Why Has All This Happened To Us
Gideon was a great servant of the Lord and a mighty man of valor (Judges 6:12). Nevertheless, he was a “man” who had fears and doubts. In Gideon’s day, the Midianites were oppressing God’s people and Gideon did not understand how God could be with His people while they were being oppressed by the Midianites. Notice Gideon’s statement: “And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judges 6:13). Essentially, Gideon was asking, “If God is with us, then why has all this happened to us?”
God’s people today often ponder that same thought: If God is with us, then why do we have discouragements, heartaches, trials and burdens? Sometimes, people attempting to comfort the suffering offer remarks which add to the confusion. In trying to comfort the bereaved, one might say, “God loved your son more than we did and God took him home.” In trying to console a faithful child of God who is terminally ill, one might say, “God has a reason for everything.” In other times of trouble, one might say, “You know we should never ask ‘why.’”
But is it really true that God “takes” (takes the lives) of our loved ones because He loves them more than we? Does this mean we are at fault for not loving them more? Is it really true that God has a reason for everything? If an innocent person dies in a head-on collision with a drunk driver, is it because God had a reason for the innocent person to be killed? Is it really wrong to ask “why” when we suffer? Did not Jesus ask, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). If Jesus asked “why,” would it be wrong for us to do so?
The truth is that God created a perfect world, but because of sin we live in a fallen world, one in which there is death and all kinds of suffering (Romans 5:12). God allows us to experience suffering that we might prove our faith, but God is not directly responsible for all the suffering in our world.
I suppose we will always have questions about human suffering and why bad things happen to good people. However, we should understand that God loves us, and that times of trouble provide opportunities for us to grow in faith and patience: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
