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Where Is God When Disaster Strikes?
A simple chart to help you sort out what you believe about God

Note from Lee: I began thinking about this article after the tsunami hit Asia in 2004. I put it on the back burner until Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the gulf coast of the United States. Catastrophic events, whether on a personal or national level, leave questions in their wake and the biggest is "Why?" For those with a world view that includes a god of some kind, the answers become even more critical in order to maintain that viewpoint.

Disasters come. It is a part of life. But how and why do such terrible things occur? Why does a loving God allow these sorts of painful and horrendous things to happen? Life seems so hard. We suffer. People loose infants and children, spouses and parents and then they must live with the pain of separation. Some get horrible diseases and die "before their time" while others live so long that they outlive their family, their resources and their mental abilities. We see innocent victims dying everyday and we must ask the question: "Where is God?".

The bible does have answers but most people don't want to hear what God has to say about Himself in these matters because it goes against their traditional false beliefs about who God is and how He operates!

For example: I flipped past TBN the other night and saw some knucklehead preacher who was shouting something to this effect: "I wish people would stop blaming this hurricane (Katrina) on Gawd! Gawd did NOT cause this hurricane! The insurance people call this thing an 'Act of Gawd' but THAT'S NOT THE GAWD I KNOW!! MY Gawd would never bring a disaster like that to the innocent people of New Orleans!! My Gawd loves every single man, woman and child suffering there!"

Now I believe him when he says that his "gawd" would never cause a disaster like that because I believe HIS gawd is NOT the God of the bible. He has "another god" who is really not much of a god at all. If that god really loved every person who was caught in that atmospheric event, why did he not stop it? Wouldn't that have been the most loving thing to do? Was he not paying attention? Did he not know how bad the destruction would be? Did he not have the ability to stop the storm? Can this really be the same Jehovah/Yahweh/Almighty God of the bible?

Of course not! Even the most casual reader of the bible can see that God not only allows disasters to occur but HE CAUSES AND TAKES CREDIT FOR THEM (see passages below) - from Sodom and Gomorrah to Ananias and Sapphira, God has never been afraid to bring global, local or personal judgment to any and all people who deserve it. But what about all those "innocent victims" who DON'T deserve such treatment? Why do such bad things happen to such good people? Well, I am going to discuss that in Part II but before I do, here is flowchart to help you figure out if YOUR "gawd" is the Almighty God of scripture.

Disaster Strikes...
...and there is NO God. - This is about as far as many people ever get. They don't believe God exists so therefore everything that happens is random. You live and you die and that's it. Their goal is to live as long as possible and in as much comfort as possible and then die of extreme old age. Anything less than that is robbery and injustice because once it's over, it's over. There is nothing past the grave - no resurrection, no afterlife, no chance of recompense for life lost or suffering endured. While some atheists argue that the temporary nature of life makes them appreciate each day to the fullest, in the end they are still staring into the gaping maw of black death with no hope of escape. But even so, many people take comfort in the thought of an afterlife that is free of divine judgment because it sure beats going to hell!

Disaster Strikes...
...and there IS a God... - Now we have moved into a different realm. In this world view, there is something out there - a force or intelligent being - that is somehow larger than ourselves; a "god" that may or may not have some influence over the events and circumstances of creation. There are many gods to choose from and at this point I am not speaking specifically about any particular god. But if you say you believe in "A" god of some kind, then you must go on to the next level and explore further.

Disaster Strikes and there IS a God...
...but He COULD NOT stop it because He is POWERLESS and WEAK. - Let me just say this: If you worship a god who WANTED to stop a disaster but he COULD NOT do anything about it or he was distracted by some other problem and something slipped by him by accident, then you worship a very puny god. A man who desires to make love to his wife but who can not muster up the ability to do so is called "IMpotent" - having "NO power" to satisfy his desire (or his wife). The God of the bible is described as "OMNIpotent" - having "ALL power" including power over disasters and disease. In my humble opinion, a god who does not have the power to bring about his own will is not much of a god and certainly not worthy of worship. To stand by and watch helplessly in despair as a catastrophe or plague bears down on your beloved followers and to be totally powerless to stop it must make that god feel very inadequate. He probably has self-esteem issues as well. Awww, poor god!

Disaster Strikes and there IS a God...
...but He WOULD NOT stop it... - If you believe that that your god is almighty - all powerful - and that he COULD have stopped the disaster but then he DID NOT, you must ask yourself, "WHY NOT?" There are only two choices here:

Disaster Strikes and there IS a God but He WOULD NOT stop it...
...because He is UNCARING and CRUEL. - This is how some people see God. They believe that he created the world but he has a "hands-off policy" when it comes to world events and personal crisis. If he even watches at all, he watches distantly as his "science experiments" scurry about like ants in a ant farm. But in the end, he could care less about our suffering and pain or even worse, he takes some kind of sick pleasure in it, desiring to focus the sun's rays on our heads with his giant magnifying glass. This is often where so many "religious" people fall away from their "faith": They have worshiped their god and served him faithfully; they have attended services regularly, given to the needy, refrained from adultery and drunkenness and all manner of vice ONLY to be struck down with cancer, tormented by financial ruin, robbed of loved ones and so on. "This is the thanks I get?" they cry. "I HATE YOU GOD!! For what you have done to me, I HATE YOU!! You could have stopped this tragedy but you didn't and I will NEVER forgive you!" Sadly, I have actually heard people speak like this. "Tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, famines, disease, economic collapse... why don't you do something about all this suffering, God? Don't You care? Can't You see?"

Disaster Strikes and there IS a God but He WOULD NOT stop it...
...because He DECREED it for HIS Purpose. - Surprisingly to some, this is exactly what the bible says about God. He not only allows disaster but He brings it specifically for reasons we may or may not ever understand. Sometimes it is to punish the wicked, sometimes it is to strengthen or humble the faithful and sometimes we have NO IDEA what He is doing at all. But in the end we know two things: 1) God is Sovereign so no matter what He does no one can stop Him and 2) God is Holy so no matter what He does, it is the righteous thing to do. The mature Christian understands that suffering is a part of the sanctification process. While we do not enjoy suffering, we endure it as discipline from a loving Father who is using it to conform us into the image of Christ, His Son. There is nothing outside of God's control whether you like it or not!

Part II - So Then, Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Well, let's get the first fallacy out of the way right now. In order to make sense of anything the bible says about this topic you must come to grips with this fact:

There ARE no "good" people.

Scripture says NO ONE is innocent because everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) therefore everyone dies. Every person who has ever died from a disease or in a war or at the hands of a criminal or in a natural disaster was going to die anyway because:

The death rate for humanity is 100% - One death per person.

Most people - even atheists - understand that death is the inevitable end of every person - so death itself comes as no surprise. Rather, it is the untimely and/or horrific manner in which death comes that seems to strike us as premature, tragic, and/or unfair - especially if prolonged or intense suffering is present. Grieving over the death of a loved one is common to all mankind but it is the circumstances of the dying that heaps pain upon pain.

"We mourn for all the 'innocent victims' who died in this tragedy."

What do we mean by "innocent"? Do we really mean to suggest that these people were sinless? Again, from a biblical perspective, there is no such thing as an "innocent victim" since there is no one who is innocent (I am excluding Jesus for the sake of this argument). Every man, woman and child deserves to die because of their inherited sin nature. The universal condemnation of every man due to sin is NOT a popular notion but it IS biblical. The number of "innocent people" who perish in ANY catastrophe is "zero"!

So why do we struggle with this? I think one reason is that in America, our legal system is based on the concept of "innocent until proven guilty." In other words, the fact that someone may have actually committed a crime is irrelevant. You must first be able to PROVE their guilt. Without solid evidence, even a murderer can be called "innocent" in the eyes of the law. Even if you are caught in the act of committing a crime, you have the right to deny your guilt and plead your case. The burden of proof is placed on the prosecutor while the criminal is always assumed innocent.

Some people assume that God operates in this same manner: that we are innocent until proven guilty. The bible, however, says just the opposite (imagine that!). Before a righteous and holy God, every man is GUILTY until proven innocent. From the womb, we are condemned individuals under a death sentence and our only hope is to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court because we have no defense. THIS is how the bible characterizes ALL of mankind apart from the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (which covers our natural wickedness). We are ALL born with a sinful nature. We are not born innocent. (See the chart below.)

Here is how the Apostle Paul describes the natural sinful state of man in Romans:

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes." - Romans 3:9-18

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. - Romans 1:28-32

Here is how Jesus Himself said it:

"What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean." - Mark 7:20-23

These passages all paint a portrait of mankind outside the protective covering provided by the blood of Christ. Yes, from our viewpoint some people seem more well behaved, loving and generous than others and some people definitely act more wicked and depraved. But when compared to the righteous and holy standards of an infinite, almighty God then we ALL fall very short of innocence.

The fact is, God would be perfectly justified to wipe out every man, woman, and child on the planet (which by the way, he has done before in Genesis 6,7, & 8 and He will do it again). The fact that any man lives a relatively comfortable and prosperous life is evidence of God's mercy and grace - to both the wicked in the world AND the righteous in Christ. But there is NO ONE who "deserves" long life, health and/or riches as a reward or compensation of their own natural goodness. Not one!

So our original question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is inherently flawed in its premise and should more correctly read, "Why do bad things happen to sinful, wicked people?" But then that one sort of answers itself, doesn't it?

There was only one "innocent victim" in the entire history of mankind and that is Jesus, the Christ. He alone was sinless, never once acting contrary to the will of God, the Father. He did not deserve to die like the rest of us. But because of His great love for His Father and for the people that His Father had given to Him before the world was created, Jesus chose to go to the cross. He was falsely accused, convicted, and sentenced to death. He endured tremendous pain and suffering as a punishment for sins He did not commit.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. - Romans 4:25

By offering Himself as a substitution, Jesus received the wrath of God and the death that each and every one of His sheep deserved. But now, and for all eternity, those sheep who have faith in HIS finished work are covered by His shed blood and they are called "innocent" before God.

What does God say about who is responsible for disaster?
Here are just a few of the many verses:

Deuteronomy 28:59 - The LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

Deuteronomy 28:61 - The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.

Deuteronomy 29:21 - The LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

Joshua 24:20 - If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you."

1 Kings 9:9 - People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.' "

1 Kings 14:10 - " 'Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.

1 Kings 21:21 - 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.

1 Kings 22:23 - "So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

2 Kings 21:12 - Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

Proverbs 16:4 - The LORD works out everything for his own ends— even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Isaiah 10:23 - The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.

Isaiah 45:7 - I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.

# Jeremiah 11:11 - Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.

Jeremiah 11:23 - Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.' "

Jeremiah 23:12 - "Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 25:29 - See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.'

Jeremiah 42:17 - Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.'

Jeremiah 49:8 - Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.

Daniel 9:14 - The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Amos 3:6 - When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?

Malachi 3:6a: - For I am the LORD, I do not change.