Suffering Within the Sovereignty of God

[BobVigneault]

I was recently asked a question by an elder who realized that an answer he gave was less than adequate. A woman had asked him why her husband had abandoned her and her family. It of course led to the question of does God allow or cause bad things to happen.

I decided work my response to him into a blog posting. I plan to develop it some more later to include the puzzles associated with 'free will'. For now, you may find it here and I pray it may help you or stimulate some deeper meditations on the subject. Blessings.

Understanding the purpose of our lives is the foundation to understanding the events in our lives. The catechism begins by asking, 'what is the chief end of man'. The answer of course is 'to glorify God and enjoy him forever'. Glorifying God is to acknowledge the weightiness of God's being; to apprehend his attributes in such a way that it transforms our thinking and actions. Enjoying God cannot happen unless our thinking is radically transformed because we are, by nature, God haters. -- More

 

[lv1nothr]

How true

Bob,

I remember beginning with a day in May of 05 we (as a family) would begin to experience a chain of events that outside of God's sovereingty and providence there would be no other way to explain them. We were placed on a rollercoaster for about 1 yr. that just seemed to be as they say: "one thing after another" Job was becoming more and more real and we drew much of our strength from that very book. I watched my husband trust God in a way that showed me God and His love in a fresh new way. Just to give you a glimpse: hubby lost his job after 22yrs., both parents within 2 wks of one another, and other events, (I can't even believe it as I think back on it)God took us through these things in ways we could have never imagined, and all that was accomplished in the end can only be seen as you know God and like you say, in light of our chief end. All that to say that I appreciate your post, and that someone gave to us a BOOK which helped put things in perspective.

Colossians 3:2 - 4 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

May the Lord continue to bless you in mighty ways!

 

[turmeric]

Bob - are you on the PB Blogroll? You oughta be, that was a great and edifying post!

 

[Herald]

Your post was timely. It reminded me of a few things, namely that to love God I must hate sin.

James 4:4 do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?

Intimacy comes through pain. It also accentuates joy. There were parts of your post that reminded me of John Piper's book, "Desiring God." We are most happy in life when we are most satisfied with God. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

If God is my portion then I can truly say:

Job 1:21 The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.