What In the World is God Doing?!

The following was a question posed to me recently and it is one many ask. I thought it would be good to publish an answer here on the Blog.

Why is it when tragedy happens,some say it is God's plan? Why would God plan something so terrible as to take a child from their parents,for example?

Saying such things in faulting God is common unfortunately. It is generally the result of ignorance of the

• purposes
• plans
• ways of God 

At the root of the problem with this argument is the forgetting of several things.

1. that our choices can produce tragedies and all sorts of bad results.
2. they forget that sin has produced diseases, sicknesses, and all kinds of maladies, that are not nor God ordained.
3. they forget there is a devil who exists and causes much by instigating fallen man in cooperating with him.
4. that there are natural phenomenon's such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes... and unfortunately the collateral damage includes human life. That doesn't mean God ordained it.

The fact is, fallen man, sin, Satan, weather phenomenon, etc., become contributing factors. A child dying prematurely is the result of sickness which was brought on by Adam's failure in the garden. Not the personal sin of the child or parents but the curses of Genesis an beyond will be with us until Jesus returns. However, the good news is, we can have faith in God and I have witnessed many being healed and liberated from whatever malady it may have been.

Jesus dealt with this on several occasions.

In John, people tried to blame the blindness on the son and/or the parent’s personal sin as the cause. Jesus answers that it is not necessarily the case.

John 9:1-3 (KJV)
¹  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
² And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
³ Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

In Luke, people try to blame tragedy on the victim’s personal sin. Jesus states that tragedies are not indicative of someone’s spiritual altitude. He says that everyone is susceptible to bad things happening. 

Luke 13:2-5 (KJV)
² And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
³ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
⁴ Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
⁵ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

IN the next verse, the Lord makes the point that ALL – saints and sinners will suffer tragedies and hardships in this life.

Matthew 5:45 (KJV)
⁴⁵ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

However, can their be self-inflicted tragedy and sickness? Yes there can. For example, a person smokes three packs of cigarettes a day can become personally responsible for causing cancer in their body. Tragedy is the same way. If I CHOOSE to go 100mph down the road and I fail to negotiate a turn and hit a tree head-on and die – I caused it! Some will get up and say at my funeral “I don’t understand why God took Reuben.” The fact is – God did not take Reuben – I took myself out by choosing to violate laws. Sadly, people hear the minister or someone say it and they leave confused about this God who seems out of control, and seems to do things that violate his own scripture.

Here are some things to remember:

• our choices have a consequence
• don’t forget there is a devil
• God does not authorize every tragedy

God is NOT in control of everything that happens!! I know what you’re thinking “Reuben you just blasphemed!” No I did not and I can prove it. I want to ask some questions and you think about it.

1. Was it God’s will for the girl who was raped last night?
2. Did God say “Today, so-and-so’s time is up, so make sure they have a head-on collision and die”
3. Do you really believe that God woke up this morning and decided to throw a disease on a 3 year old?
4. Do you think that God is in control of destroying children in portions of Africa with starvation?

No to all four questions! God is not bi-polar and a loose cannon in his decision making and governorship. Here are the facts. We live in a fallen world full of the degradation that sin produces. Do not forget the fact that natural phenomenon is naturally occurring such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other adverse weather patterns. They have the ability to destroy the just and the unjust and their cause was not God or the devil – sometimes things just happen.

The bottom line is this. Be ready by being born-again and be a light to ALL people. Instead of looking for the fault of many things, let’s focus on the solution for the human soul. Biblical wisdom is this – a divine solution to a human problem. Jesus is called the wisdom of God. Why? Because he is the divine solution to the human problem of sin.

Believe on him and be saved today!