Read: Luke
4:1-11
“No one is righteous, no not one.” –
Romans 3:10
I always get defensive when people
blame God for the negative circumstances in our world. They say, “If there
really is a God, why did He allow this to happen?”
Quite honestly, God created
Paradise for us. He wants to provide for our every need and to give us a
perfect environment in which to live.
However, God also gave us all a free
will and the ability to make choices. Our choices and/or the choices of others
are what cause all the horrid things in our lives, not God. Even inclement
weather is caused because of the curse produced by Adam and Eve’s sin. God is
not calous to our suffering. He feels our sorrows and is acquainted with our
griefs. After all, our sin nailed Him to the cross.
I do agree that there really are decent people in this world who are very kind, generous and good to others. They are honest and some are even spiritually minded. Even though they are not perfect, they are attempting to live lives of service to others. So when they suffer, it angers us because we do not think they deserve to suffer in this way. We wonder why God would allow bad things to happen to them?
The surprising answer to this is found in the Bible. There are no “good” people. We are all influenced by sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8; Romans 3:10-18). Yet, Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
So, why did God allow a good man like Jesus to suffer and die? In order for Him to pay the penalty of our sin. Sin in every form is what causes all the bad things in the world to happen to people who are really trying hard to live a good life. God only wants our best in life. It is our choices and the choices of others that open the door for evil to affect us. Of course, Satan plays into this too. The existence of evil points to the reality of a God who is good, holy and just. Satan’s tool is deception and his aim is to steal, kill and destroy your life (John 10:10).
We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood,
but against Satan and his demons in the spiritual realm. They wield mighty
powers of darkness and they rule the world. God gave Adam and Eve jurisdiction
over the earth (Genesis 1:28). However, when Adam and Eve sinned, they
relinquished control over the earth to Satan. He is now the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Our holy God did not leave us defenseless, however. The Bible encourages us to put on the whole armor of
God so that He can protect us from the schemes of the devil (Ephesians
11:6, 12). Each piece
of God's armor has a specific purpose and allows us to resist Satan so we can
stand firm in this spiritual warfare. God’s righteousness is our body armor and
His truth is our belt. If we walk in His righteousness and support this
holiness with His truth, then the vital aspects of our life are protected.
Although we may suffer physically, He protects our soul and spirit (Matthew 10:28).
God then guards our spiritual walk by the peace that comes
from a personal relationship with Christ. He also gives us faith to shield us
when Satan tries to discourage us, distract us and lure us to return to serving
him. God protects our mind with a helmet fashioned by our salvation through
Christ. This allows us to take captive every thought (2 Corinthians 12:5) and to put on the mind of
Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). Then,
last but not least, He gives us the Bible as our sword. We can defeat Satan
with God’s Word, just like Jesus did in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-11).
As with Job, Satan attacks us with
illnesses and plagues to try to break us and make us curse God. Even so, God
works all of these horrors out for our good (Romans 8:28), just like He did for Job.
Instead of doubting God's
goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him with all of our heart and not to
depend upon our own understanding. He wants us to acknowledge Him in everything
we say and do, so that He can keep us on the straight and narrow path (Proverbs
3:5-6). In this way, we make far fewer
mistakes and we reap many more positive consequences.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, for those who
are asking this question, give them the comfort of Your presence in their life.
Break through their pain and give them Your peace that supercedes human
reasoning. Flood them with Your joy as their strength. I pray that You will put
Your salve upon their hurting hearts and that You will reveal the love of Your
Son Jesus to them, right where they are.Thought for the Day:
Out of our suffering, God forges strong souls. He fashions the Godliest of character in those who are tormented with the most affliction.
