And God will
wipe away
every tear
from their eyes;
there shall be
no more death,
nor sorrow,
nor crying.
There shall be
no more pain,
for the former things
have passed away.
Revelation 21:4
Do you believe that statement made by John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Or, do you just hope that it will happen? If someone, a pastor, or evangelist, or anyone, has talked you into a decision for Jesus Christ, then it is possible that another person could change your decision. Jesus Christ does not ask for our decision. His desire is for conversion! Yes there is a decision in the process, but that decision is not due to someone talking you into a decision, rather that the Holy Spirit has drawn you and enabled you to decide to be converted: period! Many people make decisions for Jesus Christ but few are actually converted. What is conversion? An example, go to Europe with your hairdryer (that is if you can take it on a plane, Ha!), and if you do not have a converter your alternating current hairdryer will not work, you need to have conversion from alternating current to direct current, which is the current used in Europe. If you want to live for Christ and believe in His word, then you must be converted from one type of person to another. The converter is Jesus Christ, but unlike the illustration of the hairdryer which can return to alternating current when you unplug the converter, to be converted by the converter Jesus Christ is a permanent conversion, you are not simple converting temporarily, you are converted for eternity and you are now to operate within that conversion. If you have only made a decision then it is possible that you unplug yourself from the converter, Jesus Christ and live as you were before. Why make these comments? If you are not converted then no answer given will be accepted or lasting and this question as to pain and suffering in this world will not be understood or have an answer. Many often come to Jesus Christ because they desire to have what He gives, that is in this case, life without pain and suffering, but when the rubber meets the road, and pain and suffering come into their lives they return to doubt, and even depression, they forsake what they had decided before to be: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us" (1John 2:19). There is an old saying: "You want your cake and eat it too"! This is so true of us, even after conversion, as we become sanctified by allowing the word of God to change us, and allow our conversion to change us into the image of Jesus Christ. Allow me to give an illustration from my new book which will be publish in the next couple of weeks, for in it I address this very question: Why does God allow pain and suffering, why does He not just protect His children from the various afflictions that come upon man?
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor?
Romans 11:33-34
Before I begin, this must be understood: God is not the same as we are for He is a completely different sort of Being. We so often want to morph God into a being as we are, this was what the Gnostics did with the Demiurge, but this Platonic teaching will not give us the answer we seek.
Can good come from bad? You may quickly say, yes! How do you know, what is your argument in favor of that proposal, that good can come from bad? Take for instance, a man who does not go to Church is playing golf on Sunday morning with his friend while his wife and two little girls are on their way to Church only to be killed by a drunk driver. Why did God allow this to happen? Was she not a Christian, was she not on her way to Church to worship God and fellowship with other believers? What did those two little girls do to have this happen to them? Where was God? At this point of affliction we want God to control everything; we want Him to change things so that we would not have to suffer: but God does not! Who made the man become drunk on a Sunday morning? God, Satan, or himself? Who put the bottle to his mouth and made him drink? Are we not the cause of our actions? Yes! Therefore God did not cause him to drink, and we cannot always say that "Satan made me do it." Yes, there is sin in man, and man who will not choose to follow God's command not to get drunk, it is not God's fault, nor is it Satan's fault, that is, directly from Satan. This man choose to become drunk and drive himself. Luke records an event where eighteen men were standing under a tower in Siloam and were killed, so they perished due to the falling of the tower not because they had sinned and caused the tower to fall: (Luke 13:4). There is a law of second causes, and God will not take away our choices or our decisions, but will in all cases through our circumstances turn the bad into good: "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). Man can choose everything in this life, the only thing he cannot choose is salvation, for it is a choice that is outside of man, for it is a choice to choose God, whom he does not know, nor can know unless God chooses Him and give to him the free gift of grace. So, man makes a choice and we wonder how can God be so cruel as to allow this accident and killing the mother and two daughters? We find it hard to accept and to understand. Here is a story that may help:
A bear is caught in a trap, and when the man approaches the bear is fearful and puts up a fight, He does not know that the man is coming to free him and when the man has to apply some pain by injecting the bear with an anesthesia drug he is more frightened but due to the drug he falls against the cage door and the man has to tug and pull to remove him for blocking the door, the bear who is drowsy is made to become more afraid, and fights the man, all the while the bear does not understand that the man has come to free him from the bad thing that has trapped him. How can the bear understand? He can't! He is a bear and the man is a man and the two are far apart. This is us and God. Maybe you have done just that, allowed a child to prick their finger while attempting to learn how to sew, and you saw that this was possible for the child did not put on a thimble, but you allowed it just the same knowing that from the experience of pain she would learn not to do that again. You could have stopped it but you didn't, for you wanted her to learn this hard lesson, you loved her and while she may not understand why you did not help in her time of need, she will come to understand with maturity that at times there is a need for pain. Some don't learn even when they are confronted with pain and suffering: "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit" (Proverbs 14:8). Wisdom comes with maturity and with experience and the more we experience the love of God the more we are willing to allow Him to be God. We say we trust Him, then do so! Remember that God will not take away our humanity for He is loving and kind and will not usurp our poor decisions, but will when we repent take the bad thing and turn it into good, even if that good will have to wait until we are in heaven with Him. You see, have you removed the blinders of doubt, God's children has not been left without hope, for God Who has given to His children life eternal, it is a complete conversion of life, we are new creatures and we are to live as God purposed, a life where there is no pain or suffering and until He returns for His children we trust, and we allow God to be God. Yes, we will have pain, we will suffer, we will cry, we will be sad, we will be human in every sense, but we are not just human we are converted humans, and we know that there is an end to suffering and pain, and that there is joy, unspeakable joy: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-3). Peter writes: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1Peter 4: 12-13).
It is when we are truly converted to Jesus Christ that we can, even when we do not fully understand, stand up under any affliction knowing that this life will end, it is not a matter of whether it will or not, it is a matter of how and when, but we know that to die is to gain, just as Paul wrote: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Live life, obey God, this is contentment, not the contentment that the world seeks, not the discontentment that destroys your faith, rather a contentment due to our faith, a sure hope, that to live for God while aid us while we are in the life, a life of pain and suffering: God is with us: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" (1Timothy 6:6-8). What freedom we have, we have our God, our eternal life and nothing can take us out of the hand of God, nothing can remove us from eternity with Him. Enjoy this life, cry when sad, then move forward in great contentment and joy.
Remove falsehood and lies
far from me;
give me neither poverty
nor riches--
feed me with the food
allotted to me;
lest I be full land deny You,
and say, "Who is the LORD?"
or lest I be poor and steal,
and profane the name
of my God.
Proverbs 30: 8-9
Worship God in Truth
Richard L. Crumb
Can good come from bad? You may quickly say, yes! How do you know, what is your argument in favor of that proposal, that good can come from bad? Take for instance, a man who does not go to Church is playing golf on Sunday morning with his friend while his wife and two little girls are on their way to Church only to be killed by a drunk driver. Why did God allow this to happen? Was she not a Christian, was she not on her way to Church to worship God and fellowship with other believers? What did those two little girls do to have this happen to them? Where was God? At this point of affliction we want God to control everything; we want Him to change things so that we would not have to suffer: but God does not! Who made the man become drunk on a Sunday morning? God, Satan, or himself? Who put the bottle to his mouth and made him drink? Are we not the cause of our actions? Yes! Therefore God did not cause him to drink, and we cannot always say that "Satan made me do it." Yes, there is sin in man, and man who will not choose to follow God's command not to get drunk, it is not God's fault, nor is it Satan's fault, that is, directly from Satan. This man choose to become drunk and drive himself. Luke records an event where eighteen men were standing under a tower in Siloam and were killed, so they perished due to the falling of the tower not because they had sinned and caused the tower to fall: (Luke 13:4). There is a law of second causes, and God will not take away our choices or our decisions, but will in all cases through our circumstances turn the bad into good: "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3). Man can choose everything in this life, the only thing he cannot choose is salvation, for it is a choice that is outside of man, for it is a choice to choose God, whom he does not know, nor can know unless God chooses Him and give to him the free gift of grace. So, man makes a choice and we wonder how can God be so cruel as to allow this accident and killing the mother and two daughters? We find it hard to accept and to understand. Here is a story that may help:
A bear is caught in a trap, and when the man approaches the bear is fearful and puts up a fight, He does not know that the man is coming to free him and when the man has to apply some pain by injecting the bear with an anesthesia drug he is more frightened but due to the drug he falls against the cage door and the man has to tug and pull to remove him for blocking the door, the bear who is drowsy is made to become more afraid, and fights the man, all the while the bear does not understand that the man has come to free him from the bad thing that has trapped him. How can the bear understand? He can't! He is a bear and the man is a man and the two are far apart. This is us and God. Maybe you have done just that, allowed a child to prick their finger while attempting to learn how to sew, and you saw that this was possible for the child did not put on a thimble, but you allowed it just the same knowing that from the experience of pain she would learn not to do that again. You could have stopped it but you didn't, for you wanted her to learn this hard lesson, you loved her and while she may not understand why you did not help in her time of need, she will come to understand with maturity that at times there is a need for pain. Some don't learn even when they are confronted with pain and suffering: "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit" (Proverbs 14:8). Wisdom comes with maturity and with experience and the more we experience the love of God the more we are willing to allow Him to be God. We say we trust Him, then do so! Remember that God will not take away our humanity for He is loving and kind and will not usurp our poor decisions, but will when we repent take the bad thing and turn it into good, even if that good will have to wait until we are in heaven with Him. You see, have you removed the blinders of doubt, God's children has not been left without hope, for God Who has given to His children life eternal, it is a complete conversion of life, we are new creatures and we are to live as God purposed, a life where there is no pain or suffering and until He returns for His children we trust, and we allow God to be God. Yes, we will have pain, we will suffer, we will cry, we will be sad, we will be human in every sense, but we are not just human we are converted humans, and we know that there is an end to suffering and pain, and that there is joy, unspeakable joy: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-3). Peter writes: "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1Peter 4: 12-13).
It is when we are truly converted to Jesus Christ that we can, even when we do not fully understand, stand up under any affliction knowing that this life will end, it is not a matter of whether it will or not, it is a matter of how and when, but we know that to die is to gain, just as Paul wrote: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Live life, obey God, this is contentment, not the contentment that the world seeks, not the discontentment that destroys your faith, rather a contentment due to our faith, a sure hope, that to live for God while aid us while we are in the life, a life of pain and suffering: God is with us: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" (1Timothy 6:6-8). What freedom we have, we have our God, our eternal life and nothing can take us out of the hand of God, nothing can remove us from eternity with Him. Enjoy this life, cry when sad, then move forward in great contentment and joy.
Remove falsehood and lies
far from me;
give me neither poverty
nor riches--
feed me with the food
allotted to me;
lest I be full land deny You,
and say, "Who is the LORD?"
or lest I be poor and steal,
and profane the name
of my God.
Proverbs 30: 8-9
Worship God in Truth
Richard L. Crumb
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