Faith is hard at times. There is the disciple who said, “I
believe, but help my unbelief.” The
prophet Isaiah spoke for God saying, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts…So is my
word goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will
accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”
(Isaiah 55:8-11).
I have said that this country does not have a very good
theology of suffering or hardship. Even Jesus said, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Pain is hard and trials will accomplish their purpose, to make us mature and
complete lacking nothing. God will answer, He is not slow and His arm is not
too short as one Rabbi said in Why Do Bad
Things Happen to Good People. He initially thought that God did not have
the power to intervene and change things. He does and His intent is to bring
paradise back to a New Earth.
Ever since the beginning of man, we have been unfaithful and
disobedient, bringing sin and sickness into the world. It was not created this
way, but sin has brought decay and trouble. The Psalmist praises the God “who
forgives all of our sins and heals all of our diseases, lifts our lives from
the pit and satisfies the desires of our hearts that we might fly on wings of
eagles.” When I was suffering from tick
borne illnesses that a medical school thought would be fatal to me, I prayed
the words of the Psalm 103 written above and I was miraculously healed. Not all
people are and God is not uncompassionate in not healing some. David frequently cried out to God without seeing
answers. But God hears and answers all prayers of faith unless we have unconfessed
sin in our lives, and then He does not hear us.
Scripture is full of valleys and death, a natural part of
life. It is God’s power that is working in our weaknesses as we trust and give
thanks to Him in, and not for all things, for He is in all things.
He is compassionate and loving, full of mercy. His plans are
to prosper and not harm us for a hope and a future, He tells us through
Jeremiah. But we need to obey as there are consequences to sin and trials do
occur. Our thoughts are not adequate to understand God’s ways. Yet He tells us
His plans in Scripture. There have been over 300 Biblical prophecies that have
come true as written in the most accurate book ever written. There are nearly
15,000 manuscripts of the Bible that are practically identical, written by 40
men inspired by the Holy Spirit over 1,500 years. They tell us that the
creation of the nation of Israel was the last prophesy needed before Christ’s
second coming or return to rule and reign and rid the world of evil.
Why does God wait until the end times to rid the world of
evil, natural and moral? It’s the moral issues that are hard because man has
free will and often choses cruelty, avarice and selfish power to try to control
circumstances. God allows this and as a result many a hurt. He also allows us
to combat or fight evil and to make morally good choices. Humans are not
capable of solving the problem of evil because we will do things contrary to
God’s intentions. God points us to good and gives us potential for it through
the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit at
salvation. This atonement brings us an imputed holiness through Christ that can
overcome evil by making right choices in a sanctified or righteous life. Good
is what glorifies Him and fulfills His will. That is, God wants us conformed to
His nature. This is not a short-term view, but one that evaluates temporary
suffering in light of eternal glory. God is looking to the greatest good.
God has announced a curse on mankind awaiting redemption
from the bondage of sin. God did not create sin He merely provided the options
of freedom that could result in sin. But
God allows sin and pain and suffering to bring us closer to Him. God grieves
our sinfulness and is a victim of it. So He has provided the victory over sin
through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection.
If this life were all there is then the problem of evil
would be unresolvable. But Christianity’s doctrine of life hereafter teaches
that there will be a great time of judgment- every sin will be recognized and
the godly will be revealed. Punishment for evil will be justly administered,
and the final dimension of eternal life will be granted to all who have
responded to God’s loving offer. Thus
the complaint of the evil prospering and the righteous suffering will be
satisfied. God is making all things new
in creating a new heaven and earth without sin when He returns very soon. Then
we will be perfect.
One more problem. How could a loving God send anyone to
hell? He does not; it is our choice to be left alone by God, therefore
experiencing His absence forever- hell. Death is not final for either the
believer or non-believer; it is simply choosing light with God or darkness and
the absence of God forever.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.