Introduction

People tend to blame God for the death of their loved ones, destruction by natural disasters, and much more. Some pastors identify God as the cause for the calamities that happen to congregants. We blame God for the bad things that happen in our lives. I am amazed at how far we go, primarily clergy, to blame God for the bad things that happen to people, especially so-called Christians.

I hope to show you in this article that it is not God’s fault. We can blame three things for the bad things that happen to us: Satan, our decisions, and being an earthling. God is the giver of life, not death. God is not trying to destroy you. He placed so many things at our disposal, but because Christians tend to be ignorant of God’s word, they are unaware of their weapons and therefore succumb to calamity with no fight.

I am not suggesting a panacea for all of the world’s pains. However, I suggest that we can fight back and experience victories if we only take the time to read the Bible, understand the Bible, and do what the Bible teaches us in everyday life. Being a Christian or believer takes place outside of the church services and plethora of circus shows, I mean church events.

Why Do Bad Things Happen To God’s People?

I have had many bad things happen to me during my life. Like many others, I asked the question, “Why?”  Why did those things happen to me? I, like many others, was tempted to point the finger at God. I don’t mean that I outright wanted to blame God but instead tried to reason that somehow there was something that I did for which God was punishing me. So, indirectly I wanted to blame God to make sense of the troubles I was going through.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get myself to stay in that sandbox of “let’s blame God.”  I could not reconcile in my head or heart that a loving God would punish me that way or would cause such calamity to happen to me. Each time I had to resolve that there must be another reason why bad things were happening to me. After all, wasn’t I a good person? We all would like to think we are good and deserve to be delivered from trouble. We all may think our goodness may entitle us to a trouble-free life. How wrong I was. Knowing the scriptures helped me tremendously to recognize false doctrines about God.

Many years ago, I became very interested in the area of theology called apologetics, which is the defense of the faith. One of the questions that intrigued me was why bad things happen to good people. Another similar question is, “If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, why is there so much pain in the world?”  That question depicts the problem of pain or the problem of evil. Why do God’s people suffer from diseases, hardships, etc.? Shouldn’t we be above and beyond those things? Shouldn’t the world (non-believers) experience the troubles while we experience blessings from our God? Based on my observations, the body of Christ looks very much like the world. God’s people seem to be just as sick and just as poor as the world. Why?

So why do these hardships and calamities fall upon God’s people when the Bible reveals that God protects us. The question itself is foolish when considering what the Bible tells us about God, his kingdom, and his interactions with people.

First of all, there are no good people. Only God is good (See Matthew 19:17, Luke 18:19, Mark 10:18).

Psalm 100:5 (NKJV) — [5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

We should not think that our goodness somehow makes us deserving of blessings. We only deserve the lake of fire—some would say hell. Our sin has disqualified us from meriting or even earning anything from God.

Romans 3:23 (NKJV) — [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Therefore, when we think about experiencing God’s protection or any of his promises, we should do so based on God’s grace, not our merit. Resolve that God loves us and wants the best for us. He wants us well, and he wants us to succeed. He also expects us to be a conduit for his blessings to others since God works through people.

With that said, anyone who lives on planet earth is susceptible to something terrible happening to them. However, God is with us even in the midst of trouble. The deliverance that God provides for us may not be as expected, but it is there for us. Bad things also happen to us because of our own decisions or the decisions of others. Sometimes we place ourselves out of God’s protection or blessing by our choices. As Psalms 91 reveals to us, we have to be careful to dwell in the protection of God so that we would be protected. Remember also that God’s promises are conditional, and we have to be careful to meet those conditions.

God is Not Evil

John 10:10 (NKJV) — [10] The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 8:44 (NKJV) — [44] You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

It amazes me that when a natural disaster occurs, or some human-initiated tragedy occurs, some people tend to blame God. Some ministers will even say that God judged a city or area when a natural disaster hits it. More frequently, I hear ministers tell their congregations or audiences how God essentially killed a loved one for some greater purpose. I’ve also heard ministers say something like, “God plucked a flower from his garden” or “He loved her more than we did, so God took her.”  In essence, they say that God killed a loved one because he loved them more than you did or because there was some greater purpose. All of those statements are lies and falsely represent my God.

God is not evil. He does not do evil. He does not kill our loved ones because of some secret plan or purpose. The fact of the matter is that Satan is the evil one. He goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he may destroy.

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) — [8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I’ve never heard a minister at a funeral or people say that Satan was ultimately to blame for a disaster. They explain the situation away by falsely representing the will of God. It is not God’s will that people die of diseases or calamities. It is God’s will that we experience abundant life. It is God’s will that we prosper in what we do (see Psalms 1:1-3).

It is the devil who is trying to destroy us. He is the one killing our loved ones and trying to kill us. He is stealing from us and doing his best to destroy us. However, we come back, blame God, and subsequently let him off the hook. We don’t even fight back because we are too ignorant of his ways and ignorant of God’s word. We allow much of the evil to occur in the world—and we actually cause lots of the evil in the world—and we then somehow reason that God is behind it or it was somehow God’s will that caused it to happen.

Biblical Illiteracy and the Perpetuation of Evil

I have experienced in my lifetime in church and as a Christian that most Christians do not regularly read their Bible as if the Bible was necessary for their life. From my observations, I have found that Christians, or rather, churchgoers, are ignorant of God’s word. I find that to be evident by the things churchgoers say and do—or don’t do—in everyday life situations. Much research has been done over the years that support what I have observed. See the list below.

• Lifeway Research – “Lifeway Research: Americans Are Fond of the Bible, Don’t Actually Read it” (https://lifewayresearch.com/2017/04/25/lifeway-research-americans-are-fond-of-the-bible-dont-actually-read-it/)
• Lifeway) – “ How Many Protestant Churchgoers Actually Read the Bible Regularly” (https://factsandtrends.net/2019/07/02/how-many-protestant-churchgoers-actually-read-the-bible-regularly/)
• Revival Outside the Wall – “56% of churchgoers hardly ever read their Bible” (https://www.rotw.com/get-facts/behaviors/56-churchgoers-hardly-ever-read-their-bible)
• Barna Research – “State of the Bible 2019: Trends in Engagement” (https://www.barna.com/research/state-of-the-bible-2019/)

The result of not reading the Bible to understand it is that Christians are powerless concerning spirituality in their lives. They don’t know what God has promised and therefore are unaware of what God has made available to them. They are unaware of how to operate from the perspective of God’s kingdom and are therefore overwhelmed by evil with no recourse. Let me give you some practical examples of what I mean here.

Lack of Doing the Word

What happens when a churchgoer gets sick? First, there may be a prayer for that person by the pastor during a church service. Second, a prayer chain may be started for that person, or at least they will be added to a prayer list. Third, if the person is in the hospital or homebound, the pastor (or perhaps deacons depending on the denomination) may visit that person. The person may also receive phone calls and “get well” cards. It is rare to experience someone going to minister the word of God and healing to that person. It is rare for the people praying for or visiting that person to have a healing disposition.

Instead, most churchgoers tend to be rather negative. They only speak of what the doctor says or what the situation reveals. It is rare to hear a churchgoer or professed Christian talk as if they had faith in God to deliver or heal. I believe that this is because they are unfamiliar with the Bible. They don’t study the Bible to see what God said about things. They tend to regurgitate what was said from the pulpits or whatever the situation reveals. In other words, I find that most churchgoers live by sight and not by faith.

Do you believe that it will be a Christian’s first act to call the church’s elders when they are sick (See James 5:14-16)? Probably not. The first thing that most churchgoers will do is find their doctor’s number and make an appointment or run to the medicine cabinet to get a pill. Standing against the sickness or issue in prayer and from a disposition of victory through Jesus Christ will not be the first course of action. That path may never be taken except in desperate situations when all else has failed, and there are no other choices.

If we read the Bible to understand it and receive the message God intended for us to receive, then I believe that our lives would be much different. Sure there will still be hardships because persecution comes for the word’s sake. However, we will experience more victories if we learn to have faith in God and stand on his word. I believe more Christians would be healed and even spared death if Christians would do what God taught us and revealed to us in his word. What if it were natural for Christians to lay hands on a person when they are sick and for the elders to anoint them with oil and pray the prayer of faith (See Mark 16:17-18, James 5:14-16).

Summary

God is not out to kill you or your loved one. Your loved one was not given a fatal disease by God so that God could fulfill some greater good, punish that person, or kill them just because he wanted them in heaven, as some pastors and preachers falsely accuse God. God did not give you or your loved one a disease to teach you or them something. These, too, are lies told about God.

The actual cause of the diseases, death, destruction, thefts, and evil on the earth is because of Satan. Other things happen because we live on the planet, and things happen. We have to remember that the world, too, is affected by the fall of man, i.e., sin. The earth, as well as all of God’s creation, is corrupted because of sin. Even with this, we have promises of God’s protection regardless of what is happening around us (see Psalm 91).

I believe that many people die needlessly because the Christians around them have no idea what to do. Ask yourself this question. What did Jesus do about sickness? He healed everyone who came to him for healing and thus demonstrated God’s will towards illness. We don’t take a stance on God’s word with the confidence of knowing that wellness is the will of God for our lives. Why wouldn’t it be? I’ve had ministers and pastors oppose this position to believe that God sometimes wills sickness on us. Imagine that. One of the most significant reasons that the body of Christ is so sick—spiritually too—is because the clergy has failed to promote the truth of God’s word but instead has promoted their own denominational dogma or regurgitated what they have heard without any reference to the Scriptures.

Christians claim that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Psalms 24), but they don’t act like it. They complain about their lack, yet the Bible says that the Lord is our Shepard, and we shall not lack (Psalms 23). Christians do not bless each other because they do not speak words of life over people’s lives, especially when they have troubles. It is rare to hear Christians talk about life over their own lives and expect God to prosper them and walk with them.

The Solution

Stop blaming God for your hardships and troubles. Stop blaming God for sicknesses and the death of your loved ones and friends. Instead, start taking a stance against the devil with the word of God. Read the Bible to understand it. Do what the Bible says and experience the victory you state you have in Christ.

Start trusting God and relying on him to do what he says he will do. Instead of running to the doctor’s medicine cabinet first, pray and ask God for direction, deliverance, or healing first and mean it. I’m not suggesting that you should not go to the doctor. Still, you may find that the doctor visits, at least in some cases, will become unnecessary as you experience God’s deliverance or healing power in a given situation. I recall a lady on a healing forum on FaceBook who said that she experienced that same thing regarding the medical needs of her children. When she took the stance of believing in God for healing according to his word, she found that doctor visits decreased, and she saved money (no co-pays).

So start living like you are a Christian or believer. Start being a believer and thus experience what the word of God has provided for us. Know what God has promised and stand on those promises to see your life change. Stop blaming God and look at the real culprit, Satan, and perhaps yourself with bad decisions. With that said, pray for wisdom so you can minimize making bad decisions that may harm your life. Know that God will be with you and even deliver you/us from our stupidity. Amen.