Understanding How Bad Things Happen | Ooltewah United Methodist Church

Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people? Or why bad things happen at all if God is good? It’s completely natural to have these kinds of questions.

It’s helpful to remember that God has given all humans free will. And with the freedom to make choices, humans carry the power to impact others simply through making choices. When we make any decision, it can carry both short-term and long-term effects. Short-term effects are frequently apparent while the long-term effects of our decisions are often not so obvious.

Consider every action an individual makes is much like throwing a rock into the water, which causes ripples that keep moving long after the rock has been thrown. Likewise, our ripples affect others and we are impacted by others’ ripples too.

We can never know exactly how different the world would be had we made another choice in any given scenario. And we can never know the full effect our choices have made upon the world as a whole. When a natural disaster occurs, we can’t understand how many ripples there will be. Because we can never see the big picture of our choices in the world or even natural events, it typically seems like our world is entirely random.

In the same light, we can’t see the big picture surrounding bad things that happen in this world. Sometimes we say that God works in mysterious ways, but we frequently overlook the fact that a planet of people with the power to choose either good or evil can frequently lead to what we see as a singular and negative event. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care. It simply means we can’t see everything that is happening.

When we go through difficult or negative experiences, it helps to reach out to a body of believers who understand. Visit our website to learn more about our church and discover how you can get involved with our community.