I have been plowing through school
now for 2 years. This week's question for class is about a subject near and
dear to my heart and to the heart of God - suffering. What happens to us when
we face evil and suffering? Do we run to God or run away? Do we think that God
is unaware or just set the world in motion and left us to ourselves to figure
it out? Trials and suffering really test the metal of our faith and is an
indicator of where our heart is and what we value. Do we believe James when he
tell us to consider it all joy when we encounter trials because the testing of
our faith will grow us up in our faith (James 1:2-4). Do we believe that the
eternal weight of glory far exceeds this present suffering as Paul writes
(Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18)? Dear reader, If you have any questions or
doubts about where God is in the midst of evil and suffering I highly recommend
reading If God is Good, by Randy Alcorn.
1. Describe a situation where you
were hard pressed by evil or suffered a significant trial. How did your view of
God’s sovereignty and goodness affect how you responded?
I want to preface this question
with the statement that I think timelines are so valuable. You can look back
historically, see how the events of life have unfolded, and how God has moved
and grown you. When I reflect back on the timeline of my life it is clear that
both attributes of God’s sovereignty and goodness are evident. Each trial that
has come my way through the course of my life has prepared me, and continues to
inform me of the of God’s sovereignty and goodness, as I travel this winding
and troubled road of life. When scripture informs our lives, particularly the
attributes of God (Alcorn read Tozer, I read Tozer and Pink) one bump in the
road prepares for the next one.
The answer to this question is
informed by several statements made by Alcorn in is book:
· The faith that can’t be shaken is the faith that has been shaken (4)
· Our failure to teach a biblical theology of suffering leaves Christians
unprepared for harsh realities (14)
· Evil is never good, yet God can use any evil to accomplish his good and
sovereign purposes (34)
· Suffering reminds us to stop taking life for granted and to contemplate the
larger picture. God intends that it draw our attention to life-and-death
reality far greater than ourselves (43)
As I have reflected on my life
along the way there were instances where trying to make sense of things
(multiple miscarriages, death of loved ones, near death car accidents, etc.) were
what drew me to scripture and began to shape my understanding particularly of
the sovereignty and providence of God. As each hurt hit I was drawn more
closely to the Word. God was preparing my heart for bigger bumps in the road.
The big blast came in 2002 when I
was diagnosed with a chronic debilitating disease that leveled me. As I was
coming up from the ash heap I journaled everything, snippets from things I read
either in the Word or from another source (other books, sermons, cards and
notes that were sent at the time). As I have been reading back through the
journal it is clearly evident that God was using that time to begin to help me
develop a theology of suffering. I was learning what the goodness of God really
meant. Psalm 73 was such a ministry to my soul at the time. Needless to say,
the weight of affliction did not end there. It had become a springboard to
prepare me for the next big trial that hit our family.
As I began to regain my strength I
laid that journal down for a while. It picks up again in May 2005 when our
youngest son left the family as a prodigal. He turned his back and walked away.
Again the journal chronicles the goodness and sovereignty of God in the midst
of great sorrow. As I turned the pages it has become evident that God has
been teaching me the meaning of gratitude in the midst of trial.
I could write hundreds of pages of
how I have seen God’s sovereign and good hand in my life, but I will leave you
with one journal entry from 3/16/06:
“God picks the time that
looks the darkest and seems the most hopeless to show his power and glory.
God’s grace always shines the most brightly against the blackest backdrop.”
I am not sure of the source.
It sounds like Nancy Leigh DeMoss.
