I once heard of a young man who had a lifelong dream to play for Iowa’s college football team. He received a scholarship to the college, but he was then diagnosed with cancer and was told that it is highly unlikely that he would ever put on a uniform for the football team. Being a religious young man, his response was, “everything happens for a reason.” While one has to appreciate the good attitude of this young man, and while I hope that he survived the cancer that invaded his life, is his conclusion correct? Does everything happen for a reason?
Many religious people believe that God has mapped out the life of every person, or at least every person who claims to be a Christian. Whatever happens to us, whether good or bad, is thought to be a part of God’s master plan. That is certainly a comforting belief in times of trouble. The problem is that it is just not true. The Bible does not teach that everything happens for a reason.
Do not misunderstand me. There may be a reason for some of the bad things that happen to us, even though, at the time, we may not know what it is. This was certainly the case with Joseph when he was thrown into a pit by his brothers. We know now that the trials that Joseph experienced were to save the people of God (Genesis 45:4-8), but Joseph could not have known that at the time. So then, sometimes God has a purpose that He is working out in our lives through the avenue of trials and tribulation. However, such is not always the case.
Some things happen in life by chance. This truth does not contradict the sovereignty of God. It was God who decided how things would operate in this world, and He decided to create a world that is governed by natural laws. This is God’s will, and His right, because He is sovereign.
We live in a world of cause and effect, of action and reaction, and reaping and sowing. If we somehow violate these laws, the consequences are often grave, and suffering is experienced. It is not because we are evil and have sinned. It is not because we are good. In fact, in many of these situations, there is no moral significance at all.
Let me give you an example. A 3-year-old child carelessly runs into the street while chasing a ball and gets hit by a car. Who sinned? Someone says, “it must be God punishing the child’s parents.” No, that is nonsense. It was not an act of God at all. It was not Satan’s work. It was simply a child doing what children do, that is, act carelessly. The fact that it happened at the exact time that a car was coming was nothing more than chance. This is a concept that some religious people cannot grasp, but it is scriptural. Not everything that happens to you is God’s direct will. Not everything that happens is a part of God’s master plan for your life. Some things happen by chance.
I might point out here that nothing happens without the permissive will of God. However, His permissive will and His direct will are two different matters. God permits things to happen without getting directly involved. Why does God not involve Himself in every act that transpires? He does not because, in His infinite knowledge, He knew it was not the best way for the world to operate. Really, the only other choice would have been to create man without free will, making us like robots, having our every move dictated to us. Do you wish you were created like that? I did not think so.
Does the Bible really teach that some things happen by mere chance? Yes, it does. Consider these passages.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (ESV)
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
Luke 10:31 (ESV)
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
No, everything does not happen for a reason. Still, as the people of God, we can find great comfort in the fact that no matter what does happen in life, we can find help from our God in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).