Why God? How? How could you let this happen!?

We’ve all been there. A tragedy hits the news, or a personal illness strikes. We look at the chaos, the systemic evil, the sheer, crushing weight of human suffering, and the question bubbles up: “If God is good, why is this happening?”

For many of us, this is where the faith journey stalls or, worse, drives into “The Destruction of Deconstruction.” It’s a completely natural, human response to look at a world soaked in death and despair and conclude that God is either not powerful or not good. The problem of pain is perhaps the single greatest intellectual hurdle for the Christian faith.

But what if we are simply overcomplicating the nature of evil and, perhaps more importantly, the nature of time itself? What if we could simplify our view to see that the pain is temporary, and God’s patience is profoundly compassionate?

This Suffering is “Light and Momentary”

Let’s start here: The pain, the sickness, the death—this is not God’s final plan. It is a bug, not a feature.

When we talk about sin (and we, as Christians, love to overcomplicate sin), the core idea is hamartia—missing the mark. The whole of creation, currently marred by the sarx (the fallen human condition), is missing the mark of God’s perfect goodness.

The ultimate Christian “Hope” is not escaping to a cloudy heaven, but the return of the King and the inauguration of the New Creation—a restoration of all things. The entire creation, Paul tells us, is currently groaning, like a woman in childbirth, awaiting the ultimate reveal of God’s children (Romans 8:22).

Think about it this way: The pain you feel, the grief you carry, it’s all part of the temporary, agonizing process that precedes the ultimate realignment of faith and the cosmic reset.

Our suffering is, in fact, “light and momentary” when weighed against the “eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). We are stuck in a current evil age, a waiting room, and death is not the end of the story; it’s the “In the end, We begin” moment for those whose allegiance is to Christ. The pain is absolutely real, but its power and duration are limited to this short, passing age. It does not define God’s eternal goodness.

Evil is the Price of Freedom, God’s Patience is Compassion

This leads us to the core issue of evil. The most common accusation is that God is allowing evil to exist, which implies some sort of divine duality or moral compromise.

But evil is not a power equal to God; it is the absence of goodness, a distortion made possible by the incredible, terrifying gift of “Free Will”. God’s good nature requires that genuine love and allegiance (pistis) cannot be coerced. It must be chosen. When humanity, starting with Adam, chose to chase their own wisdom instead of God’s, the world became subject to futility (Romans 8:20). Evil exists because God honors the moral agency of the creature, even when that choice leads to horrific consequences.

Now, here is where we find God’s radical goodness. If God were to immediately stamp out all evil and sin, he would have to destroy the world now, because sin exists in every human heart—including yours and mine. This will happen eventually, and those who still live within the dominion of the fallen world will be wiped away and only those who have switched allegiance to the Christ will pass on to the New Creation. So, the very existence of the fallen, suffering, world is a testament to God’s patience.

God is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). His patience—the very thing people claim is a lack of intervention—is, in reality, his profound compassion. He is holding the curtain open just a little longer, allowing the opportunity for people to find grace and choose allegiance in his Christ. The continuation of this age, with all its mess, is an act of love to provide the opportunity for salvation.

How Then Shall We Live? An Eternity Mindset

So, how do we respond when the pain is crushing or the evil of this world feels overwhelming? We are called to two responses that cultivate an eternity mindset.

First, for your own suffering: Remember its time limit. Your suffering is temporary, but the joy of the inaugurated Kingdom—the reality of the New Creation—is eternal. Set your mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-2). This isn’t escapism; it’s a realignment of faith.

Second, when you see the evil and the suffering caused by others, look at the lost with the eyes of Jesus. He saw the crowds, and he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). They are operating fully under the influence of the sarx (flesh) of this age, trapped by its fleeting pleasures and devastating consequences.

Don’t be troubled by their destruction, but be motivated by compassion to share the good news—the Gospel—that the King has come, and allegiance to him grants life.

The doubt that pain and evil create is understandable, but it is ultimately misplaced. God is good. He has given us the terrible freedom to fall short of that goodness, and he is giving us the gracious patience to find our way back to him.

Hold fast to your allegiance. Look past the dust of this fleeting age, and anchor your hope in the King’s sure return. Know that the goodness of God is not in question, but our temporary suffering is surely coming to an end.