Why do bad things keep happening to certain people over and over again?

Answer 1

From a Biblical viewpoint:

1 John 5:19 - "We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one."

With this scripture, we understand that the Devil is the ruler of the world that has rebelled against God's authority. With him in that position, he has a tremendous amount of control over current world conditions. The Bible describes him as a manslayer and as a roaring lion seeking to devour someone. (John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8) He hates humans, especially those that are trying their best to listen to God.

Because of this, he will put a considerable amount of pressure on people so that they will be so consumed by their hardships, that they do not look to God. It is a tactic he used on the faithful man Job that you can read about in Job chapters 1 and 2. He will cause bad thing after bad thing to happen to an a good person in order to blind them from the good news as recorded at 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 - "If, in fact, the good news we declare is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through." The Bible actually calls the devil "the god" of this world or system of things.

Peter gave us some commendation on how to fight him and the bad things he throws at us at 1 Peter 5:9,10 - "But take your stand against him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by the entire association of your brothers in the world. But after you have suffered a little while, the God of all undeserved kindness, who called you to his everlasting glory in union with Christ, will himself finish your training. He will make you firm, he will make you strong, he will firmly ground you."

Answer 2

It's pretty much the luck of the draw, that's pretty much what happens.