Good God, Bad God?

I know that in our lifetime, we have heard this question at least once "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?" For a long time, I couldn't answer this question. I couldn't answer this question for many reasons:
What do I say to a girl who asks me this question; a girl who was just raped by a gang of men who robbed her home?
What do I say to a child who just lost his parents in a car crash?
What do I say to a guy who just lost all of his house and job and is now living on the streets?
What do I say to a devout Christian who has been believing God for a healing miracle for the past decade?
How do I answer the persecution of Christians that are happening all over the world?
What answer do I give to a seventeen-year old prostitute who only knows to sell her body 'cos she was a victim of a sex trade since she was six years old?
Do all these bad things happen because because God allowed them to happen? Absolutely not!
Do all these bad things that happen negate God's goodness? NO!
God is still good, no matter the number of bad things that happen. He is a God that saves; He is still a God that heals; He is still a God that provides; He is still a Good God.
God never promised us an easy road for us, He promised us trials, tribulations, and evil days.
The most important thing God gave to any human being was the ability to choose; and through that, people make bad decisions that hurt other people.
I have come a conclusion that has helped me embrace all this: God is not just good because He keeps us alive and answers our prayers. He is good because although bad things happen, He is still able to turn them for our good: turn our mourning into dancing, trade His beauty for our ashes; turn our sorrow into joy.. He is still a GOOD GOD!

Mountain Movers

What is faith? I don't even know if I have the correct definition for it... because it is just a very complex and yet very simple thing. I read during my devotions this morning in Hebrews 11 that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen". Now that- as simple of a definition it is- still is a bit perplexing to me. Simplified version: believing in things you do not see, as though they existed. Still not simple enough... :) Faith is simply foolishness... Not foolishness in a bad sense, but to anyone else who doesn't understand and  sees from a distance, faith is foolishness.
I have heard a lot of Christians say, 'I do not have enough/much faith' or 'I don't think my faith is big/strong enough for God to intervene in my situation'. And all I can think of is Matthew 17:20 that says (in summary) 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains'... Now that is all I need!
Being a Christian, just accepting Jesus Christ in your life, takes a lot of faith.. Have you ever thought about it? The faith it required for you to believe in a God, that you have never seen (and for some, never heard His voice); or even to speak into the 'atmosphere' and believe that this invisible God has heard your prayers; or even believe that if you give you will receive back from Him in multiple ways; or even that the 'tongues' we speak are really languages of the Holy Spirit; or even that when you leave this earth you are going to spend eternity with Him? Wow! when I think about these simple things, I am encouraged that although I may not have 'big' faith like people in the Bible such as Abraham, David, Paul, Stephen and Peter, God can still use my little 'foolishness', as small as it is, to move my mountains!