Does everything happen for a reason? Maybe. We often hear that said, and perhaps you have said it yourself. But we should ask what we mean by that. Are we implying that there is a divine purpose in everything? What does that mean? Does it mean God causes everything to happen for a reason? Or, does it mean that even if God does not directly cause the trouble, God will always make it serve some good purpose, and that then is the reason we are referring to? Or, is God perhaps not involved at all? This is the view of someone who posted this on their Facebook page: “Sure, everything happens for a reason; but sometimes that reason is that you are stupid and you make bad decisions.”
In the movie classic A Christmas Story, after a ‘triple-dog dare,’ Flick puts his tongue on a frozen metal pole, causing considerable discomfort (see above). Was God the cause of that suffering ‘for a reason?’ Or, did Flick suffer because he was stupid and made a bad decision? Either way, a lesson can be learned, and that might be ‘the reason’—whether or not God was directly involved. And most people do learn that lesson the first time.
It is usually in more serious situations that we wonder about God’s involvement, asking why God does what He does. Or, we wonder if God is involved at all.
On August 27, 2006 Comair Flight 5191 attempted to take off from Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. There was only one operator in the control tower that morning. It was still dark. As Flight 5191 taxied out, the controller instructed its pilots to go to Runway 22. Construction on the main runway had knocked out its distance-remaining lights and caused confusion. The usual taxiway to the main runway was also closed. The pilots should have received NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) about both these developments through prerecorded messages from the control tower. But these were not available—the NOTAMs were either not working or not prepared. As a result, James Polehinke, the co-pilot, taxied on Runway 26 instead of Runway 22. Runway 26 was a short runway; not nearly long enough for that type of plane.
According to investigators, Polehinke and the senior pilot Jeffrey Clay, failed to do a compass verification of the direction of the takeoff, which would have alerted them they were on the wrong runway. Their flight manual required them to do this, and to verify it with the controller. After this series of multiple human errors, the plane raced down the short runway, smashed through the airport’s perimeter fence, and into a wooded area on the neighboring farm. Forty-nine people died in the crash.
Co-pilot Polehinke was the sole survivor. He was critically injured with a collapsed lung and many broken bones, had a leg amputated, and remained in a coma for ten days. When he regained consciousness, his first words were, “Why did God do this to me?”
In his book The Faith, Chuck Colson writes this concerning the accident: “This was a tragedy of immense proportions and a terrible burden that James Polehinke will have to live with. But should a person who got wrong instructions from the control tower, and then failed to verify his direction, blame God?”
Does everything happen for a reason? Here is what I think: 1) God involves Himself in our world and in our lives when and where He wants to. 2) We can make unintentional mistakes all on our own; we are foolish humans, and the Bible has a few things to say about fools. 3) We can intentionally do what we know is wrong. That is called sin, and the Bible has much to say about sin. 4) Even when God does not cause a situation, He can work out some good purpose from it. In that way then, we can say everything happens for a reason.
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Romans 8:28 — And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Luke 6:46 — Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Proverbs 19:3 — A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.
Romans 3:22b-24 — There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
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To thee, O God, we turn for peace. Grant us the blessed assurance that nothing shall deprive us of that peace, neither ourselves, nor our foolish earthly desires, nor our many sins, nor the anxious cravings of our unsatisfied hearts. Have mercy upon us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
–Soren Kierkegaard
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