Why do Bad things Happen

This question is probably one of the oldest challenges to religion. It used to scare and intimidate me; however, I have grown to almost enjoy answering this question. It is a question that springs up all throughout the Bible as well. It entails the questioning of why suffering, death, murder, rape, and all the other evil things in our world occur.

I'm going to take you back to the time of the Judges of Israel. This is before King David, King Saul, Jesus, and even Jerusalem. The people of Israel were just beginning to put their roots in the promised land. However, there was a problem; the Israelites used to be faithful and follow only one God, but this all began to change. They started following numerous other gods like Baal and Molech. They forgot how their God delivered them from Egypt and their other enemies. Pretty soon, Israel started to get attacked and the country was constantly under siege. In one point of history, they were hiding in caves and farming in the dark because when ever they had a harvest, their enemies would kill them and steal all of it. Consequently, poverty and sickness ran rampant in the Israelite camp. The people were hurting so bad that God decided to step in…

This is when he approaches a man Named Gideon. When Gideon found out who it was (after this angel figure told him) the first question he asked was "If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracles and wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us 'Didn't God deliver us from Egypt?' The Fact is, God has nothing to do with us…"

This is a great question that people have. You might have this question as well. If God is so great and mighty why does all this suffering happen around us? I mean where is he when kids are dying and people are starving? To the people with this question, I hate to say it but you might not get the response your looking for. Gideon didn't. Gideon did not get an apology or even a good reason. On the contrary God told him an answer that he was probally not expecting to hear. God told him that He(Gideon) was going to fix things. God was going to give him the power to change the fate of the world.

That leaves us with this final point. God doesn't have to explain himself away. Yes there is suffering, hurting, death, poverty, pain, sickness, etc. Yes children die of starvation and malnutrition almost every minute. There are young girls that are sold into sex slaves. Asking about what  is God doing is the wrong question. You should ask about what YOU are doing. We are God's hands and feet. HE uses us to spread his love an joy. Our purpose is meant to stop all this suffering and heart ache. The real question then is this "Are you doing anything about all this evil in the world?"

My challenge is to find a cause on your heart and fight for it. Gideon's heart was for his people that were suffering. He changed all that. What is the thing that you see that needs to be changed. Stop sitting around and do something. God has given you the power and ability to do just that.

Lol I did not realize how long this devotion was. I hope you got through it all and it  challenged you. All this comes from mostly Judges chapter 6