Questioning God during tragedy
With the recent tragic death of John Travolta’s son Jett, I began to wonder is it really okay to question God during a tragedy? After all Jett was 16, why would God allow someone that young to die? Why does God allow bad things to happen in life?
This is a question that we must be able to answer. For you get questions from people like, “Where was God on 9/11?” “Where was God when the drunk driver killed the mother of two children?” “Why did God let my daughter die?”
These are all questions that people ask a Christian and we are put into a position of having to try and provide some type of response. What should you do as a Christian when faced with these tough questions?
Here are a few practical tips that I can give you:
- Affirm who God is. God is loving, God is gracious, God is kind, etc.
- Do not try to answer for God. The real answer you need to give is that you do not know since you are not God. It will do more harm if you try and provide a reason that God allowed this tragedy in your life.
- Make sure they understand they may never know the answer this side of heaven. I tell people that God does not owe us anything, He is the creator and we are the creation. Also if God provided the answer there is a good chance we still would not understand why He allowed the tragedy to take place.
- Show the person that Jesus suffered, Jesus went through trouble and that Jesus died and resurrected from the grave for their sin. Show them that Jesus has the power to overcome all evil and suffering in the world.
Is it right to question God during a tragedy? Check out Dr. Al Mohler’s blog for a further answer to this question. I am going to link him because this is what I hold to and the way that I would counsel people in these situations.