Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

Seeing the big picture can help you find strength in difficult times.

A man sits at the bedside of a woman in a hospital bed

How can a loving God allow His children to suffer? If God exists, why didn’t He stop a child from being abused? Why would He let a mother of three young children be diagnosed with terminal cancer, or a drunken driver kill someone?

You might have your own version of these questions, born out of the most agonizing thing you’ve experienced in your life. Even Jesus Christ, while He suffered on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

Your ultimate purpose here on earth is to become more like your Heavenly Father before returning to live with Him in joy and peace forever. You can find inner strength in the face of trials as you understand why He allows you to go through painful things:

To make you better

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Moments of difficulty offer us opportunities to grow and learn. In the book of Isaiah, we read, “Behold, I have refined thee … ; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). Like the heat of a refiner’s fire purifies metal ore and forges stronger steel, your difficulties purify and strengthen you.

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To teach you empathy

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When we experience hard times, we learn how to have empathy for others. The empathy you develop as you experience new difficulties makes you more like Jesus Christ, who provided a perfect example for all of us to follow. Because Jesus suffered and died for all of our sins, He perfectly understands what you're going through and how to help you.

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To allow free will

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God gives each of His children the ability to choose between right and wrong. Unfortunately, that sometimes means that innocent people will suffer due to the poor choices of others. But God has promised that suffering will not last forever. In the New Testament, we read that after this life, “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” (Revelation 21:4). All that is unfair about life will be made right through Jesus Christ.

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Coping with Grief

The grief accompanying the loss of a loved one is as inevitable as death itself. Mourning is a painful process, but relying on God and the people around you can help you get through it.

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How can I find happiness despite my own struggles?

As you go through your own unique trials, you can be strengthened as you strive to follow the Savior’s perfect example of relying on God and His promises. He loves you and wants what’s best for you. Keep an eternal perspective, patiently trusting that your pains and sorrows will be a small moment in the course of your eternal life and that the reward of the righteous is great.

Continue to make good choices, even when life is hard. Prayer, scripture study, and listening to inspiring music can help you feel peace. Helping others instead of focusing on your own problems can increase your sense of gratitude. Setting aside the Sabbath day as a day of rest and spending time with family can reduce your stress.

You can find great healing, comfort, and peace in Jesus, our Savior. In the Holy Bible, we read that the Savior’s role is “to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus knows your pain because He felt it first. He can heal you.

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.”

—Romans 5:3–4 (New Testament)

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

—John 14:27 (New Testament)

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.”

—Doctrine and Covenants 121:7–8

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