Why does a good God allow good people to suffer? In other words, is God not good and He want us to suffer, or is He simply not powerful enough to stop us suffering?
In essence, my point was that what God had intended for us was good, it was glorious, but within his love for us he gave us choice (as love cannot exist without choice), and when we made the wrong choice, that put into affect a change what has altered the very environment we live in, from where we in perfect union with God, to a place where the earth has been affected by a fallen world. God does not want us to suffer, he does not delight in it, but in his mercy he allows us to make our own choices.
I cannot go into everybody's personal situation, and I do not think to even understand what everyone is going through, so I cannot give you a glib answer as to why... but I hope that I can encourage you and give you hope that God is good and that he does truly want the best for you, so seek him, press into him!
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Creation to the Fall:
· POWER: Genesis 1 & whole bible
God’s infinite power is constantly demonstrated!
· CREATION: Genesis 1:26-31 : God created man (male and female) and saw that it was very good.
God’s will for us, as seen at beginning of creation, was perfect!
· ITIMACY: Genesis 3:8 : God is walking in the garden
God had an intimate relationship with his children – the way it was intended
· CHOICE: Genesis 2:16-17 : Eat from any tree (even tree of life), but not from tree of knowledge of good and evil.
God knows that true love can only exist where there is choice, so in His love He gives it to us
· SIN & FALL: Genesis 3:1-7 : satan lies, man and woman believe it, sin enters the world – man & woman’s suffering and the ground is also cursed.
Sin affects the entire environment including the earth – this disrupts the perfect union with God and he has to remove himself from that place of sin. God did not desire for man & woman to suffer, to be separate from him, but that was a result of their choice!
Good man Suffering – Job:
· Job 1:1-4 : Job is wonderfully blessed.
· Job 1:6-12 : God is pleased with Job, Satan says he can make him curse God if things go bad – God agrees to let Satan put him through the trial, but that he cannot harm him.
· Job 1-2 : Satan kills & destroys everything which Job knows, but he still praises God.
· Job 3-37 : Job curses the day he was born, and is broken.
· Jon 38-42 : God speaks and says that there are so many things Job does not know about, listing many things which are beyond his comprehension.
· There are things in this world we cannot fully comprehend, and therefore should not get frustrated that we do not understand – but we should keep seeking, keep asking.
A few other learning’s from Jesus
· Luke 8:22-25 : Jesus “rebukes” the storm
Jesus would not stop the storm if it was God’s will, or else he would be working against his father. Do we rebuke that which is not of God’s will?
· Many healings Jesus did (look at any of the gospels)
I don’t believe God was making people ill and Jesus healing them. I believe that sickness has come from the fall, and that ultimately Satan whose role it is to kill steel and destroy, is doing that. Will we oppose him on his mission?
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