I think of those who are really suffering and wonder about
why God allows this. Like my friend whose son had a snow skiing accident and is
paralyzed. Or another friend who has been tortured by their father since almost
child birth and after getting free of the abuse their body is a wreck and they
have constant serious problems with their health. When is enough, enough for people?
1 Corinthians 10:13 gets abused in cases like this:
No
temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can
endure it.
Now the Greek word translated for temptation or tempted can
also mean trials. So is this verse today’s cliché to toss out to those
suffering? How do you comfort someone who is really suffering with this verse?
It ends up making someone more bitter about their situation than comforted,
since if God is all powerful why would he allow “me” to suffer like this?
See how many of the answers in the Bible can cause more pain
than comfort!
We know from the stories in the Bible that God often works
over very long periods and sometimes the suffering is intense. I think of Job
who lost his family and suffered health wise. To me the family loss would be
difficult to bear, yet through the story Job kept faithful.
Now one may argue that this is just part of the fallen world
we live in. Crap just happens, our bodies are not perfect and are flawed.
Sometimes we are born with problems, born into problems or just happen to be in
the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t believe God is orchestrating the
earth as much as many would like.
We look at “nature” and the horrible things that happen
there like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes and wonder why God allows
that. At the same time without a dynamic nature we would not have the “purple
mountains majesty” or swamps like the Everglades. Our lands would be rather
boring and swamps would be toxic since hurricanes clean the system out from
time to time. No the tragedy is we desire to live near beauty and sometimes the
nature that created this beauty rears its ugly head.
The same goes with the body, God is not controlling
every aspect of life on this planet. Sometimes we have accidents and immense
suffering. Sometimes we run into the wrong people and suffer great loss.
Sometimes we have health issues beyond anyone’s control. The key is how we
respond and grow. Do we assume God is punishing us or He caused these
afflictions to “test” us or do we assume God will help us grow through life?