Why is the World so terrible

“Why is the world so terrible? I don’t even want to keep up with the news anymore because I know it’s just going to be depressing.”

I listened as one of the teenagers in my Sunday School class expressed her feelings about the world. We were studying the book of Revelation, which brings up a lot of mixed emotions and anxieties. Most of them said they avoided reading Revelation altogether because it strikes fear into their hearts. They don’t even get to chapter 22 because they’re so worried about whether or not we’re currently living in chapters 6-18. 

I’m not here to give my views on eschatology. But what I do know is that many others, including myself, are asking the same questions these teenagers are asking. Why is the world so terrible? Is there an end to this brokenness? Will things ever get better?

As a foster parent, I see firsthand the evil of this world in a unique way. Families are ripped apart by addictions, death, poverty, and lack of support. Children have to endure hopping from house to house, often having no control over their circumstances. For two of my kids, they came home from school one day to find a lady in a black suit telling them to pack their stuff because they couldn’t stay with their mom anymore. For two of my other kids, mom passed away and their lack of extended family meant they had to bounce around to strange families while the state found a family member to take them in. Each of those kids, all precious in God’s sight, endured unimaginable trauma that they did not choose. 

Just as my teens in Sunday School asked me “why is the world so terrible?” I pray to God and ask Him that question all the time. How could a good God allow sickness? How could a good God allow pain? How could a good God allow evil acts to happen to innocent people? 

God does not always answer my questions, but He does offer comfort in the grief. I often pick a characteristic or a truth about God to help me get through difficult seasons, and in this most recent season of sadness, I chose “God’s timing is always right.” As I wonder when Jesus is going to come again and fix the world, I remember that God knows more than I do. He sees the whole picture, and He will accomplish His plan at the perfect time. 

Remembering that God is bigger than me, that He is in control, and that He is good helps me to trust Him when I ask questions about His timing. The right question we should be asking is not “why hasn’t God made everything right yet?” but rather “what can I do to show God’s love in this broken world?” While we wait for Revelation 22, we shouldn’t stand still in fear, but rather we should take action and shine God’s light into the darkness around us. Rather than cowering away from the wicked, we should confront evil with God’s goodness, for God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgment (1 Tim. 1:7).  

During our Sunday School discussion, I reminded everyone that even though we suffer now, the book of Revelation ends with hope. We live in the tension of waiting, but we will not have to wait forever. We can trust the promise that one day, at the right time, God will restore the world. No more will we see fractured families, but we will live together in harmony as the family of God. No more will we suffer from sickness, but we will rejoice in physical and spiritual healing. Jesus will be our light, and we will dwell in God’s presence forever. 

No more will we ask “why is the world so terrible?” but instead we will sing “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”