Why doesn't he do anything about it? Sometimes I'm afraid I get kidnapped and terrible things might happen. But I want to know if God will help me during that time. Sorry, this question is kind of oddly worded but I just want to know if God is really there during those crucial times in our lives.
Author Josh McDowell answers your question well. Read his entire answer here. Events such as abduction, child abuse and terrorism happen because of the sinfulness of man:
...The Scriptures make it plain that God did not create the world in the state in which it is now, but evil came as a result of the selfishness of man. The Bible says that God is a God of love and He desired to create a person and eventually a race that would love Him. But genuine love cannot exist unless freely given through free choice and will, and thus man was given the choice to accept God's love or to reject it. This choice made the possibility of evil become very real. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they did not choose something God created, but, by. their choice, they brought evil into the world. God is neither evil nor did He create evil. Man brought evil upon himself by selfishly choosing his own way apart from God's way.
Because of the Fall, the world now is abnormal. Things are not in the state that they should be in. Man, as a result of the Fall, has been separated from God. Nature is not always kind to man and the animal world can also be his enemy. There is conflict between man and his fellowman. None of these conditions were true before the Fall. Any solution that might be given to the problems mankind faces must take into consideration that the world as it stands now is not normal.
Why doesn't he do anything about it? You are falsely assuming that God does not do anything about it. Let me explain. God did do something about it in the person & work of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world by suffering for our sin, in our place (consider the fact that the suffering Jesus endured was the result of the sin, cruelty and hatred of man). Because of what Jesus did, we have an answer to our suffering: One day Jesus will give us new resurrected bodies (Philippians 3:20-21) that will be immune to suffering and sin.
Second, God is doing something about it through his followers. McDowell puts it this way:
Christians have a justification for fighting evil, immorality and corruption. The world was not designed with evil in mind and the believer has a real basis for fighting social ills. He is not following the belief that whatever is, is right. The Christian does not condone wrongdoing by claiming it is God's world, neither does he assume that everything that happens is agreed to by God. God does not desire evil nor does he ever condone it. He hates evil, and the Christian also is not only to despise evil, he is obligated to do something about it. Even though sin is real, it is not something that the believer accepts as the way things ought to be. By identifying with Jesus, the believer has a duty to call things wrong that are wrong and to speak out when evil is overtaking good. The Christian is not fighting against God by fighting social problems. Natural disasters, crime, and mental retardation should not be the accepted order of things, because they were never meant to be and they will not be in God's future kingdom.
Christians are God's hands and feet to a hurting world. God is doing something about suffering through us.
Third, God is doing something "behind the scenes." His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8), so even if we do not understand why he allows suffering to happen or why he does not immediately cure suffering, we must trust in Him. GotQuestions states three reasons.
First, He uses pain and suffering to draw us to Himself so that we will cling to Him. Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Trials and distress are not something unusual in life; they are part of what it means to be human in a fallen world. In Christ we have an anchor that holds fast in all the storms of life, but if we never sail into those storms, how would we know that? It is in times of despair and sorrow that we reach out to Him, and, if we are His children, we always find Him there waiting to comfort and uphold us through it all. In this way, He proves His faithfulness to us and ensures that we will stay close to Him. An added benefit is that as we experience God’s comfort through trials, we are then able to comfort others in the same way (2 Corinthians 1:4).
Second, He proves to us that our faith is real through the suffering and pain that are inevitable in this life. How we respond to suffering is determined by the genuineness of our faith. Those with faith truly from God, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), will not be crushed by suffering, but will come through the trial with their faith intact, having been “proven through fire” so that it “might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7). Those are the ones who do not shake their fists at God or question His goodness, but instead “count it all joy” (James 1:2), knowing that trials prove that they are truly the children of God. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because having been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).
Finally, God uses suffering to take our eyes off this world and put them on the next. The Bible continually exhorts us to not get caught up in the things of this world, but to look forward to the world to come. This world and all that is in it will pass away, but the kingdom of God is eternal. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), and those who would follow Him must not see the things of this life, both good and bad, as the end of the story. Even the sufferings we endure and which seem so terrible “are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
Summarily, I would say this: Don't be afraid friend. God is always with you, even in your suffering. It is natural to cry out to God when you are suffering (and if he answers in a tangible way, praise Him!). However, if he does not answer immediately or in the way you want, praise Him anyway! God is using the suffering in a way to shape your character (remember your character is what you take with you in the next life; not your comfort) for your own goodness and for his glory. He may also be allowing suffering to happen to you so that you can understand the suffering of another person and bless them.
[Answered by Pastor HM]
I'd recommend you get a copy of C.S. Lewis' book, The Problem of Pain. It will help you answer some of you questions.
