D SUFFERING
MONICA PEREZ AND MICHAEL ROBINSON
By not addressing the paradox itself, we do nothing to
adequately prove the non-existence of God, but merely
criticize our perception of God’s character. Our main
issue is, “If I were God, I would have done it better.” We
abandon faith because we are tired of waiting, or we
no longer trust God to actually show up. It’s an angry
declaration that says, “People shouldn’t have to hurt like
this!” or, often times, “I shouldn’t have to hurt like this!”
Ultimately, we work to eradicate the pain in our lives,
and alienate God from the process. The real question
we should be asking is, “How would a good God allow
me to go through such pain and suffering?”
We see natural disasters, mass murders, disease,
mental illness, and hatred, but God can still be trusted.
And God is faithful. As we entrust ourselves to Him in
our pain and in our compassion for others, He reveals
His true goodness and justice in the midst of chaos.
Perhaps by God’s design, a suffering heart, if softened,
can more easily be enlarged and filled with love. God is
eager to share the strangeness of His joy with everyone.
But we have to enter the pain. When you and I are
deeply hurt, what we really need is not a justification
from God, but a revelation of God.
Tim Keller states in one of his books: “To be loved but not
known is comforting but superficial. To be known and
not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and
loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we
need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense,
humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies
us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” We need to
see the greatness of God and recover perspective on
life. Things become distorted when we are suffering,
and it takes an understanding of something bigger than
ourselves to realign life’s dimensions again.
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