From Bad To Good

Today's question is, "Why does God make things happen for no reason?" This is a great question. It's one I have wondered many, many times. You tend to ask this when something has happened in your life, that makes you question if there is a cosmic ultimate plan or not. When you can't see any good, or anything beyond the situation.

Growing up through Jr. High and High school, I tended toward the optimistic side. I believed that everything happened for a reason. It helped me get through the tough times in life. But, if you think about it, it's not really that comforting. "Everything happens for a reason..." It doesn't provide any answers. It's sort of what I like to call a 'pat answer', something that we say when we don't know how to respond, to hurt and pain. My heart goes out to the student who asked this. I don't want to give a pat answer. I want to give a straight answer that will hopefully give you... well hope.

First off, God gave us free will. Every human has the choice to do what they want, to make their own decisions. As great as a gift as this is, it has the potential for evil. See, someone can choose to get drunk and drive home, and get in a fatal car accident. Someone can think that they have nothing and choose to steal, to rob people, to break into a car or house and steal valuable things. I will not shy away from the sad thought that there is evil in the world and that it can and does effect us.

God does not make these things happen. These things are a result of human choices. Evil is born in our hearts (Matt 15:19), and affects the decisions we make. The decisions we make effects other people. Now I will say that God allows things to happen, this I think He does for many different reasons. The biggest of which is to grow us, to draw us closer to Him and His will. God allows things to happen because we need to live with the decisions we make, and we need to live with how they will effect others, otherwise it wouldn't be free will, it'd be limited will.

Now, this is the last and most important point I want to make. Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." This verse can be tricky. A lot of people use it in their pat answer, "...see, everything's going to work out... There's a reason for everything..." I don't think people really understand what this verse says. This verse is saying that God can take any situation, and turn it into good, His good, for His glory. God has power over evil. Yes, He will allow things to happen, but He can take that evil, and turn it into something good. It may not be our idea of what is good, but it is God's, and that makes all the difference in the world.

This is where Christians are separated from non-Christians. This verse has incredible hope. The hope is this, no matter what, God can make it good. Even though we can't see beyond the situation, we can have a hope that good can follow. So, "Why does God make things happen for no reason," the answer is, He doesn't. He allows things to happen because He gave us free will. But be encouraged, whatever the situation, God can make good come from it.