When We Don’t Understand Why

Job 2:10 Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

We often do not understand why things happen in life.  Why is there pain and suffering?  Why are there terrible diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer?  Why are there severe weather and forest fires and other natural disasters?   Why do people suffer financial loss through no fault of their own?  Why are some people successful while others fail?  So many questions?  The book of Job is puzzling.  He suffered loss of all his children, his home, his livestock, and his health.  Yet, he was one who known to be blameless in his life.  Why does God allow things like this to happen to good people?  I can think of two reasons: sin and testing of one’s faith.  Yet sometimes we just do not know why.

As I was going through my prayer list this morning I was thinking of my brother.  He has always lived a Christian life.  He has a heart for God and has serve Him in many ways.  Yet he has dementia and can no longer do many of the things he used to do.  I ask God often why this brother?  Why did God allow what seemed to be the spiritual leader in my large family to lose his mind to dementia and such a young age?   We may never know this side of Heaven.

Then I got to praying for people in my church.  There are a few with cancer.  I do not know them because I have not been at the church long and COVID has kept the ones with cancer home.  Yet, there are people in my previous church who loved the Lord and served Him well who lost their lives to cancer.  One of them was my dear friend Ralph.  He was only 58 years old when he died.  We dated the last two years of his life and I still miss him every day.  Why did he have to die so young?

A few years ago, my nephew’s home caught on fire and burn down.  No lives were lost but they lost all their possessions.  Many things can be replaced but things like photos and family heirlooms cannot.  Why did this happen?  A lifelong friend lives in Florida.  She has lived through several hurricanes since she moved there many years ago.  She has not had any significant damage or lost of life from any of the hurricanes, but I cannot imagine the fear one goes through when the storm is overhead.  Why does God allow natural disasters?

Another close friends of mine had a daughter with severe disabilities.  She lived her adult life in a nursing-type home.  Last year she passed away.  I am sure my friends were heart broken.  I have not seen them for more than a year because of COVID.  Why are there children born with disabilities? 

Often, we see people suffer financial hardship.  When COVID was at its worse many businesses had to close, and people lost their jobs.  Now there seems to be an employee shortage.  Many small businesses cannot get enough help to keep their doors open.  This causes more hardship.  Many of those who lost their jobs are choosing to stay on unemployment rather than take jobs with less pay.  Many small businesses cannot pay enough to entice workers. 

Chronic pain comes in many forms and can sometimes be disabling.  I have arthritis throughout my body and fibromyalgia as well.  Last year I took early social security at 62 years of age because the stress of chronic pain and my job was getting unbearable.  I wanted to focus on my writing instead of working long hours.  Now I need knee replacement surgery.  Some days it hurts to walk.  Others have it worse than me yet come to work every day.  I have one friend who has become so disabled she cannot work anymore.  I do not know how they do it or why this happens to good people.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit, they were told not to eat, the world changed.  Because of this people suffer hardships and illnesses.  There are wars and famines and natural disasters.  Sometimes we do not understand why but God does.  As I said earlier, it usually is either sin or God testing us.  Sometimes, or often, we need to really look at our lives and see where we are falling short.  Maybe God allows something bad to enter our lives to show us our sin.  Several years ago, I got into a lot of financial debt after getting out of grad school.  I thought I would get a great job so I would be okay.  How wrong I was, and it has been years of taking control of my finances and working on my debt while working low wage jobs.  The great job never happened.  Yet, God has been good to me and forgave me.  I still suffer because I went astray but I have learned to be content.

Another reason is God testing us.  God knows what we can handle yet sometimes He allows stuff to happen to allow us to be tested and to grow in our faith.  I can think of several things in my past which forced me to grow and learn to trust God.  My divorce and death of my dear friend Ralph were two of them.  Yet, ever since I moved to the Wausau area, I have experienced even more growth even though I went through COVID twice and have been sick other times.  Trials make us stronger.

Finally, sometimes we just do not know why bad things happen to us and may not know until we reach Heaven.  Just yesterday a customer told me she lost her son at 24 years of age.  She said she still does not know why he had to die so young.  Has God allowed trouble in your life?  Do you know why?  Has it helped you grow as a person or become closer to God?  Or has it help you realize there is sin in your life you need to get rid of and ask forgiveness.  Always, trust God to see you through the trials we don’t understand why. 

Here is a couple of books on the topic.

15 Reasons Why Things Happen: Navigating the Adversities and Conflicts of Life

By Darril Deaton / WestBow PresWhy Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

By David Arnold / Creation House



Though we live in an imperfect world, there is always hope through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People David Arnold shows how suffering and turmoil are not beyond God’s ability to heal. Sit at the feet of Pastor Arnold and listen in as he helps you to understand our fallen world and the comfort and hope found in Christ.