“Everything happens for a reason.” We’ve all heard it a hundred times in response to life’s tragedies or unexpected twists and turns in life’s journey. And for some people, this belief gives them strength and comfort when coping with loss or pain. Somehow, it just doesn’t ring true to me.
A child is abused, a friend publicly betrayed, and innocent bystander murdered. All these events are not orchestrated by a divine puppeteer. The God I serve gave us all free will to make choices – some good, some bad, some seemingly insignificant – that affect ourselves as well as others. There is no “reason” when someone chooses to act outside the legal or moral fabric that grounds our society and our faith.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that God can control everything. I just believe He chooses to let us make our own decisions, including whether or not to follow Him. God wants us to love Him because we truly want to, not just to ease our fears of the unknown.
Letting go of the belief that everything happens for a reason doesn’t shake my faith but rather strengthens it. My hope is not in a predetermined path. My hope is in God. My hope is in God’s love and presence. When our lives are shattered, He is there. The God of the universe weeps with us.
My four-year old had a nightmare last night and asked me to pray for him. When I finished, he said, “And God and Jesus, please always be with me.” Of one thing I’m certain…his prayer was answered before it was even asked.
Well said! “Everything happens for a reason” is poor theology. We can make the best from a bad situation, we can learn from it, we can grow from it, all with God’s help. What loving parent deliberately sabotages a child for some higher good?