Tuesday, June 3, 2014

If God is Good...


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.