REPLY:
I can appreciate the questions you have about hardship and suffering in light of God being good and loving. I have discovered that the best perspective to maintain is one that is thoroughly biblical in how we view God, especially in four important areas.
Area one: God’s sovereignty
The Bible is very clear, God is sovereign over everything. That doesn’t only mean He knows what’s going to happen, it means He is in control of it.
Area two: God’s ability
God is also all powerful, which means He could do anything He wants to do in any circumstance, including stopping or even destroying evil before it happens.
Area three: God’s love
The Bible says that God is love, and that all He does is from a perspective of love. This overarching principle is something that can never be overlooked even in the worst of situations.
Area four: God’s wisdom
God is ultimately wise, which means He always knows what to do, and even more so, what is best to do.
When we combine these four facts about God’s character in actions, we see that there is nothing that happens that is outside His control, beyond His wisdom, done without love as a primary motive, and within His ability to control.
Honestly, this requires that we create some new categories in our minds to comprehend that when evil happens, it happens for good reasons. When difficulties come, they come to us through the filter of God’s love. Our good and wise God has seen to it.
I know how this can sound to those who have experienced extreme suffering and mistreatment at the hands of evil people. Abuse, genocide, harsh treatment of various sorts, all require us to have this biblically “big view” of God.
If we don’t, we wind up with an impotent God, who doesn’t care, who isn’t wise, and who is not worthy of our worship.
Now, this new category of thinking is not something we make up, it’s something the Bible teaches. Therefore, we are stretching our understanding to encompass it, rather than trying to fit God into our own reasoning and observation of the world.
I realize this is a stretch at first, but I believe that as you ponder it and consider it in light of what scripture teaches, you will see how it all comes together and experience it as an enormous stability and comfort, deep in your soul.
I’m happy to interact about this, so please feel free to let me know what you think of my perspective.
Carey
