Why Do Bad Things Happen to God’s People?

Pastor Bill Henderson addresses the persistent question of why God allows suffering and offers a gospel-centered framework for understanding pain. Opening with candid honesty about changing course to meet the congregation’s needs, the talk maps four common responses to affliction—denial, anger, blame, or acceptance—and urges Christians to move from victimhood to apprenticeship under God’s providence. Anchoring the discussion in Romans 8:18–27, the speaker contrasts present sufferings with the future glory to come, stressing that the misery of this age is temporary and weighed against an incomparable revelation of God’s children.

Creation itself is portrayed as groaning under futility, a vivid reminder that decay and frustration are woven into the world because of sin. Yet that groaning points forward: creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God and the redemption of bodies. Suffering, then, is not meaningless but educational—meant to cultivate hope and patience as believers await adoption and resurrection. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is central; when words fail and human weakness overwhelms, the Spirit intercedes with groanings that align prayer with the Father’s will, ensuring that believers are upheld even in their inability to pray.

Practical implications are plain and pastoral. Suffering does not prove divine punishment or abandonment, nor does it sever the believer from Christ’s love. Rather, present trials can prepare believers for future glory, refine faith, and reveal dependency on God’s triune compassion. The congregation is encouraged to persevere, to refuse despair, and to view hardships as temporary instruments of sanctification rather than final verdicts on God’s goodness.

The closing moves from teaching to worship: communion is presented as a remembrance of Christ’s death and a sign of hope until he comes. The final benediction points believers to citizenship in heaven and the transformation of their lowly bodies into likeness with Christ’s glorious body. Throughout, the tone is pastoral and urgent—suffering is real and painful, but undergirded by a faithful God whose Spirit prays, who prepares, and who will one day end all decay.