Why does God let bad things happen?

Let’s be honest…this is one of the hardest questions in Christianity.

If God is both all-powerful and all-loving, why not stop the bad things before they happen?

Here are a few truths that have helped me wrestle through this:

1️⃣ God created us with free will. If He forced us to only do good, we wouldn’t truly have the ability to love Him or love others. Real love requires real choice (Deuteronomy 30:19).

2️⃣ Our world is broken by sin. From Genesis 3 on, humanity’s rejection of God opened the door for suffering and death. Romans 8:20–22 even describes creation itself as “groaning” for redemption.

3️⃣ God’s justice is patient, not absent. If He ended all evil instantly, none of us would have time to repent. Jesus tells a story in Matthew 13:24–30 (the parable of the wheat and the weeds): God delays final judgment so more people can come to Him.

4️⃣ God Himself entered into suffering. Christianity is unique here…God doesn’t stay distant! Jesus suffered betrayal, loss, grief, and more the cross. Isaiah 53:3 calls Him “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” He knows what pain feels like.

5️⃣ Suffering is not the end of the story. Revelation 21 promises a day with no more tears, mourning, or pain. Romans 8:28 says God can redeem even the hardest things for good, though often in ways we don’t yet see.

💡 For me, the “why” of suffering is still mysterious (and probably will always be on this side of heaven)…

but the cross shows me what the answer cannot be: that God doesn’t care. Quite the contrary, God DOES care!!

So much so that He stepped into our pain, and through Him alone He promises it won’t last forever. ✝️

If you’ve wrestled with this too, you’re not alone. Israel itself was named after wrestling with God (Genesis 32:28). Honest questions don’t scare Him.