Question: "Why does God allow evil events to take place - such as September 11th in the United States or July 7th in England?"
Answer: On September 11th, 2001 and July 7th, 2005 - God was exactly where He always is – in Heaven in total control of everything that happens in the universe. Why, then, would a good and loving God allow such tragedies to happen? This is a more difficult question to answer. First, we must remember, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). It is impossible for us finite human beings to understand the ways of an infinite God (Romans 11:33-35). Second, we must realize that God is not responsible for the wicked acts of evil men. The Bible tells us that humanity is desperately wicked and sinful (Romans 3:10-18,23). God allows human beings to commit sin because if He were to prevent it, the human race would not truly be free. Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought.
God looks at things from an eternal perspective. We look at things from an earthly perspective. Why did God put man on earth knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in Heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? The best answer I can come up with is this: God didn’t want a race of robots who did not have a free will. God had to allow the possibility of evil for us to have a true choice of whether to worship God or not. If we never had to suffer and experience evil, would we truly know how wonderful Heaven is? God did not create evil, but He allowed it. If He hadn’t allowed evil, we would be worshipping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own free will.
When thinking of September 11th and July 7th, we tend to forget the thousands of miracles that occurred on those day. On September 11th, literally thousands of people were not at work for wide varieties of strange reasons. Hundreds of people were able to flee the buildings just in the nick of time. The passengers on Flight 92 defeating the terrorists was a miracle in and of itself. On July 7th, there are hundreds of people who decided to take an alternate route to work. At least two bombs failed to detonate. Yes, September 11th and July 7th were terrible days. Sin reared its ugly head and caused great devastation. However, God is still in control. He prevented those days from being as bad as they could have been. Since September 11th, how many lives have been changed for the better? How many people have placed their faith in Christ for salvation as a result of what happened? The words of Romans 8:28 should always be in our minds when we think of 9-11 or 7-7, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
From: www.gotquestions.org GotQuestions.org