"We ordinarily can't know why particular individuals suffer the way they do. But in the light of God's revelation in Christ, our assumption should be that their suffering is something we should oppose in the name of God rather than accepting it as coming from God. Hence, the only relevant question disciples of Jesus should consider is, What can we do to bring God's redemptive will into the situation, to alleviate suffering and to glorify God? How can we respond in such a way that God's will is further accomplished "on earth as it is in heave"? Instead of asking, "Who sinned?" we should ask, "How can we bring glory to God in this situation?" (Jn 9:1-3)
Is God to Blame? by Gregory A. Boyd
Just 6 weeks after losing someone very dear to me and my family, I struggle internally to move forward. My life seems to be moving along just fine externally but underneath this calm, collected exterior is a very fragile human being grappling with the real questions that surface during times of great trails. Times like; when family members respond differently to grief, friends walk away when you need them most, and tasks seem to pile up on ones desk, only make my own humanity more apparent. I can't keep pretending that I am fine. I can't hold it all together for the world to see only a small portion of the true me. What about the emotions that rage within me and demand my constant attention. Nagging all day long... screaming out that life is not fine.
No, these emotions are not rooted in the death of Brian but rather the biggest paradox in all history. What is God's role in my life? I had a friend ask me if I really believed that God cared about each individual that roamed this earth, if I did how could he let all the horrible things happen to them. I can only answer that question with the truth that I get from mediating on who God is. I have come to cherish my heavenly Father not because I can answer all of life's questions but because I have come to know who he is. And as I go through this time I realize that I need to draw from that knowledge and ask the Holy Spirit to strength, deepen, and grow my knowledge of who He is. This is why for the next several weeks I am going to be going back to who Jesus Christ is and how his birth, life, death, and resurrection reveals the character and nature of the triune God.
My first quality that I want to look at is God's goodness.
Good: He is totally aware of and considerate of the needs of all His creatures. All that He does is with absolute excellence.
Scriptures:
"As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people." (Gen. 50:20 NLT)
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matt 7:11 NASB)
"And no doubt you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him." (Acts 10:38 NIV)
"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the Hope of eternal life." (Titus 3: 3-7 NASB)
These are just four of the multitude I found that point my thoughts to God's goodness in my life rather than the internal chaos that seems to only die down when meditating on who Christ is to me.
So... it is my prayer that as I process and start to honestly answer your question of "How am I doing?" that you will continue to pray for me. That you would pray that my heart would turn towards the Lord, that my thoughts would be transformed by the working of His Holy Spirit, and that I would be a vessel willing to be molded into the women that He knows me to be.
And in return I can only promise vulnerability; an approach that requires a piece of my heart to be exposed, but is well worth the risk.
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