PERTINENT VERSES TO PONDER:
"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks [gets their attention] to them in their affliction" (Job 36:15, NIV).
"God left him, to try him, that he might know all that is in his heart," (cf. 2 Chon. 32:31)
"[F]or he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, ESV).
"I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times..." (Isa. 45:7, NLT).
"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
"... Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10, NIV).
"[F]or he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33, ESV).
"I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times..." (Isa. 45:7, NLT).
"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
"... Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:10, NIV).
"He speaks to them in their affliction." (cf. Job 36:15, NIV).
"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10, ESV).
"... 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God'..." (Acts 14:22, NIV).
"... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering" Romans 8:17, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NIV).
"Who best can suffer, best can do." --John Milton
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote the book, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? Note: There are many quick answers: There are no good people! In the book Robinson Crusoe Friday asks why evil isn't destroyed: "What about you?" Robinson replies. And so why do good things happen to bad people? What is good and what is bad then, if there is no God? When we call something good or evil, we are referring to some standard or Supreme Good, which was seen as God by Plato. Ponder not about debating good but wondering where the idea of goodness came from, if not God?
In short, God is love, but we must see the big picture of what God is doing for His glory and also not forget that God is one of justice, wrath, vengeance, vindication, and judgment. God will surely fulfill all His attributes. Also, justice delayed is not justice denied! We see no justice, but God lives in eternity and sees the big picture. When we say that it's not fair for innocent people to suffer, how we do know of their innocence? And if God were to eliminate all evil in the world, what about the evil in us--Jesus said that only God is good! We must have faith that God is working for the greater good and short-run evil will result in long-range good. Likewise, we must praise God for the opportunity to do good when we see evil. Instead of asking where God is, we must realize where the devil is!
The point is that we only see good in light of evil and evil is not God's fault! God didn't create evil, but only the possibility of evil, which was necessitated because of free will! This would make no sense if no one turned evil and rebelled against God; therefore, evil exists and must be reckoned with and judged. Remember, Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they come as a package: we can distinguish them and separate them, but evil exists only as a parasite on good. If mankind had no choice of good or evil, there would be no love or hate in the world; we'd be robots, puppets, automatons, or animals with no free will or opportunity to know and love God. Don't break faith because we all have to pay our dues. God simply couldn't create a world of free people who have a chance to obey Him and then have none disobey or do evil!
We talk of injustice, intolerance, inequity, et cetera. How could there be injustice without justice? If there were no good, there could exist no evil! Mankind was created good and went terribly bad, even Satan was once good! But, fortunately, God is able to turn evil into good and His glory and wisdom will be shown in the end. Most people just object to evil when it happens to them, but don't realize they are part of the problem too if they don't know God. The point is that God sends good in envelopes of affliction to make us grow in our faith. In the final analysis, we ought to celebrate the opportunity to see good in light of evil and to turn evil into good and to have the opportunity to do good when evil seems so certain and unavoidable to everyone to some degree--no one goes through life trouble-free.
Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered (cf Heb. 5:8) and didn't exempt Himself from suffering, nor guarantee we would lead a life in a bed of roses or in a rose garden. "Jesus was honest enough to tell us we'd have tribulations" and that life was a test of our faith. Would you believe in a Savior who wasn't sympathetic to suffering and had experienced none first-hand? But God is the great Sufferer and when we break God's laws, we break God's heart. When bad things happen, people act differently: some become bitter, some better!
Therefore, it is by adversity in life that we build character and learn the lessons of life to become mature. And the existence of Satan, evil, sin, death, and adversity is not an argument against God, but for Him. The ultimate question should not be: "If there is a God why is there evil?" but the opposite: "If there is no God, why is there so much good?" God is able to make "the wrath of man to praise Him" (cf. Psa. 76:10).
Faith is a choice and we must decide between good and evil. If faith were easy, it wouldn't be worth anything! There is no easy answer to the existence of suffering, but it's just as likely to produce sincere faith as to destroy insincere faith; in a way, it's a litmus test! There is no smoking gun evidence for or against God, so it takes faith both ways. It isn't a matter of faith versus reason, but faith versus faith--which set of presuppositions you want to accept; Faith in man and science, or God and His Word as the revelation. Most people don't have enough faith to be atheists!
We must decide to believe and be willing to do God's will for our eyes to be opened to the truth. God will authenticate Himself to us if we are willing. God will not force someone to believe against their will, though He can make them willing (a paradox). Faith can only be valid and of value, if it's difficult to attain! That's because God is all-powerful or omnipotent and can overpower someone's will and make the unwilling willing--no one can reject His will (cf. Jer. 20:7; Rom. 9:19).
In sum, upon salvation, we enroll in the school of suffering, which is a given, and we must celebrate it as a red badge of courage that gives us braggadocio as it were and the right to say, "Been there, done that!"--this is Reality 101 and no one escapes it! God owes us no explanations: "He is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make a mistake!" We answer to God not the other way around! We are not to second-guess God: John Wycliffe tenet says, "All things come to pass of necessity." We ought not get a martyr's complex, thinking the more we suffer, the more holy we are, but everyone is called to go through the school of hard knocks at times.
God knows that in our affliction, we will seek Him (cf. Hosea 5:15) and we should know that He gets our attention by affliction (cf. Job 36:15). "People are born for trouble as sure as the spark flies upward" (cf. Job 5:7, NLT). In the final analysis, one must acknowledge the fact that there are no easy answers as God didn't even explain Himself to Job. God is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and to wise to be wrong or mistaken. No religion, philosophy, or faith has the complete answer! Soli Deo Gloria!
"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa. 48:10, ESV).
"... 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God'..." (Acts 14:22, NIV).
"... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering" Romans 8:17, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28, NIV).
"Who best can suffer, best can do." --John Milton
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote the book, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? Note: There are many quick answers: There are no good people! In the book Robinson Crusoe Friday asks why evil isn't destroyed: "What about you?" Robinson replies. And so why do good things happen to bad people? What is good and what is bad then, if there is no God? When we call something good or evil, we are referring to some standard or Supreme Good, which was seen as God by Plato. Ponder not about debating good but wondering where the idea of goodness came from, if not God?
In short, God is love, but we must see the big picture of what God is doing for His glory and also not forget that God is one of justice, wrath, vengeance, vindication, and judgment. God will surely fulfill all His attributes. Also, justice delayed is not justice denied! We see no justice, but God lives in eternity and sees the big picture. When we say that it's not fair for innocent people to suffer, how we do know of their innocence? And if God were to eliminate all evil in the world, what about the evil in us--Jesus said that only God is good! We must have faith that God is working for the greater good and short-run evil will result in long-range good. Likewise, we must praise God for the opportunity to do good when we see evil. Instead of asking where God is, we must realize where the devil is!
The point is that we only see good in light of evil and evil is not God's fault! God didn't create evil, but only the possibility of evil, which was necessitated because of free will! This would make no sense if no one turned evil and rebelled against God; therefore, evil exists and must be reckoned with and judged. Remember, Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they come as a package: we can distinguish them and separate them, but evil exists only as a parasite on good. If mankind had no choice of good or evil, there would be no love or hate in the world; we'd be robots, puppets, automatons, or animals with no free will or opportunity to know and love God. Don't break faith because we all have to pay our dues. God simply couldn't create a world of free people who have a chance to obey Him and then have none disobey or do evil!
We talk of injustice, intolerance, inequity, et cetera. How could there be injustice without justice? If there were no good, there could exist no evil! Mankind was created good and went terribly bad, even Satan was once good! But, fortunately, God is able to turn evil into good and His glory and wisdom will be shown in the end. Most people just object to evil when it happens to them, but don't realize they are part of the problem too if they don't know God. The point is that God sends good in envelopes of affliction to make us grow in our faith. In the final analysis, we ought to celebrate the opportunity to see good in light of evil and to turn evil into good and to have the opportunity to do good when evil seems so certain and unavoidable to everyone to some degree--no one goes through life trouble-free.
Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered (cf Heb. 5:8) and didn't exempt Himself from suffering, nor guarantee we would lead a life in a bed of roses or in a rose garden. "Jesus was honest enough to tell us we'd have tribulations" and that life was a test of our faith. Would you believe in a Savior who wasn't sympathetic to suffering and had experienced none first-hand? But God is the great Sufferer and when we break God's laws, we break God's heart. When bad things happen, people act differently: some become bitter, some better!
Therefore, it is by adversity in life that we build character and learn the lessons of life to become mature. And the existence of Satan, evil, sin, death, and adversity is not an argument against God, but for Him. The ultimate question should not be: "If there is a God why is there evil?" but the opposite: "If there is no God, why is there so much good?" God is able to make "the wrath of man to praise Him" (cf. Psa. 76:10).
Faith is a choice and we must decide between good and evil. If faith were easy, it wouldn't be worth anything! There is no easy answer to the existence of suffering, but it's just as likely to produce sincere faith as to destroy insincere faith; in a way, it's a litmus test! There is no smoking gun evidence for or against God, so it takes faith both ways. It isn't a matter of faith versus reason, but faith versus faith--which set of presuppositions you want to accept; Faith in man and science, or God and His Word as the revelation. Most people don't have enough faith to be atheists!
We must decide to believe and be willing to do God's will for our eyes to be opened to the truth. God will authenticate Himself to us if we are willing. God will not force someone to believe against their will, though He can make them willing (a paradox). Faith can only be valid and of value, if it's difficult to attain! That's because God is all-powerful or omnipotent and can overpower someone's will and make the unwilling willing--no one can reject His will (cf. Jer. 20:7; Rom. 9:19).
In sum, upon salvation, we enroll in the school of suffering, which is a given, and we must celebrate it as a red badge of courage that gives us braggadocio as it were and the right to say, "Been there, done that!"--this is Reality 101 and no one escapes it! God owes us no explanations: "He is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make a mistake!" We answer to God not the other way around! We are not to second-guess God: John Wycliffe tenet says, "All things come to pass of necessity." We ought not get a martyr's complex, thinking the more we suffer, the more holy we are, but everyone is called to go through the school of hard knocks at times.
God knows that in our affliction, we will seek Him (cf. Hosea 5:15) and we should know that He gets our attention by affliction (cf. Job 36:15). "People are born for trouble as sure as the spark flies upward" (cf. Job 5:7, NLT). In the final analysis, one must acknowledge the fact that there are no easy answers as God didn't even explain Himself to Job. God is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and to wise to be wrong or mistaken. No religion, philosophy, or faith has the complete answer! Soli Deo Gloria!