The Question of Why: Is Tragedy From God or Satan?

We ask “why” when tragedy strikes, but rarely find an answer that satisfies. Scripture leads us beyond shallow explanations to the God who rules, who redeems, and who draws near.

When tragedy strikes, our minds almost always reach for the same question: why? Why did this happen? Why them? Why now? And often, whether Christian or not, we end up asking: why would God let this happen?

These questions may sound familiar because tragedy is so common in this world, but they are not clichés. They rise from the deepest part of us. Tragedy is soul-crushing. It leaves us desperate for an explanation that might make the pain bearable. Yet the reality is that no answer ever fully satisfies. The human heart will not let us tie suffering into a neat explanation.

That does not mean there is no answer. It means we must look deeper than the quick responses we tend to give. Simply saying “God is sovereign” can sound comforting in calm seasons, but hollow when life collapses. Simply blaming Satan may feel easier, but it leaves us with a God who looks absent and powerless. Neither answer, on its own, is enough.

God’s Sovereignty in Suffering

Scripture gives us something far more profound. God is not sovereign only over blessings; He is sovereign over suffering as well. Satan is called “the god of this world” because of his blinding influence on unbelievers, yet even his activity operates within limits set by God. The story of Job makes this plain: Satan brought calamity, but only with permission and never beyond the boundaries God allowed. Even in devastation, God remained the One holding authority.

This is where understanding God’s will helps us. Scripture speaks of God’s sovereign will, what He decrees must happen. Job’s children would die, Pharaoh would harden his heart, Christ would go to the cross. These were not accidents; they were ordained by God. Yet Scripture also speaks of God’s moral will, what He commands and delights in. “Do not murder.” “Do not steal.” “Love your neighbor.” Unlike His sovereign will, His moral will can be resisted. People sin, and God does not delight in their rebellion.

This distinction matters when we read verses like, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” God does not delight in death or evil. Yet in His sovereign wisdom, He may ordain events that include judgment, tragedy, or even death, because He is working toward a greater good. The cross is the clearest example. The Father did not delight in injustice, yet He ordained the death of His Son for the salvation of sinners. None of us would say this fell outside God’s sovereignty.

We also see this in Joseph’s story. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. By any measure, his life was marked by a string of tragedies. Yet years later, when those same brothers stood before him in Egypt, Joseph said: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” Notice he did not say, “God turned it for good,” as though God scrambled to repair the damage afterward. He said, “God meant it.” The very same events his brothers intended for evil, God intended for good. Two hands at work in one story; human evil and divine sovereignty. Both real, both active, but only one ultimate.

Joseph’s story shows us something crucial: knowing that God “meant it for good” did not erase his suffering, but it gave him the lens to see God’s hand in it. That same truth is what sustains us in our own trials. And it is also what equips us to comfort others. When we face suffering, shallow words do not help. Simply saying “God is sovereign” without depth can feel like a dagger. But when sovereignty is understood the way Joseph saw it, not as distance but as God’s nearness and purpose, then it becomes immense comfort. The God who ordains all things is the same God who draws near to His people in the midst of their pain.

So where does tragedy come from? In one sense, from Satan’s schemes. In another, from the curse of a fallen world groaning under sin. But above all, tragedy remains under the sovereign hand of God. He permits it, He limits it, and He weaves it into His purposes. None of this makes grief less real. But it does remind us that pain never slips outside His plan. If we can grasp even a fraction of that truth, we can cling to hope; not always in what we feel, but in what we know. Comfort is waiting on the other side of pain.

Our Hope in Christ

The same God who ordains the storm also meets His people in the middle of it. The same God who permits suffering also sent His Son to end it. And one day He will. Every tear will be wiped away. Every tragedy undone. Death destroyed.

Until then, we hold fast to this: tragedy may come through Satan, through sin, or through the brokenness of the world, but it never escapes the hand of the God who gives and takes away. If it never leaves His hand, then even in the deepest sorrow we can trust this; He has not and will not abandon us. And because He is sovereign, we do not have to wonder whether He will turn evil into good for His name’s sake. We can trust that He will.

Scripture References

God’s Sovereignty Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:37–38; Daniel 4:35; Proverbs 16:9; Job 1:21; Ephesians 1:11; Exodus 9:12; Acts 2:23

Satan and Sin 2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 22:31–32; Job 1:12; Job 2:6; John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8; James 1:13–15; Romans 8:20–22

God’s Character and His Purposes Micah 6:8; Exodus 20:13, 15; Matthew 22:37–39; Ezekiel 33:11; Lamentations 3:33; Psalm 34:18; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4; Genesis 50:20; Isaiah 53:10; Acts 4:27–28; Romans 8:28

Our Hope in Christ Mark 4:39–40; Hebrews 2:14–15; 1 Corinthians 15:26; Hebrews 13:5; Revelation 21:4