The list below is not exhaustive in its reasons for why God would allow every calamity, loss, disease, or act of evil to befall Earth, but rather a general guide. One thing to note (especially from the Book of Job) is that even if we are righteous in God’s eyes and act blamelessly, that in no way guarantees complete safety from disaster or evil—at least while we are still alive in our mortal flesh.
1. Eternity with God after death far outweighs a lifetime of suffering, and hardships on Earth help us seek God (Romans 8:18). There will no longer be death, mourning, pain, or crying when people live with God (Revelation 21:4) because every good and perfect gifts come from Him (James 1:17, Psalm 16:2). Enduring many hardships is required to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22) because it draws people to accept God as Savior from the broken world (Psalm 34:18) and produces endurance and good character (Romans 5:3-4). Then, we won’t forfeit salvation even in the face of persecution, distractions of the world, and the temptations of sin.
2. God uses suffering to break pride and turn people to God’s righteousness to avoid the sinful path to hell (Job 33:17-30).
3. God is being patient with evildoers so that they have time to repent (2 Peter 3:9, Revelation 2:20-21). Prematurely killing evildoers, even by angels, reduces the number of people who can be saved (The Parable of the Weeds, Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). This is because some current evildoers still have the potential to repent and turn to God in the future.
4. God can use even wicked people to fulfill His purpose, such as in the crucifixion of Jesus to save many and in the spread of Christianity through martyrdom (see also: Proverbs 16:4, Genesis 45:5-8).
5. God is testing the faithful through evil, deception, and calamities to see if they truly love Him (Deuteronomy 13:1-3, Job 1:9-12, 2:4-6). This is an opportunity to earn great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:10-12, Revelation 1:10) and sometimes even in our mortal lives (Job 42:12-14).
6. God gives people free will to choose between being slaves to God or being slaves to sin (Romans 6:16-22). Many people choose the latter and reject God’s truth, which leads to many sins and heinous crimes (Romans 1:18-32). In this way, people knowingly or unknowingly choose hell or heaven for themselves (Romans 6:22-23).
7. God is punishing a group of people (cities, nations, etc.) for its evils, such as in the 7 trumpet and 7 bowl judgments in Revelation (see also: Genesis 19:1-29).
8. God is disciplining His people due to disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), which in turn can bring forth righteousness in them (Hebrews 12:11).
9. Suffering or loss is an opportunity for God to display the wonders of His power through miracles and draw people to salvation (John 9, John 11:1-45, Mark 5:25-32).
10. God’s punishment for the sins of a leader may also harm the leader’s subjects and loved ones, even if they themselves did not commit the sins (Genesis 3:16-19, Plagues of the Exodus, 1 Chronicles 21:8-15, 2 Samuel 12:13-14). This is another reason why we should pray for our leaders to be righteous, even if we dislike them. Remember that God’s morals are different from Western morals that assume individuals are responsible for their own sins alone.
God sees it fit to punish the leader’s people and descendants, and this is why all their children inherit the curse on Adam and Eve.
11. God’s plagues on a sinful city may harm God’s people living in it (Revelation 18: 4).
12. God allows great suffering on righteous people with great accomplishments to prevent their fall into sin and help them stay humble (Job 36:21 NLT, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Despite reading this list, some of you may be unconvinced. You may even think that if you had divine powers, you would be a better God than Jesus. You would stop evil on Earth and save more people from hell or even remove the need for hell. This line of thinking borders on arrogance; we need to remember, instead, that our knowledge and understanding are very limited compared to that of God, the Creator of the Universe. We do not know the extent of thorough calculations God has completed or the simulations of the future He has seen before deciding on how the world will run prior to His return. Not all tragedies will be explained in this life, just as He didn’t answer Job’s question about the cause of his suffering. Christians need to trust God and that His decision to allow the presence of evil in the world was based on divine wisdom and that He also desires to save as many people as possible from eternity in hell.
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