Why does God allow house fires? Why did God let my house burn down?
First, if your home has burned down in a fire, please accept our sincerest sympathies. This is a tragic event that can cause much harm to an individual or family in this situation. We truly join with you in praying for God's help in your time of need.
In answering the "theological question" of why someone's home would burn down in a fire, there are a couple of ways to go about it. First, from a natural perspective, many fires take place each year and cause widespread destruction as a result. God is not surprised by natural disasters and He does allow natural processes, even those like wildfires, to occur.
In addition, while we may never know the full answer to why God would allow a particular person's home to burn down at a particular time, we can see in Scripture that even the most difficult circumstances are used for God's purposes. For example, Joseph was sold as a slave by his own brothers and was later imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Yet God used Joseph's situation to later lead him to the position of second in command of Egypt, saving his own family and many others as a result.
The first Christian martyr, Stephen, lost his life for simply believing in Jesus as the Messiah. A man named Saul stood there and approved of his death (Acts 8:1). Yet God used this as part of his plan to later bring Saul to faith in Jesus. He would later become known as the apostle Paul and helped change the lives of many.
In addition, this same event led to a great persecution in Jerusalem that forced many of the early Christians to flee their homes. This tragedy, however, was not without purpose. Many of these refugees soon began sharing their faith in other locations, resulting in new churches and changed lives. "And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. […] Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word" (Acts 8:1, 4). The tragedy of losing their homes and the loss of Stephen eventually led to many non-Jews coming to faith in Jesus.
The greatest example of adversity used to accomplish good is found in the death of Jesus Christ. Though innocent, he was betrayed by a close friend, was wrongfully sentenced to death, was flogged and beaten, and then nailed to a cross to die a humiliating public death. Despite the pain He endured, God used this tragedy as the means to accomplish His resurrection, proving His role as the Messiah, the Son of God.
While we do not enjoy suffering and its impact on our lives, such pain is not without purpose. Romans 8:28 promises, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
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