Instead of translating Scripture with my preconceived, "security blanket" beliefs, I need to allow Scripture to translate me.
In my experience, I have encountered two kinds of lies, and they are on opposite sides of the spectrum. First are lies based on insecurity. These are the lies that make you hesitant and fearful, the sort that whisper how ugly, unloved, talentless, uninteresting, or unforgivable you are. Second are comfortable lies. These lies are harder to pick up on, because you desperately want to continue believing a lie because it is what you have always believed and this belief has provided you with comfort at some point in your life. Comfortable lies are not obvious. In fact, they take a lot of digging, vulnerability, and questioning to even begin to decipher.
So I welcome you on this journey of deciphering what may be a comfortable lie I have believed all my life. Naturally, I suppose, because the topic is one I always wrestle with, it has to do with God and suffering.
I've always believed that God has a hand in suffering, meaning that He permits it because we live in a fallen world and He knows He can and will work it all out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28.) I'll call this the reactionary view of God and suffering [[ silly me trying to create my own theological terms ;) ]] God knows what will happen, He permits it, and He reacts in light of the situation to bring about good.
That sounds pretty good to me, even now. But in light of some sermons I have heard recently, my reactionary view is uncomfortably leaning towards more of a proactive view. By proactive I mean that God doesn't just have a hand in suffering.
God proactively leads us into hard times for His glory and our present and future good.
At first, to me, it seems paradoxical and offensive to our Almighty Savior to think He leads us to places of wilderness. But its becoming more obvious to me in reading the Bible that this is often how He acts, and it is said quite clearly. I think I have the potential to get way off-track when I reach a conclusion like this. I start skewing such a statement . . . believing either:
a) God leads us into hard times exclusively for His glory with no regard to us (which gives no personal purpose to pain)
b) God leads us into hard times for our bad (which is a hopelessly vindictive belief)
c) God leads us into hard times for His glory and our heavenly good (which gives no joy for the present)
To think that God, throughout my life has and will BRING suffering TO me . . . it doesn't sit well. But perhaps that's why we are given the testimonies of so many others in the Bible and in our own interactions with people, of incredible blessing and grace in the midst of trial.
Today at church, we talked about Exodus 16. This is the point where God has brought the Israelites out of slavery and into . . . well . . . a literal wilderness. The Israelites are confused and are listening to lies from Satan that tell them it would have been better to have stayed in Egypt than to waste away in the desert.
In the midst of His people's grumbling, God, who could easily have got fed up with the Israelites' lack of faith, performed a remarkable act of grace. He does NOT guide them out of the wilderness, instead choosing to lead them wandering around the desert for 40 years. It must have been hard in many ways, but for 40 years God graciously rained down bread for the Israelites to eat. It was an instructive time to teach the Israelites how to be truly free. The pastor pointed out that God didn't bring them into the wilderness to create their own ability to sustain, instead HE provides/rains down grace on us.
Here I have provided a few Bible passages with emphasis where it seems as if God is proactive instead of reactive in regards to suffering.
Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (The Voice)
2 Remember how the Eternal, your True God, led you through the wilderness these past 40 years. He did this to humble you, to test you, to uncover your motivations, to see if you would obey His commands.3 He humbled you by making you hungry when there was no food in the desert. Then He fed you with manna, a food you and your ancestors had never heard of. He did this because He wanted you to understand that what makes you truly alive is not the bread you eat but following every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One.[a] 4 Your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t swell throughout your 40 years of wandering. 5 I want you to know in your hearts that the Eternal your God has been training you just as a parent trains a child.
Genesis 50:19 (NIV)
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Esther 4:13-14 (NIV)
13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Job 1:21
21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.[a]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
and naked I will depart.[a]
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”
Matthew 4:1-4
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
And to what end did these remarkable warriors of God suffer?
- Joseph to second-in-command of Egypt, able to save thousands from starvation and reconciling family to each other and to God
- Moses and the Israelites to experiencing God's grace over and over and over when they should have received judgment for their idolatrous ways
- Esther to saving her people from massacre
- Job to receive innumerable blessings
- Jesus to be glorified at the Father's right hand
Hebrews 12:4-14 (The Message)
4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either.It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.
12-13 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
This is suffering born not out of punishment, nor out of idleness. Here is suffering as instruction that serves a greater purpose.
Admittedly, I could be very wrong! I may be interpreting Scripture incorrectly. In this case, please feel free to continue a conversation in the comments below, because I would love to hear your input. My hope is that this post will encourage you to further reflection, prayer, and exploration of God's Word. :) I'm still exploring and trying to figure this out myself!
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