Does Everything Happen for a Reason?
If I had a dollar for every time I heard somebody say or tell me, "Everything happens for a reason..." I would be a rich man. I understand why so many go to this phrase in the midst of loss, grief, sadness, pain, and the like. I can empathize with those who are frantically searching for comforting words in the middle of life's crises. I can even grasp the hope of this sentence calming the nerves and emotions of the person it is spoken to.
However, I cannot and will not condone the actual use of this motto because of the grave and sincerely misleading theological implications.
Before I get into explaining these implications, let me start with where many begin concerning this catchphrase. Romans 8:28 is the standard text for people to show how everything happens for a reason. Paul writes to the Roman Christians saying, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
I hear many who state the featured idiom and then quote this passage as if it proves the validity of the statement. This is called "proof-texting" which can be defined as the misusing of quotations out of context to affirm a hypothesis. In other words, Biblical scholars would call this "eisegesis," or reading INTO the text. However, our calling is not to read our thoughts into the Bible, but submit our thoughts to the Scripture and allow our ideas, actions, words, and lifestyle to be shaped from the Word (exegesis).
With this said, Romans 8 is in the midst of Paul's writings to the Roman Christians for many reasons. They are divided because of ethnic reasons (Jews and Gentiles), they are misled concerning the truth and reality of the Gospel, and they are being persecuted by the Roman empire for being Christians. A note on this persecution: this was not dislikes or arguments on Facebook. This was torture, threats, beatings, and ultimately, death for most Christians in the Roman era. In Romans, Paul is passionately encouraging them toward unity in Christ's Gospel so that they may live in the power and hope of His resurrection even while being threatened with death.
In Romans 8, Paul is explicitly instructing them about life through the Spirit, present sufferings and future glory, and the fact that they live from victory and are more than overcomers in Christ Jesus. It is at the core of these thoughts that Paul explains to the Roman Christians that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purposes. He even goes as far to say that in the midst of famine, peril, nakedness, and the sword that these Christians are more than conquerors through Christ who loved them. And it is this love that they cannot be separated from no matter the power, principality, or thing to come their way.
For the majority of Christians today, this is where they would grasp the idea that everything happens for a reason. Well, if it's happening, it's clear that God is using this to bring about goodness! In other words, many would see this persecution as God's plan to bring about His will, and they stop there. In fact, many would say that if it is happening, then it is God's will because ultimately, He is going to bring forth what is most good through it.
Here is where we get into our terribly misleading and frankly, incorrect theological conclusions.
First, in stating that everything happens for a reason and viewing every small detail as God's will we press ourselves into determinism. Determinism can be described as "the view that every event must have happened exactly as it did because of prior conditions (Jerry Walls, Why I'm Not A Calvinist)." In this perspective, which is called Calvinism, these prior conditions are God's choices and willing of things to happen for the elect to be saved and the rest of humanity to be condemned for God's greater good and glory.
What this implies is that God has planned out every detail of your life, both big and small, far and near, to happen precisely as it has, is, and will so that His eternal decrees would lead to you being saved or damned. In other words, you are a robot who has been programmed with a permanent system of actions, thoughts, words, and events that you do not choose. In fact, freedom of will cannot exist in this theological perspective, and this means that what happens is because God wanted that for us. Interestingly enough, in this religious view, God decides what your life will be like, and yet you are still responsible for saying yes to Jesus or not, even though He's already chosen who will be saved and condemned. It doesn't seem like we can be accountable for something we could never decide, right?
Secondly, within this position of determinism, we find that the character of God is portrayed wrongly. There is no place in Scripture that I see God described as a rapist, terrorist, murderer, disease-giver, or lousy father. In fact, I see quite the opposite in His descriptions. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5). God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). He is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn. 11:25). The Lord is Healer (Ex. 15:26). The Lord Creator (Is. 40:28). He is the Gracious God (Ex. 34:6). The Lord is our Peace (Jdgs. 6:23-24). And this list can go on forever.
However, what many tend to do in declaring that everything happens for a reason is make God out to be something He is not. In trying to comfort others, they end up pointing to a father who sends disease on his children, a god who has decided for countless women to be raped for his glory, and a god who has selected specific people to not exist for his goodness and their well-being.
Are you seeing the problem here? We have a Good Father who is called the Lord who Heals. In fact, Jesus healed many people throughout the pages of the Word, and many more that could not even be contained in the books of the world (Jn. 21:25). Jesus valued women, gave a platform for them to lead and speak, and directed all towards holistic relationships, marriage, and sexuality. And it is evident through Scripture that God desires for all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and He gave His Son for the world (Jn. 3:16-17). Simply put, the character and attributes of the True God do not align with the false god spoken about in the phrase 'everything happens for a reason.'
Finally, I would propose that not everything that happens is God's will. Many would disagree because of their understanding of God. However, I would state that the True God, the One revealed most fully in Christ Jesus of Nazareth, is not the One who planned the Holocaust, world wars, or natural disasters. The King of kings I worship is not the One who wills for evil, but rather wills for the best and highest possible good.
Now within this statement, many issues surface that I will briefly address Scripturally, theologically, and experientially. Many would point to the disaster that God brought upon people groups in the era of the Old Testament. Isn't God the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8)? Wouldn't it be God's will for these things to happen, and if so, wouldn't this continue to today?
There is no doubt that when we read these Scriptures, we must wrestle with the full component of these stories. Many would argue that these people were innocent and undeserving of what happened to them. However, the truth of the matter is that they were not innocent, but actually enacted great violence and injustice, and were given many opportunities to repent (change their minds and lives). It was when they didn't change that judgment was brought upon them.
The Good News for us today is really Good News. It is the reality that Christ Jesus has taken upon Himself the judgment we deserved and has atoned (died in our place) for our sin. In this, He freely offers us the opportunity to repent and receive His gracious love. He did not take just some of the sin of the world, but He took upon Himself all of it (Heb. 7:27).
This means that when natural disasters happen, it is not in judgment over those lands because of their sin. Instead, we embrace the truth that Jesus has taken that judgment on Himself, and these are merely things that happen in our world because of the effects of sin and death.
Now the tricky part in all of this is believing in this reality presented: that God is good and is working forth goodness even in the midst of our actions and the effects of these activities. Sometimes we make statements concerning healing or other issues that surface in our lives when we don't see things turn out as we expect. And let me make this clear, that's completely okay to do so. God is plenty big to handle our emotions, our anger, and our phrases that stem from these things (just read the Psalms).
But when things do not work out as we thought, it is vital for us to stay rooted in the eternal truths of God rather than the temporary conditions of our situation. I'm not trying to downplay the real pain, the present grief, and the unpleasant waiting for a breakthrough. I'm just trying to elevate the truth of God's goodness coming forth beyond what we can ask, think, understand, or imagine. After all, our experiences play into our theological perspectives, but they do not dictate eternal truths. It may not look like it at first, but goodness can take place in the middle of the worst situations we encounter and decisions we make.
I write all of this to say that when it boils down to the very bottom, everything does happen for a reason, but it's not the reason we think and project most often. God is not the reason for your disease, our wars, or natural disasters. God is the reason for the goodness that takes place in the midst of all these things. Pain and illness are not a part of God's plan, but for us to continue to have free will to receive or reject His love, He allows for these things to happen. And by 'allow' I do not mean He selects these things, but instead, He permits us to choose actions and the consequences that take place afterward freely.
He does not look at people with selective evil deciding that the strong will have cancer and the more mature will experience extremely traumatic abuse. In fact, Paul makes it clear in the Romans 8 passage that God is not looking at the Roman Christians thinking, "These are the perfect people to have killed for My glory." Alternatively, Paul writes to reflect hope and love found in Christ Jesus while these people are in very painful seasons of confusion.
In this same manner, we are called to be a people who do not speak incorrectly about the nature and character of God but reveal the truth of the Lord with our actions, thoughts, and words. In place of stating that 'everything happens for a reason' to a hurting friend or family member, I would suggest doing the opposite of what Job's friends did: be present.
One of the most significant places in Scripture is when Jesus is born in the Gospels as the fulfillment of many prophecies. After 400 years of silence and thousands of years of waiting, the people of God finally see God in the flesh with their very own eyes. And before Jesus is referred to as Rabbi, He is proclaimed as Emmanuel which means "God with us."
I would propose that in our speaking of 'everything happens for a reason' we are confusing the image of Jesus. However, when we are solely present with love, grace, and service, we reveal the truth of who God was, is, and will always be: Emmanuel. And, I firmly believe that when we start acting more like God is described throughout Scripture and experienced in our lives, we might begin to see His goodness more in the midst of difficult seasons of life. I'd much rather have people present than trying to tell me why evil things happen, and I'd be more open to people teaching me if they were first with me.
In the end, the Lord is good. His will is not for evil, and His will is not to select who can bear disease, death, or devasting events. Our God is love and light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all. Our God is Emmanuel, and He is calling us to be present before we speak and to feel/suffer with others (compassion) before we try to teach. This may not present all of the answers, but my goal was to reveal a greater strategy of making Jesus known with our lives. Who knows? Maybe people in hardship will encounter the Lord more through our being present in silence than through our pontificating the situation. Or at least people will be more open to receiving the full truth once we have been with them.
I will end with this statement from Jesus made to His disciples in what is referred to as the Great Commission. Even while Jesus instructs His followers to make disciples, baptize people, and teach others to obey everything He taught, He roots this activity in His presence. "And surely I am with you always, until the very end of the age (Mt. 28:20). Many need to hear and experience this truth. My prayer is that we may reveal this promise with our words, our thoughts, our actions, and our lifestyles. Amen.
