Does God Want Bad Things For You?

A question that I have pontificated upon before, but nonetheless a difficult question in life is: “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  The basic premise is: If God is such a loving and kind God why is there pain and suffering in the world?  It is a concept that even the brightest minds and strongest of faith amongst us struggle with.  It is also a rather foolish argument that some use to reject faith, especially Christianity.

I have considered these topics in several postings in the past, but always with reasoning as to why God would allow pain and suffering in our lives.  But the question still remains: Does God intend for bad things to happen in our lives?

This question surfaced recently when I was asked the question “Did God intend for me to have cancer?”  I didn’t answer the question at the time it was posed because the question came from a close family member and it would not have been respectful to do so.

However I know that many people have the exact same question in their lives.  They cry out “Why me?” and “What did I do to deserve this?”

But have we considered the question from God’s perspective?  I have provided logic and reasoning in the past as to why we may expect a world of good and evil from mankind’s perspective, but does God really and truly design bad things for people’s lives?

I think this is an extremely important question to answer because it goes directly to the question of God being in control.  If God is God, then is he really in control?  And if he is in control, then why do these things happen?

I’d like to share with you my view by answering the question with a question.  “Did God intend for Job to lose everything he had?”  Remember the story of Job?  Job was the greatest man in the East – Job 1:3.  He was greatly blessed by God.  And yet in a single moment Job lost his donkeys, his oxen, his sheep, his camels, his servants, and even his sons and daughters – Job 1:13-19.  The question is: “Did God INTEND for Job to lose everything?”  We all know from the story that it was Satan who took these things from Job’s life, but consider the whole host of errors that God had to commit in order to get to that point:

This first error God would have had to commit was to bring up Job in the first place: Job 1:6-8.  Notice that it was God who brought up Job in the first place, asking whether or not Satan had considered him.  Did God really and truly believe that bringing up Job to Satan would not, or could not possibly result in bad things?  Of course God knew that pointing Job out to Satan was going to result in Satan showing an interest in the subject.  Do you really believe that God is that bad of a Chess player?  Of course not, God knew full well what he was doing and what the outcome would be.

The second error God would have had to commit was to taunt Satan with Job’s record – Job 1:8-10.  Note the second half of verse 8, God refers to Job as a perfect, and an upright man.

I think it important to note here Satan’s reasoning for why Job was a perfect and an upright man – Job 1:10.  Satan places Job’s condition squarely at the feet of God.  God placed the hedge of protection about him.  God blessed his life and all that he had.  Satan basically said “God, you are the one who made him perfect and upright, of course he fears you.”  We need to consider this when accounting for the blessings in our lives.  If Satan himself acknowledges God as the source of all good things, maybe we should as well.

At any rate, do you really believe that God did not consider the turn for the worse that things would take if he were to flaunt Job’s record in front of Satan?  Did God not believe that Satan would challenge him on that?  Of course not!  Once again God knew perfectly well what he was doing and what the course of events would be.

But the third error God would have had to commit was to lower the shield of protection that he had placed around Job – Job 1:11-12.  Do you really and truly believe that God did not know that bad things would happen if he lowered his protection from Job and placed all that he had in the power of Satan?  Perhaps you would like to believe that this was a test for Satan and God was hoping that Satan would do the right thing?  But Job 2 implies a different story.  God knew what he was doing, and God knew perfectly well what the outcome would be.  God even told Satan that he had moved against him and that he sought to destroy him without cause.

The answer to the question as to whether God wanted bad things to happen to Job?  Well I think God made 3 egregious errors that need not have been made if he truly intended to protect Job and all that he had.  And since I do not believe that God, being God, is capable of making mistakes, I am left with the alternative that Yes, God fully intended to allow bad things to happen to Job.

And if God could have stopped all of the disastrous events in Job’s life, I know he could stop the cancer in the bodies of those around us today.  But he chooses not to.  Does God intend, really and truly, for us to experience bad things?  Well, let me say that God is completely, 100% in control all the time and that nothing happens that he does not want to happen and that nothing catches him by surprise.

Why?  Consider the blind man in John 9:1-3.  Jesus answered his disciples that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but that the man had been blind from birth simply for the glory of God.  And that is the answer for everything in our lives.  Whether it be great blessings or incredible hardships, or happiness, or sadness.  It is all for His Honor, and His Glory, and His Pleasure.  Praise be to my Lord Jesus Christ.