Why did God do X?

[PartoftheBody]

What do you say to someone in a bad situation that thinks God wishes him harm?

I’m wondering particularly for situations that cannot be attributed to humans, like someone whose house was destroyed in a hurricane or who suffers from infertility, or that sort of thing.

I’ve tried explaining about God’s ordaining and permitting will [as I understand it], but that didn’t seem like a satisfactory answer. Thoughts?

 

[crystal_waters]

You could say sometimes god lets these things happen so that we will draw closer to him,

 

[Prodigal_Son]

Tell them to take it straight to God. If that’s means getting angry at God, then get angry at God. But listen to what God says in response.

The book of Job is a good model.

 

[Bonnie]

“When Life Doesn’t Make Sense,” Fr. Benedict Groeschel. It’s available from Lighthouse Media.

I listened to it yesterday for the first time - need to listen again. One misses things first time around, whether reading or listening.

 

[yellow8yellowM]

What do you say to someone in a bad situation that thinks God wishes him harm?

I’m wondering particularly for situations that cannot be attributed to humans, like someone whose house was destroyed in a hurricane or who suffers from infertility, or that sort of thing.

I’ve tried explaining about God’s ordaining and permitting will [as I understand it], but that didn’t seem like a satisfactory answer. Thoughts?

It really depends on the person. If they are generally very sensitive, then using reason is not necessarily going to help them feel better. I would stick to explaining the life of Christ and especially his passion and crucifixion. God suffered extremely so that we could unite our suffering with His and so that our suffering would not be in vain.

If they are very logical and not a very emotional type of person, you could explain the free will explanation further. If God protected every innocent person from danger then you’d have the laws of physics completely undermined. An innocent person would be able to run into a mafia shoot out and be free from getting shot. Bullets would drop to the floor before hitting them. Innocent people could get a close up view of tsunamis and tornadoes because they would be safe. You’d have innocent people doing some pretty risky things all over the world and a lot of people who thought they were innocent doing the same thing and dying early deaths. I don’t want to ramble any further, but you can see how it is pretty nice knowing that the laws of nature and physics are kept constant by God and that is a good thing, even though sometimes the innocent get hurt.

 

[Neofight]

What do you say to someone in a bad situation that thinks God wishes him harm?

I’m wondering particularly for situations that cannot be attributed to humans, like someone whose house was destroyed in a hurricane or who suffers from infertility, or that sort of thing.

I’ve tried explaining about God’s ordaining and permitting will [as I understand it], but that didn’t seem like a satisfactory answer. Thoughts?

Share Ezekiel 18:23 and 33:11!

Peace and all good!

 

[Bonnie]

Can’t believe I forgot to mention one of my favorite verses:

Though the fig tree blossom not
nor fruit be on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive fail
and the terraces produce no nourishment,
Though the flocks disappear from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
Yet will I rejoice in the Lord
and exult in my saving God.
God, my Lord, is my strength;
He makes my feet swift as those of hinds
and enables me to go upon the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

 

[His_helpmeet]

My husband has really helped me grow in this area. He replies that all of these negative things were caused by original sin. It isn’t God’s fault that problems such as illness, disease, death, and natural disasters happen.

Also, I agree with the idea that sometimes God allows something bad to happen because He wants something really good to come out of it. My grandfather died of terminal cancer when I was 16, and my father was diagnosed with cancer (not terminal) 3 months after his death. As a result of these experiences, I decided to become a registered nurse. Today, I teach nursing - and I think that I am better able to empathize with my patients as a result of the things I had to suffer. My nursing career also enabled my husband and me to get together - and we truly believe that God created us with the intention that we should marry each other if we followed His Will for us. In addition, I am my husband’s second wife - his first wife left him after 4 years of marriage. (That marriage was subsequently declared invalid by the Church.) Still, it was because of his first wife that he came to Canada, where he met me, and she is also the mother of my beautiful little stepdaughter, with whom I’m very close.