Introduction:
Why do "good people" become victims of a disease or a natural disaster?
Why do "good people" get caught in the crossfire of acts of "random" violence?
Why do innocent children get abused?
Why does the Christian teenager get killed in a car accident?
Why did the marriage of 2 “good Christians” fail after they tried so hard to make it work?
How can a God of love let bad things happen to his children?
Does God really love me?
Have you ever had the feeling that God just wasn’t on the job? That he wasn’t keeping promises in the Bible that you counted on to be true? Have you ever been disappointed in him? Are you blaming God for some sorrow or adversity that has happened that you don’t really think you deserve? Don’t be afraid to admit it! There are things in life that none of us really understands.
The inability of some to reconcile the existence of a loving God with that of an evil and depraved world is one of the primary reasons why many reject the message of the Bible. However while this tragedy will prompt some to question the existence of God, in truth, it is only by turning to God that any real answers can be found.

God Created Everything Good:
The Bible teaches that God created the whole universe. He created our world and everything in it, but the world he created was very different from the world we live in today. Genesis 1:31 says that “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” However when Adam and Eve disobeyed God everything changed, sin and death entered into the world. Evil came into the world because of sin. God didn’t create things this way. Adam and Eve had been given authority over Earth, and as a consequence of their sin they lost control of Earth to Satan. Since then Satan’s been running things here. 1 John 5:19 says, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
When Satan took over, the world became infested with all kinds of evil including sickness and disease that afflict both good and bad people. We’re all sinners and therefore all subject to the evil that abounds here. And let’s remember that God’s definition of good begins with accepting the death of Jesus as payment for our sins. It doesn’t matter what “good” we’ve done otherwise, without that we’re lost.

Suffering is the result of living in a world that is under the dominion of Satan, a world that has been cursed as a result of sin, and a world where the potential for bad decisions made by people who have been blessed with free choice is an ever-present reality.

Humans Have Free Will:
God created humans with free will - the ability to make choices. He could have made us like robots, preprogrammed to love and obey him. Instead he gave us a choice, because he wanted us to come to him willingly. God must allow free will to function in humans even if it means that others will be adversely impacted, e.g. on some occasions "good people" are murdered. Mankind suffers because of its sin, and it is because of our sin that we are separated from God, who is perfect and holy. However there is hope. Our suffering need not be in vain.

The Way Out Of Sin:
The Bible says that everyone has sinned, that the punishment for sin is death, and that our sin separates us from God. Furthermore, there is nothing we can do to obtain the holiness (or perfection) necessary to enter into God’s presence. Left to ourselves, without God’s intervention, we are hopeless. However because God loves us, he has graciously given us a way out. He provided us with a substitute, Jesus Christ, who was perfect and blameless, to take our place and bear the punishment for our sins. Because he died for us we can be forgiven. When we trust God and choose to follow him, our suffering is not in vain. The Bible says that God uses trails and obstacles to teach us and draw us closer to him.

What We Can Gain From Hard Times:
It is easy to claim to be a faithful follower of Christ when things in our lives are going smoothly; it is often a very different story when the road gets rough. The Bible has a lot to say about trials and tribulations, and it is filled with example after example of God’s faithfulness. So why do many Christians bolt at the first sign of trouble? If we really believe that God is good, why are we so quick to turn our backs on Him in anger and resentment when things don’t go our way? Trials are an expected part of the Christian life.

When faced with times of trouble remember that God loves you, He knows what is best for you, and He has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). The Bible says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 38-39).”

There are 5 things we need to remember about the bad things that happen to us:

1. It’s the normal experience of life. It’s the human condition. We live in a fallen world. Things that happen to other people happen to us. Being a Christian does not exempt you from the normal experiences of life: sickness, death, accidents, financial reverses! But he does give us the ability to endure, or the way to escape!
2. These hard times in our lives are what God uses to bring us to an end of self-reliance. It teaches us to stop relying on ourselves and to rely on God.
3. It enables us to know God personally. Through these heartaches and adversities God reveals himself as our loving Father, sympathetic Savior, caring God, and a very real presence.
4. We know ourselves better. We are aware of our faults, our limitations, our wrong responses and attitudes. When we see God at work in our lives, when we study his Word and believe his promises, we not only get to know him better--we get to know ourselves better.
5. Suffering gives us a testimony. The things we suffer and the attitude we have through our suffering and the ability to endure are a testimony God uses to reach other people. God is an expert at taking tragedy and turning it into triumph.

Conclusion - Is God Fair & Does He Love Us?
The simple answer to both questions is "yes!" Even as believers in Jesus Christ, we still find ourselves at times in our lives doubting the fairness and love of a God that allows us to suffer injustice. It does often look as if evil is triumphing over good, but remember that’s only what we see here in this evil place. God has promised that evil men will be punished. Believers are told to focus on the things we can’t see (eternal life) instead of the things we can (the injustice of this world). That’s our biggest challenge. God promises eternal life for those who believe, in a place where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain. (Rev. 20:4) Following our short lives here, we get to live eternally there in days filled with happiness and joy. He has said that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9)

God is "fair" because His love motivates Him to provide for our every need consistent with His justice and righteousness. God is "fair" because He saw our need from eternity past and has the power to execute a plan to address all of our needs. He understands our suffering because there is no temptation that is common to man that He has not endured. His love is so great for us that He sent His Son from heaven to suffer death on our behalf so that we might share His life eternal. He allows His own to suffer so that they might through suffering be conformed to the image of His Son in the midst of a selfish world. There is no place we can ever go where we will escape His desire to reach us. The thing that makes our God and our Lord so truly awesome is the way in which He cares for each of us, even through the hard times and trials we all face in this life.

Blogs Based on actual questions asked by young people:
Hopefully these considerations to some big questions asked by young people are helpful to you. Please note that while I have done my best to be true to what the Bible and the Seventh-day Adventist church teaches, I may not always have got it 100% right. So please don’t just take what I say but keep searching out answers from God for yourself.
If you have any further questions, on these topics or any other, please feel free to:
1. Keep exploring the answers using a Bible, Christian books, Google, prayer, friends, family, youth leader, pastor, school chaplain, and an open heart.
2. Come say hi and chat to me in person when I am at your church or in your region.
3. Email me at LanceBoulton@adventist.org.nz
Don't be afraid to ask questions. God is bigger than your biggest question and isn't afraid of what you are wondering. Let your questions drive you into a fuller knowledge and experience of God (rather than driving you away from God).