“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. (1 Samuel 2:6) and "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;" (Acts 2:23)
During the worldwide flood of Genesis, eight souls lived and all the rest of humanity died. Since then humanity has faced other horrifying, less destructive events, like earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, etc. These events invariably result in open and belligerent rejections of God. They also cause, in the righteous, unrefusable lament which is eventually swallowed up in the ocean of God's mercy and faithfulness (Lamentations 3).
God has communicated that the earth is a graveyard for millennia; He is the giver and taker of life (Deuteronomy 32:39). The rejection in statements like, "how could a good God let this happen?", exposes disgust about manner and quantity of deaths with little thought to the appointment (Hebrews 9:27) of death for all. It also exposes a bold and obstinate rejection (minimally) of God's authority and holiness that may be hidden from day to day. This is so even though God also appointed death for the sinless Son (Acts 2:23) as the way to live beyond the graveyard.
My dear ones, in times of death and sorrow, focus on both of God's appointments; death for sinners and Life through Christ's appointed death. Lament rather than reject. If it isn't God's time, nothing can kill you, and if it is, nothing but Christ can keep you alive.
