God is Good?
I had an interesting conversation with a friend tonight regarding the state of the world. It all began when I opened my mouth about apocalyptic signs and escalated from there. The $64,000 question eventually became, “If God is good and loving, then why is there suffering in the world?” The more that I thought about that question, the more that I thought that this question probably goes unasked by many people in the world. I know how I answered this question, I want to know how you answer this question. I want everyone to chime in on this one. I know people read what is written on this site, even if you stop by because of some random keyword, I know you are here.
I’m not going to write anything else in this post until some folks have chimed in. I’ll add some more thoughts once YOU start talking! The floor is yours…..
why is there suffering in the world? Because God is good and loving He gave us the freedom to make our own choices.( He does not want to control us. Control is not love.) So we make choices good and bad which affects the world around us. So what about the innocent lives who were hurt by other’s bad choices? God will not let them be ignored by Himself or others. He will care and bless them whether they recognize it or not.
I have been asked and have asked this question quite a few times in my life. Usually the answer I have heard when I have asked this question is “God makes all things good in the end, we just can??t see this from our perspective”.
However, I think a far more accurate picture is that we are stubborn, thick headed, and down right disobedient. And God uses bad situations to force us to look to Him and Him alone.
I really think that when bad things happen it is often a wake up call for us to look to God and trust in Him. So this does mean that I believe that God will allow something bad to happen to us, it isn’t always Satan messing with us. Sometimes it is God working to get our attention.
I think the one word answer is ‘sin. Couple this with the fact that God created us with ‘freewill’ and the unfortunate result is that PEOPLE CHOOSE to be disobedient to God. The end result is a lot of pain and suffering. God gives us another choice and He cannot be blamed because we choose to live in opposition to His will.
I watched an interesting interview with Steve Saint the other day. His father was killed along with 4 other men by a savage tribe in South America. He has since been able to reach this people group with the message of Jesus Christ. Steve Saint has an interesting perspective on this issue, his dad died when he was only 5 and his daughter suddenly died of a brain hemorrhage when she was around 20. Saint talked about Sovereignty, Suffering and the Will of God. Suffering can be as a result of our sin, or just because we live in a fallen sinful world, or God may allow suffering, but is it possible that God could actually cause suffering? If He is Sovereign why not? But as Christians we don’t like to think of God as causing suffering. We see Jesus healed a blind man, why was he blind, why did he suffer, so God could be glorified. Why didn’t God remove Paul’s thorn in the flesh, to keep him humble. Sometimes we see suffering for the purpose of bringing death. While God has the characteristics of being loving and good, he is also sovereign. Just my thoughts, I also have appreciated the others as well.
Hi Tony. Long time.
I believe all things are of and from God. I believe that all He gives is according to who He is. I also believe that everything that God provides serves a God-given purpose, in one way or another.
In having said this, I truly believe that God gives all things for good. It is man who corrupts the Goodness of God and pays the consequence for doing so.
After all, God forgives sin-but WE MUST STILL deal with the consequences of our sin.
In closing, I don’t believe God causes or would willingly inflict suffering. He has given all the Revelation and Wisdom we need in order to draw godly understanding in dealing correctly with His provisions.
The sad fact is that we always look to pass blame for our wrong-look at Eden. And in the consequence of our wrong, the suffering the hurt, the pain God can and will, work something good in our lives. Unfortunately, so will the evil side. It is, as always encumbant upon us to choose whose work we desire.
Glad to hear of the goodness of God in your life, always heartening for christians to know of God working in the lives of others that we might direct our thoughts to that which God is doing in our life.
This comment is far longer and shorter than I intended. So, I’ll finish here with A Happy New Year!
God Bless.
Eddie.