Return to 4th Quarter 2025 articles.
One of the major challenges we all face in life is understanding why God allows bad things to happen. Atheists often point out that faith in God does not prevent Christians from experiencing life's problems. Christians still get cancer, COVID, diabetes, and dementia. They face financial hardships, and their children can be born with genetic diseases, autism, or mental challenges. Natural disasters and accidents bring pain and suffering to Christians as well. If there is a God, why does he let us go through these struggles, even if we were dedicated and morally upright? Why do bad things happen to good people?
A great man once said, “If I can understand the mind of God, then God isn't God.” I do not have answers for everything I have faced. Even outstanding Christian men and women I know have experienced hardships, and I do not understand why. The heroes of the Bible also wrestled with this question. The book of Job spans 42 chapters on this very topic without providing a clear answer. For 37 chapters, Job and his friends debate why Job lost everything, but they reach no conclusion. In the last five chapters, God intervenes and only convinces Job that he cannot fully grasp the reasons behind God's actions. Still, God does not explain why he permits bad things to happen to good people.
The core issue that puzzles all of us when facing life's problems is the question of why we exist. Those who deny God's existence cannot provide a purpose for their lives. The Bible makes it clear that a spiritual battle is taking place between good and evil. This is not a physical, material war, but one fought in higher dimensions. Ephesians 3:9-11 explains that God has had a purpose from the beginning, involving “principalities and powers in heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 states, “We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 tell us that some spiritual beings rejected God and chose evil. That is why the conflict between good and evil includes beings like us. Like Job, we are involved in this battle to demonstrate that good is superior to evil.
Atheists like Richard Dawkins argue that evil does not actually exist. In his book River Out of Eden, Dawkins claims, “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” Can rational human beings look at the terrible things happening in the world and honestly say that evil is not real?
Could God intervene and simply eliminate evil? Yes, but what would that prove? It would show that God is a great destroyer, but the question of evil would still remain. That is why we are told that “God is love” (1 John 4:16), and we are called to trust in God rather than in physical things. We can learn from Paul's experience with what he calls his “thorn in the flesh.” In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul begins by saying that, in his spiritual state, he was taken out of his body to a “third heaven … and a paradise” that humans cannot describe (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Paul then encounters a “messenger of Satan” to buffet him (strike him in the face in the original language). Paul says he asked God three times to remove the pain of that messenger, and his request was denied.
On a personal level, I have faced repeated “hits in the face” by Satan. I prayed that my first child would be healthy and talented, yet Timothy was born blind and with physical and mental challenges. My wife of 49 years was struck down by diabetes and its complications, passing away despite my prayers for her healing. My prayers for the church to accept my ministry and support my efforts to do what I believed God wanted were never answered positively. Satan's workers had victory after victory.
My purpose in what I was doing seemed to be defeated, but God's purpose continued to prosper. Every time a door was closed, a window of opportunity was opened. When COVID shut down public lectures, the Web became an open window. Now we reach far more people than we ever could through lectures.
I have seen this in many ways and with many people. My dear friend Glynn Langston was born blind, but through him, hundreds of blind people have become Christians and found success in life. My co-worker Karl Marcussen tried to figure out what he thought he should do to preach and teach in public settings, even doing mission work in Italy. Only when he gave up on that goal and was working as a maintenance man in a Holiday Inn did he become part of this ministry over 40 years ago. With the talents God gave him, he has made a huge impact on this ministry. Roland Earnst was running a struggling video production and duplication business when he was led to become a major part of this ministry. Now, he uses his technical gift and academic knowledge to teach apologetic material to people worldwide.
Have we faced physical problems? Yes. We all have had tough times to deal with in life, but because we have experienced those problems, we can reach out to others struggling with similar issues. We are not living a carefree life without problems. We see God's purpose and have come to understand that our purpose requires us to endure hardship, do the work of a missionary, and fully accomplish our ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). I take no pleasure in the negative experiences I have endured, but having a purpose for living and the ability to keep going for nearly 60 years push me forward, fulfilling the reason why I exist. In a small way, I share the vision of all those who served God in the past.
Picture credits:
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© Timothy —My Son and My Teacher by John Clayton
Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.