Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is a good God why doesn't He always intervene when bad things happen? This age-old question has haunted old and young when faced with devastating circumstances. It's easy to believe in a good God when things are going well, but when faced with situations where bad things seem to happen without any just cause, it is harder to maintain that belief. In fact, many people have become atheists over this very issue.

Is there an answer then that can help us understand why a good God or anyone with as much power as God seems to have doesn't do away with evil once and for all? This is not an easy question to answer because it requires that we have a look at the circumstances which God finds Himself in. To many, it will come as a surprise that God actually was once faced with a dilemma. The story of how this came to be starts long before the events in the garden of Eden.

In Ezekiel 28:15, we are told that God created the angel Lucifer perfectly. Just as God did not create rotten apples but only good apples, God did not create the devil; He created the angel Lucifer.

Lucifer is the originator of sin. He was perfect until he developed iniquity—a trait that God never put there.

Freedom of Choice

The Bible tells us that Lucifer was created perfect in all his ways. God did not create sin, or an imperfect being. There was no reason for Lucifer to fall from his exalted position. However, God gives His creatures freedom of choice and Lucifer chose to rebel against God’s government and authority.

God could have made angels and people so that they could not sin, like he made the stars to remain in their orbital positions. But He made us free agents, not robots. Without this freedom, His creatures would not be able to truly love God, for then they would only be programmed to love Him. God wants love that comes from a willing heart. He is not a God of force. He gave freedom to choose whether to obey or disobey, to love or to hate. Lucifer chose to hate.

Lucifer held an exalted position in heaven. He was the “anointed cherub that covereth” the throne of God. He was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12-14). But Lucifer was proud of his beauty. Ezekiel 28:17 says this of Lucifer: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” His beauty went to his head and the seed of sin germinated.

Instead of glorifying God, Lucifer said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit upon the mount of the congregation…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

When Lucifer rebelled against God, he was thrown from heaven and became Satan, “the adversary.”

If God had chosen to destroy Lucifer at that point, some would have served God from fear rather than from love. Lucifer’s influence and the spirit of rebellion would not have been fully eradicated. Instead, for the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, God allowed Lucifer to fully develop his charges against the divine government so that they might be seen in their true light. Sin must run its course for its enormity to be fully abhorred; but it will eventually be eradicated, along with its instigator.

“Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes…and never shalt thou be any more” (Ezekiel 28:18-19).

When God created this world and all its creatures, “God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). God is not the author of sin, but He was willing to bear its consequences. He became a man so that He could die, taking the punishment for all of our sin (Romans 6:23).

The great battle raging in the universe is between the Creator of all things and Satan, the angel who rebelled against God because he deemed himself equal with Christ, refusing to be subjected to His authority and government.

Sin on Earth

After Satan was driven from heaven, he turned his attention to the newly created Earth. He confronted Eve and convinced her that knowledge of good and evil would enable her to be like God. He told her that sin does not have the consequence of death. Eve chose to disobey God, and Earth has since been a planet in rebellion against the government of God.

John 8:44 says that Lucifer “was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” His pride led to envy and his envy led to hatred. His hatred for Christ is so all consuming, that he murdered Christ. His hatred for those whom Christ has redeemed fuels the fires of pain and grief of this world.

Everyday we see and experience evil and pain caused by those who choose Satan over God. We didn't choose to be born, but still have to live with pain and sorrow. God would like us to learn from those experiences that choosing Satan as a master is a deadly choice. God hopes that by seeing the results of Satan’s government, we will make Christ, rather than Satan, our King.

Those who love and serve Christ are the enemies of Satan. Christ himself tells us that a life lived for Him will be neither easy nor free of pain. But only through Him can we find true peace: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In this world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Read about the great controversy between God and Satan that has been raging throughout history