The most striking question from non-believers of God is: "If God is good and all-powerful, why did He allows evil to exist?" It's an inquiry that caters to their argument that God and evil could not exist at the same time. For them, it is contradictory to believe that there is a good and all-powerful God while evil is rampant (e.g., poverty, sickness, calamities, and death). I will make a separate article to answer that. And for now, I am going to try to prove that God is still good and all-powerful despite the existence of evil.
Experiencing a super typhoon after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake is a thought-provoking and heart-breaking scene. It could turn people to think why God allows such a cataclysm to occur. Moreover, these calamities could strengthen the unbelievers' assumption that there is no Supreme Being that exists. However, Jesus said, "There is none good but one, that is, God." That alone can encourage the faithful, but it's not enough to answer the doubts of the skeptics.
How can we prove that God is good, then? When the earthquake happened in the Visayas, it did not take place between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. when people were deeply sleeping. Instead, it occurred in the morning when most people were already awake. It also happened on a holiday when students, especially children, were not on the school premises where they can be more unsafe. Moreover, shopping malls were not yet open at 8:14 a.m., and churches were not yet filled with devotees, which could cause more lives to be at risk. Super typhoon Yolanda also hit most parts of the Visayas in the daytime when there was no darkness yet, which could cause people to be more fearful enough with a destructive wind. That, you may say, were coincidences. For us who believes, we can still say that God is good. And He is good all the time.
Next with that is, is God all-powerful? The Bible says, "Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." (Jer. 32:17). Again, that provision of the scripture could not suffice the minds of atheists, agnostics, and skeptics. But how can we say that God is all-powerful? I believe that thousands of faithful believers kneel in prayer during those times when these disasters happen. The other question also would be, does God answer our prayer? I believe God answers our prayers.
While I was praying on that day of the super typhoon, I was destructed by the shouts of our neighbors because a piece of a roof flew in front of them that almost hit a young person. Nevertheless, I continued praying to the living God, and at the end of the day, no one among us got hurt.
For more than twelve (12) years of being a Christian, I don't give up on the faith that God can move mountains. He has even created a gigantic galaxy with spectacular planets on it. How much more on controlling a typhoon just to protect His people, isn't it? Yes, the earthquake and typhoon had taken precious lives and destroyed properties, but it could not outweigh the fact that millions of people are still breathing up to this time. God's power has calmed the calamities in most places. The intercession of the believers was heard and answered by God because we believe that He is all-powerful indeed. That again is a bias on our part, but it is true whether you like it or not. Take the truth or leave it.
The last and most critical question of all is, why did God allow these things to happen? I want to be more straightforward with this but as careful as I can. To add more chill, I just want also to ask, is God alone the only cause of these calamities? There are many possible answers to these questions and I will give some:
1) It is God's punishment;
2) It is God's way of teaching humans;
3) It is to enable humans to remember and recognize that God is alive;
4) It is to show the unbelievers that there is a force more powerful than humans;
5) It is a sign of the near coming of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; or,
6) It is purely a result of climate change where people are mostly involved.
Not all evil things that happen to us should be blamed on God alone because we could have been the great partakers of sin, especially idolatry, or damaging our natural environment. And sometimes, God allows these things to happen not only to teach us but because we provoke Him to be angry with us. Time and time again, we only recognize and remember God when we need Him. But when He is calling us for salvation and service, we are rejecting Him. Allow God to work in your life sometimes, if you can not make it always.
The last thing I want to raise is that I think the other side of the problem is not only on why a good and all-powerful God allows these calamities to occur but on how are we going to react after these devastations happened.
Throughout history, God has shown His goodness and power. Whether you believe in Him or not, whether you are aware of it or not, He is still knocking on your heart to humble yourself. Ask forgiveness and let Him enter in. Maybe your academic degrees, extravagant wealth, life experiences, religious beliefs, superstitious traditions, philanthropic works, higher position, and overwhelming pride would not allow you to accept the truth of God and the salvation that is of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Nonetheless, I hope and pray that your choice will not be regrettable in the future, especially in eternity. God is good all the time and all-powerful in any way even evil exists. Whether you accept it or not, because your mind could not bear it, still, it will continue to endure as it has endured until eternity. Truth is not subject to one's understanding or logic because it can stand alone. Thousands, if not millions, of lives, have changed because of God's goodness despite many trials coming their way. And see how the Filipinos are working hand-in-hand to help each other to rise again and cling to the truth that God is good and all-powerful.
