Daily Scripture

Alma 60:13

For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the often-asked question, “why do bad things happen to good people?” I also read a Christian fiction book about a vet struggling with PTSD and survivor’s guilt after losing some fellow soldiers under his command.

In both cases, the struggle centered around why does God let these things happen. Not every case is about Him letting the righteous be slain to witness against the wicked like this verse says. But this verse speaks to the bigger issue that mortality is meant to be hard. God won’t prevent the hard things from happening. Whether it’s consequences of natural law (sicknesses, death, etc.) or of agency (wickedness or chain reactions because of choices), God let’s them happen because it’s part of mortality. 

I’m not sure what God “wills” to happen. Like, does He intentionally give people cancer for their growth and learning? I don’t know. But I do know that when ANYTHING hard happens, whether by God’s will, natural law, or agency, He is there to strengthen us and teach us when we turn to Him. And ultimately, like this verse teaches, we don’t need to worry because the righteous (those trying to turn to Him through the good and bad times) find their rest in Him.

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