Where is God when bad things happen? Many of our most difficult questions come from considering God’s role in tragedies and why he allows so much suffering in the first place if he is truly good. We can often come up with reasons for hope when bad things happen to good people; maybe that tragedy will lead to personal growth or create an opportunity for positive change. These reasons usually place the power of hope into the hands of the survivor who prevails despite God’s seeming apathy.
The book of Job is well-known for exploring this struggle. When viewing calamity like Job experienced, many people conclude that God is evil, powerless, uncaring, or all three at once, much like Job’s wife who told him to curse God and die. Job’s unhelpful friends made the situation worse by falsely accusing Job of sins that could have caused his suffering.
The beliefs of Job’s friends are very similar to karma, a popular concept that appeals to nearly six out of every ten American adults and about a third of American Christians who have an otherwise biblical worldview. According to Hinduism, the religion from which karma originates, karma is a law of the universe that rewards those who live a good life, punishes those who live a bad life, and determines how your next reincarnated life will go. At first glance, karma is a rather appealing system of justice. Because it’s impersonal, there’s no need to explain why bad things happen or why God seems so distant. Karma says that you can control whether good or bad comes your way without God’s intervention.
Yet karma is unforgiving. It enslaves you to your sins, demanding that you do enough good until the scale balances out . . . which, if we’re all honest no number of lifetimes could accomplish. Karma is also unmerciful. If you were born into poverty, have a disability, or are facing a situation you can’t control, karma tells you that you did something to deserve it, whether in this life or a past life that you can’t even remember.
Not everyone who uses the word “karma” has adopted this set of beliefs. Sometimes it’s viewed as a shorthand term for God’s justice, even by well-meaning Christians who connect it to Paul’s warning that a person reaps what he or she sows (Galatians 6:7). However, some Christians have adopted a different idea that says God is uninvolved: deism.
Deism is the idea that God created the world and left it to run on its own. It was the view of God held by most of our nation’s founding fathers. Although deism is no longer a popular label to wear, various forms of it continue to surface in our thinking. When tragedy strikes, our words and actions often insinuate that God is either far away or completely checked out despite our stated beliefs. How many times have we lost hope or made an unwise choice because we thought God wasn’t solving a problem quickly enough?
Job can relate. After pages and pages of accusations from his friends, patient Job begins to break, saying, “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand, you attack me. You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm” (Job 30:20-22). In response to Job’s cry, God came out of a whirlwind to question him about the marvels of creation. God never explained his actions to Job, but it didn’t matter. The Lord was present and running the world, just as he always had been.
We have an even greater revelation than Job. At the cross, the seeming contradiction between God’s goodness and the world’s evil is resolved. Mistreated by wicked men and truly abandoned by the Father, Jesus experienced the ultimate injustice of facing divine wrath he didn’t deserve for us. Because of this truth, you can be confident that God is always near no matter how you feel: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5,6).
Where is God for us now? Look no further than your own life. Day after day, God continues to provide for you, making sure you have food to eat, clothes to wear, and an entire network of support from family, friends, and institutions. Best of all, God has given you faith and the hope of eternal life that comes through Christ. What other blessings can you list?
For further learning:
Epicurus’ trilemma: An objection to God’s existence through the argument that if God can’t prevent evil then he is not all-powerful; if God is not willing to prevent evil then he is not all-good; and if God is all-good and all-powerful, then evil should not exist. For Christians, the solution is found in God’s plan of salvation as a response to humanity’s fall into sin.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: The increasingly popular belief among younger generations that God rewards good or nice people with heaven (moralistic), wants people to be happy (therapeutic), and gets involved only if there’s a problem (deism).
Recommended resources:
- Deep as the Sea: Letters to Survivors of Trauma
- Where in the World is God?
- God’s Providence: He Cares for You
- 364 Days of Thanksgiving and Devotion set
Written by Erika Sims, edited by Ray Schumacher