That’s one of the hardest questions anyone can ask — and one of the most important ones to answer honestly. If God is real… if God is good… then why does He let bad things happen to good people? Why does pain exist? Why do people get sick, why do babies die, why do tragedies tear families apart while wicked people seem to thrive?

Let’s not sugarcoat this. Pain is real. Loss is real. And pretending it doesn’t shake us is just fake faith. But real faith doesn’t ignore the questions — it wrestles with them in the light of truth.

The first thing we’ve got to face is this: we live in a broken world. Genesis tells us that when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, it didn’t just stain human hearts — it fractured everything. Romans 8:22 says that “all creation groans,” meaning the entire universe is feeling the fallout of sin. Death, disease, disaster — they’re not random. They’re symptoms of a world that’s disconnected from its Creator. God didn’t design pain; sin did. God didn’t build death into His plan; humanity’s rebellion invited it in.

So, why doesn’t He stop it? Why doesn’t He just fix everything right now? Because if He did, He’d have to erase free will — and that would erase love. God could end every act of evil instantly, but that would mean taking away the choice that makes love real. You can’t have genuine love without the freedom to reject it. God allows choice because He values relationship more than control.

But that doesn’t mean He’s passive. The Bible never shows God as indifferent to suffering. He’s not distant; He’s deeply involved. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” When Jesus stood at the tomb of His friend Lazarus — knowing full well He was about to raise him from the dead — He still wept. Think about that. The Son of God cried. Not because He was powerless, but because He felt what we feel. That’s who He is.

And sometimes, the question isn’t “Why would God allow this?” but “What is God doing through this?” Pain can break faith or build it — and the difference is perspective. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.” It doesn’t say all things are good — it says He works through them. Like a master artist painting with both light and shadow, God uses both joy and pain to shape something eternal.

Here’s what most people miss: this world isn’t Heaven. It was never meant to be. It’s a battleground, not a paradise. And on that battlefield, evil is loud — but it’s not lasting. Revelation 21:4 promises that one day “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.” The story isn’t over yet. We’re living in the middle chapters, but the ending has already been written — and it’s redemption.

So yes, bad things happen to good people. But the truth is, there was only ever one truly good Person — and something bad happened to Him on purpose. Jesus took the worst pain imaginable — betrayal, torture, crucifixion — so that one day, pain itself would die. The cross proves two things: that God hates evil and that He’s willing to suffer alongside us to defeat it.

We may not understand every detail of why tragedy strikes. We don’t have to. We just have to know this: God is not the author of evil; He’s the answer to it. He’s not the one who abandoned you in the storm; He’s the one who can carry you through it.

So when you look around and wonder why bad things happen, don’t measure God’s goodness by the pain in front of you. Measure it by the cross behind you — and the empty tomb that followed.

Because that’s where the proof lives: a good God entered a bad world to make sure evil wouldn’t have the final word.