|
|
Christian Indie Radio
GetChristianMusic
Solid Walnut Music
|
|
|
|
|
|
Devotionals
|
|
Cartoons
Culture
Family
Games
Health
Homeschooling
Humor
Inspiration
Kids
Men
Ministry
Parenting
Poetry
Teens
Women
|
|
Statement of Faith
Contact Us
|
|
|
|
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
by Jason Mitchener (Jason's bio)
Send this page to a friend
Rape. Murder. War. Disease. Suffering. Turn on the TV news or open your local newspaper and you will discover story after story about suffering.
"Elderly woman dies from anthrax exposure."
"Phoenix mother sets her three children on fire."
"Babies in South Africa raped."
With all this suffering, how can there be a God? Why would a good God allow all this?
People see me confined to a wheelchair and requiring a ventilator to breathe and question how a loving God would allow this. And then when they discover that I'm a Christian, they question why I would believe in God.
And yet I do believe in God. I believe in a loving God that cares for me and wants the best for me.
If God is loving, then why does he allow suffering? I'll give some of the answers below, but I'm sure more answers exist. I'll only scratch the surface in this article.
Suffering results from free will
God has given each of us free will. We have the ability to choose between good and evil, between love and hate, between going the right way and going the wrong way. God could have created us without free will, but why would he want to? Who would desire beings programmed to love? Who would desire Pinocchio over the real boy? The one wooden and on strings, obeying every command. The other full of life and free, loving because he chooses to love.
We can use our free will to cause suffering. And we often do. We choose to hate when God asks us to love. We choose to hold grudges when God asks us to forgive. We choose to take life when God says, "Thou shalt not kill."
Our choices, whether good or evil, effect those around us. Hitler chose evil and six million Jews died. A woman named Vera Dingman chose good and started an orphanage in Mesa, Arizona called Sunshine Acres that has cared for over 1000 children during the last 40 years.
What will you choose?
Suffering can draw us closer together
In times of tragedy, people draw close to one another for support. After the World Trade Center disaster, New York citizens showed overwhelming support for one another. People donated blood and money. They volunteered at hospitals. They hugged complete strangers.
We saw similar displays of support after the Oklahoma City bombing and the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. People who didn't even know each other one day were working together the next day to rebuild their communities. And in that rebuilding, they showed true community.
Did God cause these tragedies to wake us up to the need for community? Of course not. But I do believe he allowed them. Yes, these tragedies were awful, but did they perhaps bring about a greater good?
Suffering can make us stronger
"No pain, no gain." You have probably heard these words before. You lay on the ground in physical education class exhausted from doing sit-ups and your teacher asks you to do ten more. "No pain, no gain." The words sting in your ears, but you know he's right. The painful sit-ups are making you stronger and healthier.
Suffering can also make us stronger. Some researchers studied hundreds of gifted people to see if there was a common characteristic among them. The research showed that many of these gifted people experienced great tragedy in their life. People like Beethoven, who created some of his most beautiful music after he went completely deaf, and Helen Keller, whose words inspire us even though she was blind and deaf. They rose above their tragedy to create beauty.
I would not be as strong as I am today without going through suffering. I've learned patience through waiting for someone else to scratch my nose. I've learned to appreciate life because I've danced on the edge of death. I've learned the need for compassion through the compassion of those who care for my daily needs. I write from the depths of a heart that has experienced both joy and pain. My ability to walk and breathe on my own may be gone, but God has given me so much more.
Will you allow your suffering to make you stronger?
Suffering can show us our need for God
Yes, some people turn away from God in times of tragedy. But many others turn to God. They realize they can't make it on their own and need someone greater than themselves for strength and guidance.
When I can't move my arms and legs, I know that Christ understands because he hung on a cross not being able to move his arms and legs. When I struggle to breathe, I know that Christ understands because he hung on a cross struggling to breathe. I don't blame God for my suffering, but rather cry out to him to help me through it.
A friend of mine thought he could do anything until a plane crash paralyzed him from the waist down. He truly believes God allowed the crash to show him how he needed to rely more on God and others.
Are you running from God or turning to him?
In my suffering, I declare to you that God exists and he is a God of love. Will you trust him?
Copyright 2002, Jason Mitchener. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
|
About Jason Mitchener: Jason is the owner and webmaster of crosshome.com. He lives in Arizona and has been a Christian for over ten years. Jason was born with a rare neuromuscular disease that confines him to an electric wheelchair and requires him to use a ventilator to breathe. He has been writing devotionals for over a year. He also is an accomplished lyricist with credits on two Christian CDs. You can learn more about his music at: Solid Walnut Music E-mail Jason |
Send this page to a friend: