“Everything Happens for a Reason” | The Bible Doesn't Say That | Trinity Sermons

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity

Sermons. This week we are wrapping up our sermon

series called The Bible Doesn't Say That, where

we're looking at some of those sayings that sound

really spiritual but aren't actually scriptural.

Now, have you ever had a conversation with a

toddler? They really like to ask why. Why is

the sky blue? Why is this happening? Why is that?

But the truth is we don't really outgrow that

trait. We all kind of like to know why. And that's

why we've come up with this phrase, everything

happens for a reason. But is that phrase really

in the Bible? And does it actually bring us comfort

when we can't understand things that are happening

in the world? Rob's going to unpack this saying

for us and show us the biblical truth behind

this phrase, as well as how God is really with

us, even when we can't understand what's happening.

Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter

Luke 13:1–5

13, verses 1 to 5. About this time, Jesus was

informed that Pilate had murdered some people

from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices

at the table. Do you think those Galileans were

worse sinners than all the other people from

Galilee? Jesus asked. Is that why they suffered?

Not at all. And you will perish too unless you

repent of your sins and turn to God. And what

about the 18 people who died when the tower in

Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners

in Jerusalem? No. And I tell you again that unless

you repent, you will perish too. This is the

word of the Lord. We're going to look at a phrase

that you've probably said, I've said, I'm sure

you've heard. Why don't we say it all together?

Let's say it. Everything happens for a reason.

Now, maybe someone said this to you when you

were going through a very, very tough time. Maybe

you said it to someone who was really going through

it. And maybe it was partly because you didn't

really know what to say in that moment. And you

meant it. to be something comforting for them.

But as we're going to find out today, it's maybe

not as helpful and not as biblical as we might

think. In fact, I would say this phrase can sometimes

do way more harm than good. And that many people

have actually walked away from the faith, walked

away from God, walked away from the church because

they believed that everything happens for a reason.

I want to say this is a big... and complex topic.

It could easily take six hours of a lecture to

kind of get to the bottom of this. Let's see

what we can cover in 20 or 25 minutes together.

There are some teaching notes, some sermon notes

that we've handed out. Hopefully that'll help

you follow along. But let's ask first this question.

What do we even mean when we go around saying

everything happens for a reason? Now, the one

thing I think we should clear up right away that

we're not meaning We don't mean this whole thing

of cause and effect. We don't mean that, oh,

why did I burn my hand? Oh, it's because I touched

a hot stove. That's just simple physics. This

was the cause. This was the effect. This was

the action. This was the reaction. That's not

the way we normally use this phrase. No, when

we use this phrase, we're often using it in a

much more theological sense. That's what we mean

when we say everything happens for a reason.

We mean that whatever it is you're going through,

no matter how painful that might be or how confusing

that might be for you, it must be part of some

hidden plan. It must be divinely scripted. God

must have his reason for allowing it even if

you can't see it. So whether you lost your job,

whether you were diagnosed with cancer, Whether

you just had your heart broken, don't worry.

Everything happens for a reason. Now, most of

us would never come out and say it quite like

that. We wouldn't say, yes, God planned for your

child to get sick. Or we wouldn't say God caused

that accident to happen for a higher purpose.

But that is what is implied. In this, everything

happens for a reason. And we say this, but we

also say other phrases that kind of mean this.

For example, we might say, it was meant to be.

It must have been their time. It was part of

the plan. Oh, don't worry, God has his reasons.

Or perhaps the worst one. Oh, I guess God just

needed another angel in heaven. Here's a definition

I made up of what I think we mean when we say

everything happens for a reason. What we mean

is that all events, good or bad, are part of

God's specific plan. And they happen because

God wills it. Or God causes them to happen, even

if we can't understand why. And now that is a

very strong claim, as you can see. And it causes

all sorts of questions to pop up in our heads.

People have been talking about this for eons.

Let me just put my finger on three theological

problems that this statement creates. Okay, here's

the first one. If everything that happens is

part of God's plan, then nothing is my fault.

I can't be held responsible, right? Because whatever

I did, God must have needed me to do, right?

Because it was God's plan, right? So if I cheated

on my taxes, for example, that must have been

part of God's plan for me to have a little extra

this year. Because everything happens for a reason.

Or what if I lost my temper and I really, really

hurt someone? Well, you know what? Maybe God

wanted to use that outburst to teach them a lesson.

Everything happens for a reason. The devil didn't

make me do it. Actually, God made me do it. Someone

is texting and driving at the same time and they

hit someone. It wasn't the driver's fault. It

was part of God's plan. Everything happens. For

a reason. So we don't need to take responsibility.

We don't need to repent. Everything happens because

God wanted it to happen. The second problem that

comes up with this is related. And that is that

if everything happens for a reason, then not

only is it not my fault, but that actually makes

everything God's fault. God's to blame for every

horrible and unthinkable thing that ever happens.

I mean, just watch the news. If everything happens

for a reason, then everything you see, every

tragedy, every headline, that's something God

wanted to happen. You know, a couple weeks ago,

we all saw that horrible Air India, Flight 171,

crashes just shortly after takeoff. 240 people

lost their lives in a moment. Are we supposed

to believe it was just their time? Right? That

maybe this was part of some hidden plan? You

know, there's no need to go looking for the black

box, right? Because we know why this happened.

It was God's plan, right? That's why it happened.

God planned it. And the same as with every war

and every act of abuse, every natural disaster,

God is to blame. Somehow it's part of God's will,

his hidden and mysterious will. The third problem

we run into with this way of thinking is what

you might call fatalism. And that is, listen,

if everything is pre -scripted, Why bother, right?

Nothing matters, right? So why work to improve

your marriage? Why go to therapy? Why volunteer

at a barbecue or coffee hour this summer here

at Trinity, right? Why even pray, right? Everything's

already been decided. Everything's already been

sorted out. So, hey, by the way, don't bother

voting in the next election because God's already

planned who's going to win that election. right?

Don't bother eating healthy because, hey, when

your time comes, your time comes, right? You

know, the Blue Jays, for example, two days ago,

they beat the Red Sox 9 -0. Yesterday, they lost

15 -1. They're playing again today at 1 .30.

Who's going to win? God knows. God has already

figured out who's going to win. In fact, there's

no point of them even practicing. There's no

point of them even trying, right? What's the

point? Because whoever's going to win is going

to win, and whoever's going to lose is going

to lose. So, You see all these problems that

come up, right? If everything happens for a reason,

that sounds comforting, but it leads to the sense

of irresponsibility. Nothing is my fault. Leads

to this thing of accusation that everything is

God's fault. He's to blame. And to the sense

of fatalism. Well, gosh, if everything happens

for a reason, then nothing really matters. Now,

I want to talk theology for a little moment because

there's some... Key theological ideas that come

into play when we think about everything happening

for a reason. I mean, Justin, our resident theological

expert, could do a way better job at this than

me. But let's just, you may have heard these

words, but they're really important words in

this conversation. The first one is sovereignty.

Sovereignty means God is the sovereign. God is

king. God is in charge. And nothing, therefore,

happens unless God says it happens because he

is the highest authority in the land. The second

word would be providence. You probably heard

someone say, oh, that was so providential. You

can see in the word providence is that word provide.

It's this sense that God takes care of everything,

right? Everything's been arranged a certain way,

but does that mean that God directs every detail?

We have to ask that question because there's

other theological ideas like free will, and the

essence of free will is that human beings have

been given the ability to choose things, and

that our choices actually matter. But how do

we balance, say, our free will with God's sovereignty?

Do we really have free will? Are we just puppets,

and we think we have free will, but we really

don't have free will? Or this idea of dominion.

In Genesis chapter 1, when God created humankind,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

he gave them dominion. authority to rule and

make decisions, real decisions to care for. We're

not supposed to be just bystanders. We are supposed

to play a role in what happens here on earth.

So I don't know. Is it all up to God? Is it up

to us? Is it some combination of the two? If

you're going to talk about this, You've got to

talk about a fellow by the name of John Calvin.

You guys probably heard of John Calvin, 16th

century. He was this brilliant thinker and reformer.

And do you know that he wrote one of the most

important books on Christian theology? It was

called Calvin's Institutes on Christian Religion.

Do you know he was, I have a copy of it. It's

two volumes. And do you know that he wrote this

when he was 27 years old? I mean, gosh, what

were you doing when you were 27? This is amazing.

But John Calvin was actually pretty extreme in

his belief that God governed and controlled all

things. I just put a couple sticky notes in here

because I wanted to read to you a couple things

that John Calvin said, which is quite interesting.

He says, suppose a man... falls among thieves

or wild beasts or is shipwrecked at sea by a

sudden gale or is killed by a falling house or

a tree. He says, anyone who's been taught by

Christ's lips will know that all events are governed

by God's secret plan. Okay. And then this is,

I like this one. He says that he says that no

wind, even the wind, even the breeze ever arises

or increases except by God's express command,

right? So we know today it's 30 degrees out there.

It's going to feel like 36. And we know about

weather patterns and jet streams and cold fronts

and warm fronts. But John Calvin would say, no,

no, no. God, God. God dictated that that was

going to be the weather today. God made it that

way. Or fertility. He talks in here about fertility.

If you can have a child or can't have a child,

God is the one who either opens or closes that

womb. Now that is kind of a biblical idea. But

again, we know about things that affect fertility.

If you go for fertility treatment, does that

mean you're actually going against God's plan?

God's will? Calvin even goes so far to say that

the thoughts in your mind, God put those thoughts

in your mind. You didn't actually think them.

He did that. And that, by the way, leads to one

of his most controversial ideas, which is this

idea of predestination. How many people here

have heard of predestination? Yes, I see a lot

of hands. Predestination, of course, is this

idea. that before the world was made, God had

already decided which of you would be, quote,

saved, and which of you would, quote, be damned,

okay, to eternal torment or separation from God.

If you were one of the, quote, elect, then don't

worry. You would not be able to resist God's

grace. You would just be drawn to God. But if

you were one of the non -elect, and that could

be some of you, could be some of you, then doesn't

matter how hard you try or how much you love

God, no amount of desire is going to save you

because God pre -planned everyone's eternal Now,

by the way, we don't talk a lot like that here

at Trinity, like that. But my point is, this

is where it goes. And it kind of leads to these

two kind of big categories. Again, theological

words, kind of apologize for that today. But

one category is what's called theological determinism.

Everything that happens, good or bad, your life,

your choices, your eternal destiny is fixed by

God's eternal decree. So, and lots of people

still believe this today, and that is okay. I'm

not actually judging them. There's actually some

case to be made for it. So you can feel free

to disagree. Others reject theological determinism,

and they swing all the way to the other side

of the spectrum, and they believe in something

called deism, which holds that, yes, God created

the world. He kind of wound it up and got it

going, but now God has stepped back, and he gave

us free will, and he's just watching now. He

does not intervene. He doesn't speak. He doesn't

act. He doesn't respond. He doesn't do anything.

He causes nothing. So on the one hand, you got

this extreme. It says God causes everything.

On the other hand, you got this other extreme.

It says God causes nothing. For most of us, neither

of these views are satisfying. Because on the

one hand, I think we reject this idea of determinism

because we believe that actually our decisions

do matter. And Jesus acted like his decisions

mattered. The early church went around and they

believed that they were actually doing something

that mattered, that the choices they were making

mattered. They prayed like it made a difference.

They acted like it made a difference. They didn't

act just like spectators in this divinely scripted

drama. And on the other hand, I think Christians

definitely reject this idea of deism because

we believe in a God who does actually intervene

in the world, who acts. and speaks and heals

and intervened most of all by sending Jesus to

live among us and show us how to live and then

he died and rose again for us, right? We believe

actually that God intervenes in all these ways

and more. So guys, where do we go from here?

Where do we go from here? Jesus, save us from

our theology, right? Here's the good news. He

actually does that, I think, because between

these two options, I think there's another way.

Rather than everything happens for a reason,

what if God is both actively involved in our

world and yet not causing everything to happen?

Kind of a middle road. Yay, Anglicans, via media,

the middle way, right? So in Luke chapter 13,

Luke 13 · chapter mention

we find this really fascinating moment that comes

up. A bunch of people come up to Jesus and they're

trying to makes sense of a tragic event that

has puzzled them. This is not the best translation.

The one that reader read was way better. But

it says, there were some present at that time

who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood

Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. In other

words, Jesus, did you hear? Jesus, did you hear

that Pilate went into the temple and he murdered

people while they were making sacrifices? Horrible

story. But apparently, beneath this report was

a question. And the question was, why did this

happen? Was this part of God's plan? Now, Jesus

replies, and he says, well, what do you think?

Do you think that all these Galileans, that they

were somehow worse sinners than all the other

Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell

you, no. Now, Jesus did not answer, everything

happens for a reason. or that, you know, God

has his reasons for this. No, and just to double

down, then Jesus brings up this other tragedy

that happened, that apparently, you know, there

was a tower that fell over in this town called

Siloam, and 18 people died. And now I guess God

needed some more angels in heaven, or it was

meant to be, or it was just their time, part

of God's divine plan. No, Jesus again says, no,

I tell you, no. People's suffering was not part

of some divine judgment or some divine destiny.

It was a tragedy. And the reason we kind of know

that is because Jesus' conclusion to all this

is not everything happens for a reason. His conclusion

is, wake up! Unless you repent, you too could

perish. Now, this sounds harsh. It sounds like

Jesus is saying, you know, you better repent

or I'll make something bad happen to you. But

that's not what he's saying. What he's actually

saying here is, life is fragile. Time is short.

Things happen. Random things happen. It could

happen to you. So don't wait around twiddling

your thumbs. Turn to God now. ASAP. Turn to God.

It's not that Jesus says everything happens for

a reason. In fact, he seems to be pushing back

against this kind of thinking. He says, don't

assume you know why suffering happens. Or even

better, don't use other people's pain as proof

of God's plan. I still felt like this morning

I hadn't made this case as clear, so I threw

a couple extra quotes in. But do you know once

Jesus said, God causes the sun to rise on evil

people and good people, and he causes the rain

to fall on righteous people and unrighteous.

There isn't some master plan for the weather,

right? God just gives it out to everyone. Or

how about this one? This is really interesting.

Jesus once said, oh, Jerusalem. How often I wanted

to gather your children together, but you were

not willing. Now look at this. Jesus doesn't

get his way here, right? People seem to be able

to resist God's plans for them. And over and

over again in the gospel, you see this. Jesus

doesn't say, oh, this happened for a reason.

No, he enters into that painful moment. He weeps

with those who weep. He heals. He feeds people.

He comforts people. He tries to restore people.

Jesus was not a determinist. Coldly asserting

that every disaster was part of a script. And

he wasn't a deist, standing away from all the

suffering of the world, uninvolved. No, he shows

us this third way. He shows us a God who is with

us in our suffering, but working to redeem that

suffering. He's not the God who causes it, but

he is a God who can use it. So if everything

happens for a reason, isn't the best answer.

If we want something better than this cold cliche,

then here's some good news. The Bible, I think,

offers us something better than fatalism and

false comfort. It's this. God doesn't cause all

things, but is present in all things. Right?

And God doesn't plan our pain, but he never wastes

our pain. And God doesn't work behind the scenes

to harm us, but he works within this mess to

redeem us. Four things that kind of come out

of there. And this is the first one. God can

bring good out of anything. That's what we read

in Romans 8 .28. Not that all things are good

or that God causes all things, but in all things,

God works for the good for those who love him.

Not everything that happens is God's will, but

nothing is beyond God's redemption. Okay? That,

I think, is very true. And it's a middle way

through this. Secondly, not everything is God's

will, but nothing is outside of God's reach.

Now that first statement is challenging. Not

everything is God's will. God doesn't always

get his way, right? Because of human freedom,

because of our sin, because of evil. And get

this, the Bible tells us we are not the only

free agents roaming around this world. There

are evil. beings that also have power to exercise

on this earth. So yeah, God doesn't always get

his way, but there's not a single place you can

go where God can't enter in and go there with

you. That's why Psalm 34 says, the Lord is close

to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are

crushed in spirit. Here's the third one. God

doesn't cause all suffering, but he meets us

in it. Jesus didn't sit around at a distance

trying to explain people's pain. He stepped into

it. He touched lepers. He wept at Lazarus' tomb.

He bled on the cross. In fact, the cross is really

the final word about suffering. He says, I am

not the one causing this suffering. I am the

one curing it and carrying it. And here's just

the last thing I would say. Some things do happen

for a reason. But not everything happens for

a reason, right? I think the Bible supports this

idea that, yeah, sometimes God does guide us

to the right person. He does take us to the right

place, the right moment. Sometimes things line

up in a way that you say, oh, this could not

be coincidence, right? That was God. Some of

you today could tell me stories of, you went

through a great and terrible tragedy, and in

retrospect, oh, it did seem that there was a

reason. But just because some things happen for

a reason sometimes does not mean that everything

happens for a reason. If you're out there today

and you're going through it right now, maybe

someone meant well and they said to you, oh,

everything happens for a reason. I just want

to say again, you're not being punished. You

are not part of God's cruel master plan. We live

in this world. It's a beautiful world, but it

is also a broken world. And we live in this world

where towers come crashing down, where planes

fall out of the sky, and bad things happen for

no good reason at all. But here's the promise.

God is with you. Right now, God is with you in

the mess. And though you may not get the reason,

You will always get the resurrection in the end.

Now, if you can tell that to yourself, then let's

end with this. What do we tell other people in

their time of need? You probably stood next to

someone at a funeral. I've done a lot of funerals

in the last few weeks. It feels like it's three

or four over the last month. And you're sitting

across from them, and they're grieving, and you

don't know what to say, and maybe it slips out.

You know, everything happens for a reason. But

what are some alternative things we can say to

people? who are going through tough times without

causing confusion. Well, here's one thing. You

could say this. Hey, I don't fully understand

what you're going through, but I'm here to listen.

You don't need to have perfect words. Just showing

up honestly with your presence will do more than

you know. And so a phrase like this, it honors

their pain without trying to explain it away.

Or you could just say this. What can I do to

help? Instead of offering advice or theology,

just offer practical love. Move from explaining

it to action. That's what people need most in

times of difficulty. Or you could say this, like

Jesus said, you didn't cause this. You don't

deserve this. That's a simple thing to say. When

people are hurting, they often blame themselves.

And this reminds them that pain is not... always

a punishment. Or the last thing you could say

is actually nothing. Sometimes the most powerful

ministry we can have is just being there with

a hand on a shoulder, a quiet prayer, and a willingness

just to sit in silence. The world doesn't need

more spiritual cliches. It needs people who reflect.

the presence of Christ, who are willing to weep

with those who weep and sit with the questions

and point gently and faithfully and hopefully

toward the God who redeems those things that

we cannot explain. So does everything happen

for a reason? I don't think so, no. Not everything

that happens is God's will. Not every tragedy

is divinely scripted and not every heartbreak

is heaven sent. God doesn't cause everything

that happens, but God is with us in everything

that happens. So let's let go of the cliches

and let's cling to Jesus himself. Let's let go

of the easy answers and hold on to the enduring

hope of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God. Amen.

This sermon was recorded at Trinity Church Streetsville

on June 29th, 2025.