~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: I feel that according to scripture God is in control of everything that happens - He is God. Sometimes things are allowed to happen to us because God wants to let us see that we are not as spiritual as we gave ourselves credit for. It makes us realize our dependency on God. We can do all things through Christ Jesus. But this is the Key - through Christ Jesus.My question is, why do terrible things that seem to destroy godly people happen? They are doing their best to live for the Lord, to the best of their ability, as they search the scriptures to live a better Christian life.
Answer: There have been a number of books written on that subject. There is even one by that title that James Dobson has written, When God Doesn't Make Sense. Phillip Yancey has written, Where Is God When It Hurts? and Disappointment with God.
All of these books address the subject of your question, "Why do terrible things that seem to destroy godly people happen? People that are doing their best to live for the Lord and search the scriptures to live better christian lives." (That is not an exact quotation, but it gives the intended meaning.)
Let me begin by saying, "Why God would allow a certain thing to happen," is impossible to answer in many cases. God who knows the end from the beginning has more information to base His decision on than we who are creatures of time and space. We need to begin by acknowledging the fact that "sometimes terrible things happen to godly people." Since no one can deny this, the challenge is, how shall we cope with this reality? Sometimes terrible things happen to godly people because they are godly, as with Jesus, the apostles, and martyrs from the early church until now.
Part of our problem comes from the fact that we think that when we are trying to serve the Lord to the best of our ability that would should be protected from painful things in life. However, life is a catalyst for problems. Life is hard. Life is not fair. Life will not devote itself to making us happy. Jesus said, "In this world you shall have tribulation...." He didn't give details as to why except for the on going battle between good and evil in the world. Christian couples have babies that are deformed. Christians have deceases, alzheimers, cancer, and any other dreadful deceases. "Time and chance happen to them all" (Eccles. 9:11). Also read Psalm 73.
Even though these things happen through various natural means that causes such illnesses, Satan tries to use them to destroy our faith. Amy Carmichael developed crippling arthritis and spent years confined to a bed. Once while she was disoriented because of pain some people came and stole her bed and left her lying on the floor. Being confined to a bed kept her from doing all she wanted to do as a missionary in India. In one of her letters she wrote, "I may be in Nero's prison but I am not Nero's prisoner, I am a prisoner of the Lord." Paul was literally in Nero's prison, but he too called himself a prisoner of the Lord. Both of these saints suffered - one in a prison made of stone and steel bars and the other in a prison of affliction made of inflammation and swollen joints.
Amy wrote a beautiful poem called "No Scar." One line says:
Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?There are so many painful things in life that we have no control over. The only thing we have a choice in is our attitude and how we handle the problem. Pain inevitable, but to be destroyed by it is optional. Amy and Paul both suffered a great deal of pain, but they endured. Paul describes their secret of endurance best in 2 Timothy 4:7: "...I have kept the faith...." Perhaps the answer to your question is best found in the words of the old song:
We'll talk it over in the bye and bye.
We'll talk it over my sweet Lord and I.
I'll ask the reason; He'll tell me WHY
When we talk it over in the bye and bye.
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This page was last updated January 13, 2009.
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