On January 12 a magnitude 7 earthquake centered near Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti, devastated the small nation—killing (according to recent estimates) two hundred thousand people, destroying or badly damaging important government buildings, and wiping out major hospitals and medical facilities. All three of the hospitals operated by the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders were at least temporarily out of commission. And the daunting rebuilding process hasbeen hampered by a lack of infrastructure and an airport that is not equipped to handle the number of planes flying into the country with relief supplies.

Making things even worse, one week after the initial quake, a magnitude 6.1 aftershock rocked the country.

People around the world have been taken aback by images of corpses piled on the street, crying children, desperate parents, and other horrific scenes of human suffering. And many are asking: Where was God in this earthquake? How could God allow something so terrible to happen?

For believers in an all-loving, all-powerful God, the existence of tragedy and suffering is an age-old problem. Theologians have given this problem a special name: theodicy. People have often concluded that, if God is both all-loving and all-powerful, nothing bad should ever happen—or, at least, nothing bad should happen to good people. The Haitian earthquake obviously didn't discriminate between good and bad, and good people are not immune to suffering.

Youth and adults alike will struggle to explain or understand the problem of theodicy. We know that disease and death are necessary to continue the cycle of life, but why would God allow suffering on such a grand scale? How could God allow a natural disaster to take the lives of so many people who had their entire lives ahead of them? How could God allow so many impoverished people to end up homeless and heartbroken?

Many youth have experienced theodicy closer to home. Maybe they have lost a parent to death or divorce; maybe a beloved classmate has died suddenly or become unexpectedly ill. Maybe they have been falsely accused of wrongdoing; or maybe their homes have been destroyed by a tornado, hurricane, flood, or fire.

While many of us have pondered "Why do bad things happen?"—fewer stop to ask, "Why do good things happen?" After all, we live in a world broken by sin, and all of us are equally guilty. Why should any of us enjoy peace, happiness, or good health? Questioning God in the face of suffering is OK, but we should also be sure to thank God for all of our blessings. We should also remember that often God is revealed through people's responses to tragedy. Some of Christianity's most revered saints were those who selflessly responded to the cry of the needy.

Still, in our lifetimes we likely will see few disasters as deadly as the recent earthquake. On the surface, the blessings in Haiti seem insignificant compared to the death and destruction. Looking for God amid the suffering may be frustrating; for those close to the tragedy, it surely is infuriating. But even when we don't understand God's ways, we are still God's people, and God calls us to bring hope and healing in the midst of pain and suffering. Youth in the United States may feel powerless, as though they have nothing to contribute to the recovery effort. But youth can raise or donate money, write elected representatives abou what the government is doing in response to the tragedy, and, most importantly, pray.

From "Why, O God?"—a free issue of LinC published in response to the Haitian earthquake. Click here to download.

Click here for additional free resources related to the Haitian earthquake as well as donation information.