You will never understand this until you understand the heart of God.
Start by looking at the Father’s Desire In Isaiah 62:1, God says, “For the sake of my people I will not hold My peace, and I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.” God is looking for His people to have a passion for Him, to have a burning heart. When the Pharisees came to see Jesus, they brought their attorney with them and he asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered in Matthew 22:37-38, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and great commandment.’”
What is it that God desires? He desires that His children come to Him with a burning, passionate heart. God wants us to trust Him…for without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). God wants us to worship Him…for He seeks those who will worship Him (John 4). God wants us to love Him.  And God wants us to obey Him. Some obey God out of duty This is ok, but it is not the highest form of obedience. Some obey God because it is right. This is ok, but it is not the highest form of obedience as well. The highest form of obedience is ‘affection based obedience’. We recognize that God loves us and then we respond by obeying Him out of a loving heart.
The problem lies in the Believer’s Condition. The greatest event of all time was the cross and resurrection. The body of Jesus was in the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene and two other women went to the tomb on Sunday morning. They first noticed the stone rolled away and then a light radiating out of the tomb. They walked in cautiously. They saw a powerful angel with a wing span the size of a 747 and powerful biceps. The angel said, “He is not here, He is risen!” This was the greatest moment of history. The women ran to the disciples who were probably eating breakfast. The women ran in…speaking quickly…excitedly. As they told the story, the disciples kept eating. “Hey, Thomas pass the jelly.” “Anyone want more coffee…it’s from Starbucks.” “Where are the grits!” They were not interested in what the women were telling them.
Is this what happened? Maybe. Look at Luke 24:11,  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. And look at Luke 24:16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. Notice the condition of the disciples. They heard it as if it were idle tales; they did not believe; their eyes were restrained; and they did not know. This seems to be the condition of the church today…it certainly is not a passionate, burning heart for God as He desires.
But there is a solution…the Son’s Solution.  Notice what was said about Jesus in Luke 24:32, And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” The Living Word explained the Written Word to them and their heart did burn. Why do bad things happen to good people? When God sees this question, He relates it to His desire, which is a passionate love relationship with us. When we ask this question, we see it as it relates to our comfort.  But the most important thing God wants for us is not our comfort, but a fulfilling purpose in life. He will release divine activity that produces pain and perplexity in order to bring us to our purpose.  He sends darkness to the point that we can’t see beyond right now. This causes us to begin searching, and God begins to open our eyes to the Written Word.
What we do at the point of pain, perplexity, and darkness is crucial.   We can close our spirit to God and resist what He is doing, or we can open our spirit to God and cooperate with Him. Notice Isaiah 26:16, “Lord, in trouble they have visited You,  they poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.” When God sees that the pain and perplexity have completed their work and caused us to seek a burning, passionate relationship with Him, He will then send promotion. This promotion could be to a position, to a location, or to a new level of intimacy with God.
Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people…as preparation for greater service, or a greater harvest, but most importantly, a greater relationship.
In His Presence,
Billy and Sheilah Daws