One of the things that I frequently find myself wondering is "why". Why does God let suffering happen in the world, and in particular, why does God let this much suffering happen to me. Writing it down makes it sound sort of selfish. But still I wonder. Isn't the life of a child one of the most precious things on the face of the earth? How could any rational being sit by and watch a child suffer while having the power to do something about it?[1] Why is he doing this to us?
Then, after I've had a chance to ponder for a while, I come to the question of "how". When I sit and think, I can sometimes reach the place where I can accept that Doug is different because God wants him to be different. He has a purpose. Then I move on to the question of "how". (and feel quite proud that I made it past the "why" step ever so temporarily). How is God going to use him. What great and powerful thing will Doug do in his life to make this all worthwhile? How is God going to work this out? When? (I think you know where this is going...)
You know what though? There's another step to take. A sideways step. I need to step outside the chain of questions. I need to trust. Trust is when believing is enough. Trust is when the character of God is all that you need to know about. Trust is believing that God is good, righteous, and loving. Trust is believing that an all powerful, loving God has a plan, and that the plan is good. Trust is letting go of the how, why, when questions, and accepting where we are today. "Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it." (Psalms 37:5)
Trust is a very peaceful place.
[1] Just as I was writing this, I had a side thought. How hypocritical to blame God. I idly sit by and let the world suffer every day. I drive by the homeless without a care in the world, I watch stories of suffering families around the world on the news. I see people struggling in life, and decide that I'm too busy to help them - they'll have to figure it out themselves. Maybe God isn't sitting idly by. Maybe he is giving his followers - us - me - the resources and abilities to make a difference, and I am the one dropping the ball. That's not really what I sat down to blog about, but this footnote is where I ended up. I guess this is why I blog...
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3 comments:
1)"Maybe he is giving his followers - us - me - the resources and abilities to make a difference, and I am the one dropping the ball."
Yes He is giving you the resources to make a difference, a difference in Dougs life and that is how you are not dropping the ball. don't beat yourself up.
2) wanted to make two comments
Your questioning God process was very honest and thought provoking thanks for sharing.
Thanks. I'm not actually beating myself up on this one. (for a change) It was an interesting realization to me that before we spend a lot of time asking God "why", we should spend some time looking at what we can do.
Yeah, God could snap his fingers and solve the problem of starvation around the world - but where would we get to demonstrate love and compasion?
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