It would be easy for me to say that trials are placed before us in this life to test and strengthen our faith. Therefore, "bad things happen to good people." Sounds too easy an answer if you ask me. Somehow this seems inadequate. I believe this question is asking for something more.

I will never begin to claim that I could fully fathom the answer to this question. Neither will I dare question God, simply because I do not know all things. To trust in my imperfect judgments concerning matters way bigger than I, and than turn around and question God's perfection? This would be foolish. My observations into situations and circumstances that would seem unfair, unjust and flat out wrong, does not qualify me to accuse God of anything evil. Nor do I have any right to demand that He explain Himself to me.

What I do know is that God is Love. Good times, bad times, it does not matter. God does not change.

If I do not understand why bad things can happen to good people, than I will have to simply trust in my understanding that God is Love, and the reasons behind all things that happen under the sun (and all things serve God's purposes) must serve Love in the end. It is enough for me to know that God does know what He is doing, whether I understand or not.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

We do this so well when goodness rains down upon the land in our lives, good things happening to good people. It is much harder on our understanding when good things happen to bad people, but we praise God and say, "Look at how great the mercy of God is!" And we accept this. But when bad things happen to good people, we are stunned. This does not calculate correctly in our small minds and tempts us to question God. "Why God, were you not there? Why God, did you let this happen? Why God, didn't you answer our prayers? The righteous have fallen to the hands of the wicked, and God does nothing! Why?"

Do we trust in the Lord with all our heart, or does this now become the exception to the rule? Do we now rely on our own understanding because we are now without an acceptable answer? Do we now stray from the path, doubtful of God, because He did not do what we expected Him to do, when we expected Him to do it?

It is not easy to trust in God when circumstances in our lives, or in the lives of others

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