If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to "good" people?

Of all the questions asked by seekers, probably the most asked is the question:

If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to "good" people?

Most often, I hear Christians answer it by saying that God will discipline us when we did something wrong.

Hard times are SOMETIMES due to the Lord disciplining us because we did something wrong.

However, not ALL hard times are due to the Lord disciplining us because we did something wrong.

• Sometimes, it's because you've been faithful. For instance, Job was being faithful when the Lord singled him out to Satan. In this case, God called Job as a witness to testify that God is worthy of worship. Satan was allowed to cross examine Job. However, it was not a verbal cross examination; after all, people lie all the time. Satan was given the permission to cross examine Job's heart with those trials.


• Sometimes, we are called to be a witness to our neighbors through our hard time. Most of my friends and neighbors know that I take care of my mother who had a stroke and my brother who has numerous medical problems. Often, people would come up to me and ask how I do it. And it would be a prime opportunity for me to be a witness to testify that "I can do everything through him who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13]"


• Sometimes, it's because God is just helping us to grow and it has nothing to do with whether we did something wrong or not. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [James 1:2-4]"


• Sometimes, it's because of something going on in the spiritual realm that effects what happens here in the physical realm and we would not know until we are on the other side of eternity. For instance, God never told Job and his three friends what actually caused Job's hardship.

One final note:

One of my mentors said the following which keeps me on course when the storm hits.

If doing the right thing guarantees protection from bad stuffs and rewards of good stuffs then everybody would be doing the right thing. It is precisely the fact that there is a price to pay for doing the right thing in addition to the lack of guarantee of protection and reward that prevent many from doing the right thing. All we, who are doing the right thing, can do is to trust that the reward that we receive in heaven is much greater than the pain we suffer now. And that's why it's call faith.