Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Everyone agrees that innocent people get hurt and injustice happens in our world every day. Innocent people were injured at the Boston Marathon and three were killed. A fair question to ask is why God did not protect them. Possible options are:
>They did not believe in God, so He was not their refuge.
>God wanted to, but was not able to protect them.
>God was able to protect them, but did not want to.
>God wanted and was able to protect, but did not.
The Bible declares that God is good and God is great. I believe that God wanted and was able to protect them from harm. I believe that among the three killed and more than 170 people injured there were likely many of those who believed in God.
There are times when God steps into our world and interrupts what was occurring or what was going to occur. The Bible records events where people were healed of some disease that had afflicted them for many years. Nations were miraculously protected from an attacking nation by God’s intervention. There are events recorded in the Bible when God did not step into to protect or prevent harm. During those times, God grieves over the pain and loss.
God’s gift was creating humankind who are not programmed robots, but free beings with true choices. Our choices to love others as God loves or to not love and harm others are given to us. God often allows those choices to be lived out in this free world. Terrorists are allowed to drop off and detonate bombs. Lives are shattered. People experience pain. God deeply grieves.
Genesis 6:5-6
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled.