What about suffering?

One of the most commonly asked questions we are asked as Christians is: How can God allow Suffering?

This is a hard question and I don’t think there can ever be an answer that satisfies us and leaves us happy with an answer. If we do have a God that allows suffering then we have a problem as to why he doesn’t stop bad things from happening. But if there isn’t a God then we have a bigger problem as people believe in justice, righteousness and well life.

People interpret suffering in different forms, whether it’s a form of mental illness, sickness, persecution etc... Each individual suffers differently and has their own level of suffering. When people ask about suffering they are really asking why are there earthquakes and why do people get cancer? In order to tackle this question we will look at the beginning! When God created Adam and Eve there was no suffering, there was no death and there was no pain. It was perfect! God told Adam that he could eat from all the trees in the Garden “but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall truly die” (Genesis 2:17). As we know Adam did eat from the tree and sin entered the world and as a consequence of Adams sin, death entered the world also.
As a consequence from Adams sin, we live in a fallen world and this includes suffering. When we hear of miracles that people have been healed from sickness, the blind being able to see and the death hearing we can see the power of God. Healings on earth are a mere glimpse of Gods Glory in Heaven and gives a glimmer of what Heaven would be like here on earth. Our time on earth is temporary but our time with God in Heaven is eternal, there will be no sickness, or suffering, no one will be blind or death but we will also be perfect and there will be no death for it has been defeated. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

The Christian message here is not that God gets us off the hook or that being a Christian exempts us from suffering. Many people suffered throughout the Bible including the Old Testament; Joseph in prison (Genesis 39:20), David running from Saul (1 Samuel 23:15), Job lost everything (Job 1-12), Jonah being swallowed by a whale (Jonah 1:17). Also in the New Testament people died for their faith; John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14), James was killed (Acts 12:2) Peter was imprisoned (Acts 12:4) and many Jews were persecuted for being a Christian. However the greatest suffering of all was Jesus who was persecution, mocked, stripped, spat on, wore a crown of thorns, beaten and finally died on a cross with pierced hands and feet (Matthew 27). God placed himself “on the hook” of suffering – God is no spectator to suffering but in Jesus he suffered.

Can you think of a time when something terrible has happened and you can’t see a way out or you can’t see things getting any better. When you look back at those times are you out the other end and things are ok! Or even when something has seemed terrible at the time but in hindsight God has made it for your God (Romans 8:28). If we can see good come from terrible situations, then God must see far more than we can. If God is big enough to blame for suffering then he is big enough to use it for our good.

Therefore the Gospel offers us the only way of dealing with suffering. He is our comforter who comforts us, he knows suffering as he suffered himself. He shared our pain so we can one day share his new creation. If we choose to side with evil instead of being with a loving God in Heaven, then we condemn ourselves to a far worse suffering than here on earth.

ta ta...

Is God Good All The Time?

Hey guys, so i was thinking about what to write a blog on and during the week something really prompted me to write it on the goodness of God.
I want to start off with this, God is good all the time!

I think that is really important!

If you walked into a church and asked if God is good, most christians would say yes. Now here comes the challenge, if they were sick and you asked them if God was good and they said yes God is allowing my suffering to make me a better person then that is not saying God is good. It is the devil who comes to kill, steal and destroy, God and the devil have not changed jobs. We need to make sure we don't have a too big view of the devil and a too little view of God. God is so extremely good and God does not punish. He is good because he brings mercy to us, not pain and troubles. God is for us and not against us!

God does not lack anything, he is perfect and good, the fault is with us. We do not understand his goodness and use the excuse that God is testing us in our suffering and our tough situations. That is not true, that says God is not good when he is extremely good!

In the bible Jesus healed everyone who came to him. He never turned them away saying that God is using their troubles to make them a better person. He healed ALL who came to him.

I read a book called 'The Shack' a while ago (if you have not read it then read it!) and i'll just share a few things that are written.

- God said, 'There are millions of reasons to allow pain, hurt and suffering rather than to eradicate them but most of those reasons can only be understood with each persons story. I am not evil! You are the ones who embrace fear and pain and power and rights so readily in your relationships. Your choices are also not stronger than my purposes and i will use every choice you make for the ultimate good and the most loving outcome.

- God said, 'The real underlying flaw in your life, is that you don't think that i am good. If you knew i was good and that everything is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what i am doing, you would trust me.

- God said, ' Just because i work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies does not mean i orchestrate the tragedies. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace.

God does not inflict pain, hurt, sickness and disease, that comes form the devil. God is good and therefore he only does good, it is who he is, he is good! It says in these verses how good God is...

Psalm 34v4
Taste and see that i am good, blessed are those who take refuge in him.

Romans 8v28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.

Mark 10v18
'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good except God alone.'

Psalm 143v10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God, your spirit is good.

God is good all the time and we need to praise him all the time.

Malachi 3v10
'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this.' Says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if i will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Challenge Gods goodness!

Hope this has helped!
Gilbo.

Dealing with difficulty: Overcoming fear

Sally Bull shares from her own experience about how God has helped her through a difficult few weeks...

Psalm 112 is all about what attributes a person has if they love God and fear only Him. It talks about riches and blessings, generosity, loving others, having a firm foundation in God and blessed children. Then in verse 7 it says this: “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

The last few weeks have not been the easiest for me and I’ve struggled with carrying the burden of bad news, but not just that, it was news that I didn’t really understand. I decided I needed to find out more and clarify what was going on. I had to wait over a week before I could properly do this and during that time I had managed to work myself up so badly that the thought of the whole situation became pretty unbearable and mostly reduced me to tears. I convinced myself that the absolute worst was going to happen and my whole outlook on the situation was bleaker than bleak. I hadn’t read my bible in ages but when I eventually did pick it up (rather half heartedly I have to admit!) I was drawn to Psalm 112, and it was verse 7 that really challenged me: “no fear of bad news”? At that time, fearing bad news was all I was doing but God had spoken to me through His word and told me I didn’t need to do this at all! I was reminded that THE ONLY THING TO FEAR IS GOD HIMSELF.

Somewhere in the bible it says that God is above all things, which means he has complete control over every situation no matter how big or small. What a relief! But what did this mean for me? Well the situation didn’t and still hasn’t gone away, BUT I know that I can trust in God that he will work it for his good and for his glory, and as long as that happens, well I’m happy, because at the end of the day, as a Christian I’m not living my life for me anymore anyway; I’m living it for God.

The next verse goes on to say: “his heart is secure, he will have no fear...” I know that ultimately my heart, my mind and my soul is secure in God and I will trust him through the good times AND the bad. And you know what, when I did finally properly find out what was going on, it wasn’t as bad as I had told myself it was going to be anyway which just proved to me even more that I need God in my life to show me the truth that I have become blind to seeing, and to put things back into perspective for me. Why put myself in control when God is all knowing? I just freak out!

So my point in writing this blog is this:

What are you fearing above God at the moment?

Challenge yourself to hand it over to Him... even if you have before, keep recommitting it to him because “the Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18. And I can testify to that being true!

Sally

Chilli Con Carne & Christmas...

What have they got in common?

It's something I've often thought about, I doubt you have, I doubt you're as strange as I am - although maybe you are.

I eat chilli all the time but rarely at Christmas, it's not appropriate. Chilli makes your mouth hot but keeps the rest of your body cold but at Christmas what you want is food that warms you through and through. I love Christmas dinners and I wouldn't want to change what we eat, mountains of food, plenty of helpings of seconds and thirds... and fourths. I don't suggest for a minute that you substitute Christmas dinner for chilli con carne, that would be strange and I'm sure that if you suggested it you'd be laughed out of the kitchen (and quite right too!). No, that's not what this is about.

Instead it's about the point of Christmas the reason for the season (sorry). Christmas is the time when God gave as an answer to the problem of pain and the issue of suffering in our world. He didn't write a thesis about it, he didn't give us a mathematical equation that explained why certain people seem to struggle and suffer more than others, but he did give us a glimpse of how committed he is to us even in the midst of the messes we find ourselves in. God became a man.

Christmas has become a time when we remember what theologians (who insist on using strange latin words) call the incarnation. The incarnation has nothing to do with the Queen's crowning ceremony (that's the coronation), or a carnival and I'm afraid nothing to do with pretty flowers but instead it has everything to do with chilli con carne.

Think about it, what is chilli con carne? It's chilli in mince meat with a tomatoey sauce.
'Con carne', simply means 'in meat' and that's what Christmas is all about. It's about the time that God put meat on and entered onto the world's stage.

God didn't stand back and judge the world, and he didn't wash his hands of us and leave us to destroy ourselves. Instead he became one of us, he joined us. People often say 'how can you believe in God when you've never seen him?' to which I reply that if I lived 2000 years ago I would have done. That's the startling and shocking claim that Christians make and that we remember at this time of year. God became a man.

Don't ever lose the wonder and bafflement that comes from considering how incredible the incarnation is. If it doesn't cause you scratch your head in confusion and bend your knee in worship then I don't think you've understood how world-changing Christmas is.