Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?
Does God care when your world collapses and your voice is silenced?
Does the Lord see when war drives women and children from their homes and destroys communities?
Can I trust God when evil flourishes?
If we are honest, we have all asked questions like these.
Years ago, I wondered: Why did God let the innocent suffer? Why do children get abused or starve? If He is sovereign, He could stop evil. If He is a God of love, He could make sure children were safe.
As I grappled with this, part of my anguish was God didn’t rescue me from abuse. Punished for something I didn’t do, then beaten until I stopped crying, created a deep father wound.
Rather than Dad nurturing and protecting me, he abused me – so my body learned crying was dangerous. When I gave my life to Jesus, all the wounds didn’t magically disappear.
When I gave my life to Jesus, all the wounds didn’t magically disappear.
Your Tears Matter to Father God
Did you know when tears are silenced, so is the person’s voice? Band-aids and verbal declarations cannot heal deep heart wounds.
Perhaps your voice was stolen; your tears mocked or dismissed. Please know, the Lord sees. He hears. And He cares.
The bottom line is it took many years for me to experience healing from my father wound.
I finally realized tears were crucial to my moving forward into the light.
There is a tendency in the Church to minimize emotional pain. This is unhealthy. To diminish one’s suffering is to devalue the one who suffers. God values your pain and your tears because He values you.
Band-aids and verbal declarations cannot heal deep heart wounds.
For Those Tears I Died
Dismissed by well-meaning Christians, not seen for who I was or valued in my own humanity, I nearly gave up. Then, I learned Jesus cared about my tears. I was in Iran when I first heard the song, For Those Tears I Died.
You said you’d come and share all my sorrows
You said you’d be there for all my tomorrows
I came so close to sending you away
But just like you promised, you came here to stay
I just had to pray
Chorus:
And Jesus said,
“Come to the water, stand by my side
I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied
I felt every teardrop, when in darkness you cried
And I strove to remind you,
It’s for those tears I died”
He Promises to Be With You
Our world is spinning out of control; suffering happens. Sometimes we make wrong choices. But doing the right things doesn’t mean we won’t suffer. Many of us have walked through a veil of tears, experiencing sorrow and pain caused by the choices of others. Though we love Jesus, our heart is still breaking.
God doesn’t promise everything will turn out great. He never said, just because He is good, or because you are strong, or beautiful, or wise – everything will go your way.
David wept many tears. He said to the Lord, “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” (Psa 56:8 NKJV)
He also said, “For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling” (Psa 116:8 KJV)
Jeremiah said, “Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping…” (Jer 14:17a NLT)
Jesus wept! (John 11:35) Tears are important release for our emotions!
Finding Comfort as Tears Fell
Please give yourself permission to feel your pain and to weep before the Lord. Your tears are valuable because you are valuable.
In the Heavenly Father’s economy – He will ensure none of your tears are wasted.
“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Rev 7:17 KJV).
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev 21:4 KJV).
God doesn’t promise everything will turn out great. But He does promise to be with you.
Dear Heart,
Come to Jesus; weep in His presence. He cares and weeps with you.
The beautiful truth is, as you weep before Him, the Holy Spirit draws near to comfort you and to anoint your heart with the Balm of Gilead.
And one glorious day, because the Lord cherishes you, He will tenderly wipe all tears from your eyes.
