How can someone believe in God when something really bad happens to them?

Question

My friend's brother died. She doesn't believe in God and now I think she never will. I don't know what I would do if that happened to me. Christians, how do you still trust God when something bad happens?

Answer 1

Why do bad things happen to good people? That is one of the difficult questions in all of theology. God is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc. Why should we human beings (not eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent) expect to be able to fully understand God’s ways? The book of Job deals with this issue. God had allowed Satan to do everything he wanted to Job except kill him. What was Job’s reaction? “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21). Job didn’t understand why God had allowed the things He did, but he knew that God was good and therefore continued to trust in Him. Ultimately, that should be our reaction as well. God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Perhaps a better question is, "Why do good things happen to bad people?" God is holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). Human beings are sinful (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Do you want to know how God views humanity? “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18). Every human being on this planet deserves to be thrown into hell at this very moment. Every second we spend alive is only by the grace of God. Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell in the lake of fire.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Despite the evil, wicked, sinful nature of the people of this world, God still loved us. He loved us enough to die to take the penalty for our sins (Romans 6:23). All we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Romans 10:9) in order to be forgiven and promised a home in heaven (Romans 8:1). What we deserve = hell. What we are given = eternal life in heaven if we would just believe. It has been said, this world is the only hell believers will ever experience, and this world is the only heaven unbelievers will ever experience. The next time we ask the question, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”, maybe we should be asking, “Why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?”

Answer 2

We come from God, we go back to God. Everyone gets to die. How can someone not believe in God when something really bad happens to them? I trust God by praying and when someone I love so dearly dies I thank God for allowing the time I had with that person and I know that I will see that person again in heaven. I feel sorry for your Friend.

Answer 3

As a Christian, I continue to believe in God because He sees the big picture and knows the end from the beginning. Don't give up on your friend. I have seen God change the hardest of hearts. My husband's brother committed suicide many years ago and it actually, later after the fact, ended up bringing my father in law to God and the family closer together. (Although, Suicide is not of God, he worked through that situation) There are some things this side of Heaven we will not understand until we get there and not everything is God's fault. But he will work through the good and the bad and remains a good and faithful God.

Answer 4

The thing is, it isn't God's fault that bad things happen to us. We are under the effects of sin right now, and this is Satan's system of things. God will soon put an end to Satan's rule, but until that happens, bad things will continue to happen to all of us. God will even put an end to death. He created us to live forever, but sin and death entered into the world way back in the Garden of Eden, and exists down to our day.

1 John 5:19b: " the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one"

Ecclesiastes 9:11 & 12: " I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. 12 For man also does not know his time. Just like fishes that are being taken in an evil net, and like birds that are being taken in a trap, so the sons of men themselves are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly."

So unforeseen circumstances befall us all in this system of things, but in the coming new system of things which will be under God's Kingdom rule...the following Scriptures show what is in store..

Revelation 21:4: "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

Isaiah 25:8: "He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces. And the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Jehovah himself has spoken [it]."

Isaiah 33:24: "And no resident will say: “I am sick.” The people that are dwelling in [the land] will be those pardoned for their error."

Psalm 37: 9-11, 29: "For evildoers themselves will be cut off,
But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. 10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. 11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. 29 The righteous themselves will possess the earth,
And they will reside forever upon it."

Matthew 5:5: "“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth."

Answer 5

when bad things happen to us it is not because of god. I think everything that happens to us was predetermined at birth and our whole life is a test . a test on howwell we handle the tings that was put into our 'life' folder. mine has been tremendous. I have had a lot of bad things happen to me but if i can't believe that there is a some superior force than I probably would have gone nuts by now. I think the old saying that god only gives what you can handle is true. it is a test and we are constantly on trial. I laugh and think that god has a huge remote and he watches all of us and says hm she is doing ok today or well look at her she is caving. imagine you watching a movie and saying to the characters why are you doing that? if you think about this all the time and pretend you are being watched like a movie your life will change. Have fun with it.

Answer 6

Life is full of bad things. I have had many terrible things happen yet it is my faith that brought me through. I believe we all have an allotted amount of time here but sometimes it is "stolen" from us and therefore God holds out his arms and we run into them. Tell your friend my little son (3) hit by a car and was near death, in comma for months. He woke and a few months later he asked me this question "do you remember when I saw Jesuss?" curious I said No and he proceeded to tell me this" the man took me down to the light and Jesu was there, all in white,. Jesus told the man to take me back it wasn't my time. Mommie < I didn't want to come". I hugged my baby and said "I'm so glad he did"
No, we were not and am not church goers, faith I have yes. This babe is in his thirties now, remembers nothing, and though he could use a bit of churchgoing(grin) doesn't go.
Did I mention I also believe in miracles too! That's another story . I can say I am truly blessed!
Let your friend morn for her brother, let her talk about him as often and as much as she wants. This is all part of mourning. I wish her well.

Answer 7

I have to wonder if she stopped believing or if she just blames God for the death. Blaming God is still believing you just start having a problem reconciling that a loving God would allow, or worse, cause this to happen. Remind her that God does not allow or disallow things to happen nor does God cause things to happen. We all were given free will that not only means that we can choose to do or do not but it means that things can happen that are not in our control. Being angry is human, let her get past that then remind her that there is comfort is knowing that her brother will never suffer again now that he is with God.

Answer 8

Who is to say that someone dieing is really all that bad? Sure, we miss our loved ones when they die but I do not believe that death is the end of the relationship. We do meet those people we loved again as we also pass on. It is a natural part of this life as God never intended for this life to continue forever. This life is only a time to prepare for what happens next.

Answer 9

Why should one blame God when something bad happens? There are lessons to be learned from the bad things in life. I thank God for the good , as well as the bad. Bad things happen because of something we do,or something we fail to do. Bad things happen because of choices we make, and because of choices we did not make. We all will die one day, only God knows when that day will be. If the Lord brings it to you, He will bring you thru it

Answer 10

Bad things happen, typically only those with a less developed concept of G-d use this as a reason not to believe, or those without a strong relationship with him. But yes many never recover religiously from life traumas