A Good God and Bad News

Wars. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Joblessness. Recession. Terrorism. Tsunami. Corruption.

Take your pick. The above list is not exhaustive, but it is representative of what is happening in the world around us. The reality of life seems to beg the question: What in the world is going on and who is in charge? The tendency is to allow the bad events of life to cause a person to think that God is not relevant nor in control of life’s events (Romans 1:18-25). After all, if God is good and He is in control then why do really bad things continue to happen?

God is sovereign. This is a propositional faith statement. The sovereignty of God means that God is in total and absolute control of everything (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24). The reason that many people have a problem acknowledging the sovereignty of God is because Christians have done a poor job of teaching a biblical view of God. The God of the twenty-first century is a universally weak God who is to be pitied by men because He loves them but they do not seem to reciprocate this love. (Click here to read an article in which I present the case for the existence of God.) Therefore, people become disappointed with God when the experience of life does not match the view they have of God’s love.

God’s most defining characteristic is His holiness. God’s holiness means He is set apart by His purity. His holiness is evidenced in all of His characteristics … a holy love, a holy mercy, a holy justice, a holy wrath, a holy grace, etc (Lev 11:44; 1Peter 1:15-17). When we see God for who He really is according to His self-revelation in the Bible then we are better able to understand that He is the Creator and He is still on His throne ruling and reigning over His creation.

Bad news seems to rule the day. How can a God who has a holy love and is in complete control of His creation allow bad things like earthquakes, hurricanes and joblessness to happen to the very creation He made? This question is asked from a viewpoint that does not have the Bible as its origin. Remember, if God is in complete control as the Creator then He is completely within His holy rights to allow whatever He wills to happen. We ask this question of God’s fairness because He does not do things the way we would do them. And that is the point of the sovereignty of God … there is a God and we are not Him!

Yet, the question of why bad things happen is a fair question. It is also an answerable question. When God had finished His work of creation He declared it to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Everything had been created and there was perfect relationship between God and Adam and Eve. There was refreshing rain but no destructive hurricanes or deadly storm. There was a man and his wife, but there was no marital strife. Everyone and everything was in perfect order. However, something went drastically wrong one day when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-7). And with that one act sin entered the world and brought with it the destructive consequences we are still experiencing today. Sin is best understood as disobedience to God.

God is not the author or cause of bad things. Rather, He is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:12-18). Sickness, death, war, storms, natural disasters, divorce, murder, lying, joblessness and every other negative consequence in life is the direct result of that first sin by Adam and Eve. Yet, all of these negative consequences to sin cannot stop God’s sovereign rule over His creation. The Bible teaches that God created everything out of nothing (Genesis 1:1). If there was a beginning then it is right to presume there is going to be an end. All of history is moving toward God because God has promised to restore His creation in His time (Revelation 21). In the meantime, God is ruling and reigning from heaven while He is reconciling us spiritually lost people to Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

We are to walk by faith and not by sight. Since God is sovereign and keeps His promises, there is a definite impact this truth should have on the way we live. First, we trust God based on the evidence of His goodness. We can trust Him to keep His promises to us in His Word. Second, we can face all of life’s circumstances with assurance of God’s faithfulness to provide and take care of His children. When we cannot see God’s hand we can trust His heart because He has declared that His plans are for our good and His glory (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). Third, nothing catches God off guard. He is the all-present, all-knowing, all-seeing God. Therefore, our lives are always right in the middle of His sovereign hand (Romans 8:35). There is nowhere we go or anything we face that God is not already there making provision for His children. Fourth, nothing can stop God from accomplishing His stated will in the Bible to redeem people from their sins and restore His creation. We are not living in God’s plan B, rather God determined all along to use this very plan of redemption to bring about His will in the world and in our lives (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20).

The bottom line is this … God is sovereign over everything in our lives. Our response in the face of trials and difficulties should be trusting faith based upon the infinite faithfulness of God to His holiness.