I have two questions here: –
1. Why would an all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful God allow good things to happen to bad people?
2. Why would a God who is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful allow bad things to happen to good people?
These are questions that most of us regularly ask. We sometimes go through situations and circumstances which we truly feel we don’t deserve.
I remember there was this time that I almost went into depression because of overthinking and kept questioning God Why He hated me so much. I was going through a chain of bad things and everything I tried to do didn’t work out. During this time, I was doing my best to live a righteous life and at some point I fasted for 7 days and gave out almost everything I had to very needy people. My actions and commitment then made me feel like truly I was touching heavens and I deserved DIVINE ATTENTION but for real things were responding the opposite. I felt like God hated me. Most of my friends who were drunkards, practicing high levels of immorality and all manner of activities that don’t please God seemed to excel very well and flow in the rivers of His goodness. They seemed to lack nothing and things happened so easily to them.
I know it has not happened to me alone. A lot of people who serves God diligently have been performing badly in school and some wayward ones performing extremely well with ease. You can get a lady getting early pregnancy, abort, get another one, abort and still get kids before marriage and yet a person in marriage serving God diligently has been trusting God for a kid for decades but never gets one. A very good lady, God fearing and serving God with love may be married to a drunkard and adulterous husband and vice versa. You report to work early, work so hard, keep fasting and praying for your company and boss but another staff who never takes the work seriously, have sex with the boss and get promotion out of that. Some business people who don’t fear God, are corrupt and does all sorts of evil tend to excel whereas God fearing, faithful tithers struggle and others end up closing their businesses. When you look at the society around you, you will notice a lot of good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people. Friend, do not worry if you are doing the right thing. God is watching and it is not a surprise to Him.
Remember the stories of David dealing with lions and bears in the bush? He may have felt that God did not protect him enough but didn’t know that God allowed them to equip him with the necessary experience and courage which helped him face Goliath. Joseph being thrown by his brothers, sold as a slave and later ended up in prison in a foreign land seems very unfair to him but later it worked together for good. These are good men going through bad things but later these bad things became their testimonies. These are some of the verses that kept encouraging me then until my situation changed and they will encourage you too.
Proverbs16:4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.
Philippians 1:6 God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.
Isaiah46:4 Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Psalm 23:4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.
Deutronomy31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
A story is told of a gold miner who gave up almost at his point of breakthrough. During the gold rush, a man who had been mining in Colorado for several months quit his job, as he hadn’t struck gold yet and the work was becoming tiresome. He sold his equipment to another man who resumed mining where it had been left off. The new miner was advised by his engineer that there was gold only three feet away from where the first miner stopped digging.
The engineer was right, which means the first miner was a mere three feet away from striking gold before he quit.
The moral of the story is When things start to get hard, try to persevere through the adversity. Many people give up on following their dreams because the work becomes too difficult, tedious, or tiresome–but often, you’re closer to the finish line than you may think, and if you push just a little harder, you will succeed.
Life is very difficult for most of us. Our abilities to handle life’s problems are becoming increasingly strained and as a result depression, anxiety, panic disorders, substance abuse, plus addictions of all kinds are plaguing our society. We all feel discouraged from time to time. Some days, we might run full speed ahead and tackle life with no problem, but other times, we might feel like throwing in the towel. Life contains ups and downs for a reason, so that we may appreciate the good times and learn from the hard ones. We have to keep on pushing, walking, believing and embrace perseverance, endurance and patience knowing that whatever we are going through is not a surprise to God. We are work in progress and He is working behind the scenes on our case and at the appointed time/fullness of time, SUDDENLY things will change. You will sing and celebrate and all people will see the manifestation. Your SUDDENLY moment is coming.
One day a man was passing by a garden when he saw a butterfly cocoon which was about to get open.
He saw a small opening on it and watched the several hours of struggles the butterfly came through to get the body out of it. After many hours, it seemed that the butterfly stopped trying as there was no progress. This is like what I mentioned above, bad things happening to good people (the innocent butterfly).
He thought to help the butterfly by cutting the cocoon with a scissor. So the butterfly came out easily but the wings were shriveled and the body was tiny and withered.
Unfortunately, the butterfly was not able to take flight and spend the rest of life crawling with a wounded body.
This is nature’s way of telling the importance of struggles in life. Sometimes, different kinds of struggles are needed in life to make you stronger in the future. Never feel disappointed in life and stop trying when life offers you struggles but keep on fighting until you see success.
Friend, you may be one of those good people experiencing a chain of bad things happening around you and also you could be seeing a lot of good things happening to ‘bad people’ around you. Don’t worry, You are work in progress. Behind the scenes God is working on your case, fixing up things for you and in you. He is setting up the stage for you and once He finishes working on you, even your enemies and strangers will give you a standing ovation. You are like that beautiful jewel which was once hidden in the soil, there was excavation, it went through hot furnace and later shaped and gained a lot of value. After God is through with your case your value will increase. Just know that God is not yet through with you and your stage will be set. Waiting to celebrate your manifestation. Oh, my God!!!! You shall be envied by many and you shall be the testimony that generations will be giving.