of the righteous in Judah. Habakkuk’s faith was strengthened as God reminded him of his character and unfolded his plan to him. 

Related: What to Do When God Says No: A Lesson from Habakkuk

The Suffering Servant: A God who Suffers Along With Us

Even those of us who are faithful to God are not truly righteous. We have all been marred by sin. 

Yet, our perfect God has no sin. But, he did not leave us to suffer on our own. Jesus took on flesh and entered into our pain and suffering. He experienced the worst of the worst. 

If God the Son was willing to suffer so that humans could come to a deeper knowledge of God, it means we are not alone in our suffering. 

Evil and Suffering are not Meaningless

We may have all kinds of theological and philosophical solutions for evil but ultimately, there are many things we do not understand. No textbook, commentary, or resource can provide all the answers. 

We do know that God is good. And although he has given us free will to make our own choices, he still works in and through our choices to accomplish his ultimate plan of redemption. The pain and suffering of this world will one day give way to beauty. As the Apostle Paul beautifully writes, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).” This means that it gets better than this. Much, much better than this. This is not a far away, intangible belief — it is a reality that is soon to come. 

1. Phillip Cary, “A Classic View,” in God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views, ed. Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr. (Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017), 18, accessed January 11, 2025, ProQuest Ebook Central. ↩︎
2. Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin, Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 153. ↩︎
3. William Lane Craig, “A Molinist View,” in God and the Problem of Evil: Five Views, ed. Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017), 49, accessed January 11, 2025, ProQuest Ebook Central. ↩︎