When terrible things happen, many people instinctively say, “God has a reason,” or “God allowed this for your good.” But while these statements are often meant to comfort, they can unintentionally make God look like the source of the very evil that destroys people’s lives.
Cancer destroys families.
Tornados destroy homes.
Violence destroys lives.
Death tears apart those who love each other.
Scripture never presents these things as expressions of God’s heart.
Jesus said plainly in John 10:10:
> “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Destruction belongs to the enemy, not to God.
If we want to know what God is truly like, we must look at Jesus. Jesus is not merely a messenger from God. He is God in the flesh — “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15) and “the exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus said:
> “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” — John 14:9
So what do we see when we look at Jesus?
We see One healing the sick, not giving people disease.
We see One raising the dead, not celebrating death.
We see One feeding the hungry, protecting the vulnerable, forgiving sinners, and weeping with grieving families.
Jesus never once told someone that God wanted their suffering.
Instead, He confronted evil everywhere He found it.
This is why it is so important to understand that God does not desire the destruction of human lives. He does not want children orphaned. He does not want marriages shattered. He does not delight in sickness, abuse, suicide, war, addiction, or tragedy. These things are the result of a world broken by rebellion against God and influenced by evil.
God’s heart is life.
God’s heart is restoration.
God’s heart is relationship.
This world is not functioning according to God’s perfect design. Humanity chose independence from God as the source of life, and creation itself became fractured by sin, death, corruption, and spiritual evil. Much of the suffering we experience flows from living in a world that is deeply broken.
But where is God in the middle of all this?
He is not standing far away coldly orchestrating tragedy.
He is grieving with us.
Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb even though He knew resurrection was coming. That moment reveals the heart of God. He does not stand emotionally detached from human pain. He enters into it with us.
And more than that, He works within suffering to bring redemption, healing, transformation, and life out of the terrible things He never wanted to happen in the first place.
Romans 8:28 does not say that all things are good.
It says God works in all things for good for those who love Him.
There is a massive difference.
Cancer is not good.
Death is not good.
Abuse is not good.
Tragedy is not good.
But God is so loving, wise, and powerful that He can enter into even the darkest moments and bring life, healing, compassion, endurance, restoration, and transformation out of them.
The cross is the greatest example of this. Humanity committed one of the most evil acts imaginable — the murder of the Son of God — and yet God brought salvation to the world through it. Evil was still evil, but divine love proved greater.
This is the hope of the gospel.
Not that God secretly causes evil for mysterious reasons, but that God is relentlessly good in the middle of evil.
And if we will trust Jesus, love Him, surrender to Him, and desire what He desires, then even in a broken world God can accomplish extraordinary things through our lives. He can bring comfort to the hurting, hope to the hopeless, healing to the broken, and light into darkness.
That is where God is when terrible things happen.
He is the loving Father fully revealed in Jesus — grieving with us, walking with us, and working to bring life out of the destruction the enemy intended for evil.