by John

When something good comes out of something bad, did God put the bad thing there on purpose?

This is a very common belief among believers, but should not be. It is not in God's nature to give us anything bad (Matthew 7:7-11). Here 2 reasons why people believe this:

  1. There is no one better than God at taking an ugly situation and making it beautiful. The Bible is full of stories of redemption. He can make a bad situation so remarkably good that we sometimes have a tendency to assume that He put it there for that reason.

  2. We have a problem with the idea that God's will often DOES NOT happen. I know for a fact that is not God's will for me to jump over my cubicle wall and punch Matt Blair in the face. But I could do it. Is it God's will that orphans are starving all over the world, or that young girls are being forced into human trafficking? No, I am undoubtedly sure that none of that is God's will. It is obvious that God's will doesn't happen all the time because Jesus told us to pray that it would happen more (Matthew 6:9-10).


    Here are 2 very important principles that will help make this more clear:

  1. We live in a fallen world. The Bible characterizes Satan as the “prince of this world (John 12:31). Satan's personality is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). The bad things in life come from him. The good gifts come from God (James 1:17). Wait, there's more! Jesus' death and resurrection have given us authority over Satan! He doesn't have the right to dictate our lives anymore! We now have the ability and the power to live according to the will of God. Who is going to share that news ( Does the term “Good News” ring a bell?) with the orphans and the girls being trafficked?

  2. God is much more creative than we are. He is not racking His brain trying to think of a way to bless us that doesn't involve hurting us first. He created us for the purpose of being loved. It is in his nature to bless us and love us unconditionally. “But John, what if you broke your arm and went to the hospital and fell in love with the nurse and ended up marrying her?” God is smarter than us! He is better, and more creative! Don't you think He could orchestrate a meeting between my future wife and I at the grocery store! That reminds me... I need to buy more Gatorade. Maybe I'll meet my wife today!


There are a lot of questions and “what ifs” that could arise from this topic, which is not a bad thing. But it is important to never stray from the truth. Here are a couple truthful statements:

God is good. His plans for you are good. He doesn't want to harm you. If something bad has happened to you, it is because we live in a fallen world. We don't live in heaven. But now you know that you have been given the ability to bring heaven to earth, and to rise above any scheme the enemy could try to hurt you with. (Jeremiah 29:11) (Mark 16:15-20)