Evil/Suffering – “Why does God let these things happen?”
So …. if God so loves us why does evil and suffering happen?
Scripture:
I John 5:19
19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
In 1999 – two high school students walk into their high school – murdered 12 students and 1 teacher.
Sandy Hook Elementary – 20 kids died 6 administrators shot down in cold blood.
Dublane Primary School of Scotland – 16 kids murdered and 1 administrator died.
A woman cop shot and killed just this last Christmas Eve by her husband. They went to church together.
In this past year we have had tsunamis destroy countries, tornadoes that have destroyed cities, household accidents that have destroyed people.
There is evil and suffering all around us.
Sometimes it even gets personal
A man I (Pastor Tom) knew well kills 3 women and his small group leader in Sidney, OH.
My pastor I worked with for 12 years is diagnosed with cancer in April and dies the following June.
My nephew was born with a form of autism.
My father-in-law has fought cancer.
My dad died suddenly of a heart attack. I had the kind of faith that told me to pray for him to come back to life – but he didn’t.
The question that rings through my heart and mind (and I am pretty positive I am not alone) is “Why does God let these things happen?”
Before we go on, we need to understand that God didn’t want evil in this world to begin with. His desire was that none of this would happen. But it did. God didn’t tell Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of good and evil. God didn’t stop them from eating the fruit. God allowed them to pursue the desires of their heart. God does not interfere with anyone’s desires. Only he, though, can meet the deepest longing in our heart.
Another thing to understand is God is not the author of death, suffering, tragedy, disease, and evil. Anything that destroys life is not from God but it is from the one who wants to destroy life.
God didn’t whisper in Adam and Eve’s ear – “hey if you want to be like me, take a bite.”
They had it made. They only had one rule – don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But when their desire was to be God and have the knowledge of God, He didn’t shake his finger and say, “this is not good for you.” The bottom line is God had nothing to do with them taking the first bite.
God did not bring evil and suffering into the world but he does control them.
Let’s look at the story of Job.
The enemy comes and says to God in Job 1:9-12
9 Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. 10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” 12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Satan is saying to God that the only reason he (Job) loves you is because you have put a wall of protection around him, his home, his family, and his property. Then, a lot of terrible things happen to Job. He loses his wealth. He loses his health. and he loses his family. Which, by the way, are the three things we treasure the most.
After all this happened , look at Job’s response in Job 1:20-22
20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”
22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Job did not blame God! Despite losing his family. Despite losing everything he owned. Despite losing his health – Job did not blame God.
Some people equate God loving us with the assumption that says God is going to shelter those who believe in him from evil. What he says he will do is deliver us from evil.
Some people equate God loving us with the assumption that is going to keep us from harm. What he says he will do (through the scriptures) He will be with us.
Some think just because He loves us, he is not going to let anything bad happen to us. Some think because He loves us, He should to stop evil and suffering from happening to us. Some think because he loves us God should stop all natural disasters that harm us.
God doesn’t stop tornadoes from destroying cities. He doesn’t stop tsunamis from destroying countries. He doesn’t stop people from getting diseases.
But like Job ….. Will we blame Him or will we draw near to Him?
- Despite what is going on around us do we still trust who He is?
- Do we still trust that He is still good?
One more thing to understand is God is not evil. God is good.
Luke 18:19 says,
The rich young man says, good teacher what do I need to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says,
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.”
No amount of evil you see in the world can take away the goodness of God.
- Evil tried to destroy Jesus
- Evil tried to destroy Job
- Evil tried to destroy Moses
- Evil tried to destroy Joseph
- Evil tried to destroy Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendego
- Evil tried to destroy the prophets.
What the Enemy uses to try to do to destroy us – God uses for the good!
When evil and suffering are all around you:
- Can you trust that He is good?
- Can you trust that He is in control?
- Can you trust that He sees the bigger picture?
We know in our hearts and minds that God is good. God is love. God is patient. God is kind. In the midst of evil and suffering will we continue to trust that He is good, loving and kind?
There are some who believe that because there is evil in the world there is no God. And even if there is a God he is far from loving. They reason this way – If there is a God and he is so loving why did he let the kids at Sandi Hook elementary die? If there is a God why did he let the primary kids in Scotland die? If there is a God why did the high school students have to die at Columbine?
Think about this, even if you remove God from the picture and say there is not a God because of the evil that exist in the world it would not stop the senseless suffering and tragedies from happening.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, said “if there is no higher divine law, there would be no way to tell if any particular human law was unjust or not. If there is no God, then why have a sense of outrage and horror when suffering and tragedy occur.”
Essentially what he is saying is, “if there is no God on one would be outraged by the senseless suffering and no one would be effected emotionally by the tragedies that happen around us.” If you want to break it down further we could simply say if there is no God we wouldn’t care. “Kids dying – no big deal. A tsunami hit, so what only hundreds of people died – besides it is dumb for them to live there in anyway – why don’t they just move.” Without God no one would care anymore. Our heart would grow calloused and hard towards the things that should outrage us and break our heart.
So, abandoning belief in God doesn’t help with the problem of suffering and tragedies at all, it removes many resources for facing it.
Let’s get back to the story of Job.
- If Job would have abandoned His belief in God he still would have suffered. Job had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. He didn’t know it was a test. All kinds of natural disasters , disease, and destruction was going on around him.
- Job had no idea what was going on around him. He was better for it.
If God had actually explained all the reasons why He allows things to happen as they do, I would be too much for our finite brains.
Take a look the relationship between a parent and a child:
- Three-year-olds can’t understand most of what their parents allow them to do. But though they aren’t capable of comprehending their parent’s reasons, they are cabable of knowing that their parents love them and they are capable of trusting them and living securely. That is what they need – trust and security. God and human beings would be infinitely greater than the difference between a thirty-year old parent and a three year-old child. Like a 3-year-old we should not expect to be able to grasp all God’s purposes, but through the cross and gospel of Jesus Christ, we can know that He loves us and that He has our best interest at heart. (Tim Keller)
Job didn’t understand what was going on around him. But as you read the whole story he fiercely rejects the advice of his friends and wife. He simply trusts God.
We can’t fully grasp what is going on around us – that is why we need to trust in the goodness of God. Some of the stuff we go through just doesn’t make sense, but, we hold on to the truth that God is good.
In Ann Voskamp’s book, “One Thousand Gifts”, she shares her journey to understand the senseless death of her sister, crushed by a truck at the age of two. In the end, she concludes that the primary issue is whether we trust God’s character. Is he really loving? Is he really just? Her conclusion:
“[God] gave us Jesus… If God didn’t withhold from us His very own Son, will God withhold anything we need? If trust must be earned, hasn’t God unequivocally earned our trust with the bark on the raw wounds, the thorns pressed into the brow, your name on the cracked lips? How will he not also graciously give us all things He deems best and right? He’s already given the incomprehensible.”
Do you hear what she is saying? She is saying “I don’t fully understand why my sister got run over by a truck at age of two. But I had to ask myself, ‘is He really loving?’, ‘can I really trust Him? like a child trusts their parents?’ I can’t fully understand this tragedy but I do understand that God will not withhold anything I need. He gives me everything that is right and good.'”
Think about what Jesus went through
- Can you trust someone who has gone through more physical pain than any other human that has ever lived?
- Can you trust someone whose love for you and I took Him to the cross?
Like a child who trusts his/her parents. Can you trust in the fact that God is good and loving and will meet you at your deepest need?
Like in the garden of Eden. Will you trust that God is supplying everything you need to know?
Like Job. Will you trust His goodness despite the evil and suffering that is going on around you?
We don’t know the reason why God allows evil and suffering to continue (I have tried to figure it out but my finite brain only can go so far) , or why it is so random, but now at least we know what the reason isn’t—what it can’t be.
It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. He is so committed to us that he was willing to plunge into the greatest depths of suffering himself.
Will you trust Him?
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