In a recent interview with CBS Sunday Morning’s Tracy Smith, 78-year-old actor Billy Crystal shared how a year of tragedy has affected his relationship with God.
Discussing his new one-man Broadway show, “860,” about life, loss, and the healing power of laughter, Crystal reflected on losing his longtime Pacific Palisades home in the January 2025 wildfire, as well as the death of his close friend Rob Reiner.
After mentioning his previous one-man show, “700 Sundays,” in which he described conversations with God, Smith asked Crystal if he had talked to God over these past couple of years.
Crystal offered this stark response: “No, ’cause I don’t trust Him.”
“Too many bad things have happened,” he added. “The Earth is in bad shape. This is a weird, scary time. So no, not anymore.”
Crystal’s grief is understandable. His losses are heartbreaking. And his struggle raises a question many people face: Can we still trust God when life hurts?
A mass shooting, a family killed by a drunk driver, a painful, debilitating disease—these encounters with suffering can shake our faith and leave us wondering, “Why? Why, Lord?”
So, consider these Scriptural thoughts.
#1 God is good.
Asaph exclaimed, “God is good to Israel” (Ps. 73:1). And He is good to us today. God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift (Jas. 1:17). Throughout the creation account, God pronounced His work good. At its completion, He declared it “very good” (Gen. 1:31).
The mercy, kindness, and goodness of God are recurring themes in the Psalms, leading the Psalmist to proclaim, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (Ps. 118:29).
#2 Evil exists.
In a world blessed by God’s goodness, the power of darkness is still at work. Satan is a real being who enters hearts, plots destruction, sows discord, and tempts people to sin.
The account of the ancient patriarch Job’s suffering, loss, and emotional distress reveals Satan’s destructive work. Yet Satan operated within limits God allowed.
Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which prompted three petitions for its removal, was “a messenger of Satan.” Yet God used that affliction to teach Paul humility and dependence upon His grace (2 Cor. 12:7–9).
Judas’ betrayal of Jesus involved greed, ill-gotten gain, and the Devil entering his heart.
These accounts remind us not to mistake suffering for evidence that God is cruel or unworthy of our trust. We should not charge God with wrongdoing simply because we experience heartache, sorrow, loss, and suffering.
Evil exists. Evil people do evil deeds. It has been since the beginning. It’s still true today.
#3 The problem of natural disasters.
This is more difficult to understand. Events like earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires inflict pain and suffering. Job also suffered loss through natural calamities. Today, we understand that natural processes help explain how these events occur.
However, we should remember that human actions worsen some of our problems in the natural realm. Because of sin, God cursed the ground in the beginning, and it brought forth thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:18). In Romans 8:22, Paul wrote, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
Furthermore, the wise man observed, “Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (Eccl. 7:29).
Could the pollution of our environment, preservatives in food, tampering with ecological systems, and even our technological advancements have had negative effects that produce problems for us?
These are possibilities to consider, not explanations for every tragedy. Nor should we assume that those who suffer are being punished for some personal sin (Lk. 13:1–5).
#4 Man has free will.
God made us creatures of choice. We have will, volition, and the ability to change and to choose. We choose our professions, where to live, who to associate with, and activities that may ultimately produce hurtful consequences.
The principle of sowing and reaping reminds us that our choices have consequences, both for ourselves and for others.
Sometimes we suffer because of our own choices. Sometimes we suffer because of someone else’s choices. And sometimes we suffer through no identifiable choice of our own.
We can’t stop the chaos in our culture, but we can find God’s peace in our own hearts. We can’t eradicate the evil in the world, but in the midst of a “crooked and perverse generation,” God’s people can “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).
In a recent post, Jim Denison acknowledges how difficult it is to reconcile suffering with God’s goodness and power. He argues that our inability to understand a particular tragedy does not mean God cannot redeem it for good. Just because we cannot explain our circumstances is not a reason to abandon our faith.
Denison reminds us, “The darker the room, the more urgent the light.”
Trusting God does not mean we have all the answers. It means we know whom to trust when we don’t.
Ultimately, we are called to internalize the wise man’s advice: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
