Where Is God in the Midst of Suffering
Where is God in the midst of suffering? Scott Bader‐Saye. “Security Check: Does God Protect Us?” Christian
Century (July 10, 2007): 29‐32.
1. What is suffering? Explore this concept utilizing various specific examples.
“The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship”. Each day a new tragedy occurs. Thousands of people are killed in a terrorist attack, hundreds drown in a tsunami, thousands of people die from an earthquake and a baby dies of sickness. How are these things possible if God protects us? Where is God in the midst of suffering? At the beginning of time, God created the universe. At the end of the six days, God “saw everything that he had made, and indeed is was good” (Genesis 1.31). If gods creation was good then it must have been without terrorist attacks, tsunamis, earthquakes, disease and sufferings. According to Moses in Deuteronomy 32:4, “His work I perfect”. The holocaust is a story of immense human suffering. Eventually 7 million people were killed from the concentration camps, in the most inhuman ways possible. Immoral and prejudice acts have been committed against the Jewish people for over 1900 years prior to the time of Hitler. During the holocaust the Naxi regime upholded power and strength, while millions of human lifeves were lost because of racism and hatred. The degree of suffering
God uses suffering, failure and loss to bless the Christian: The Bible does not promise the Christian that he will have a pain-free life while on earth. This will come later in heaven. Our life here must be lived among the thorns, with sickness, disease, death and a battle with sin. We will suffer at the hands of unmerciful people who will mistreat us. But trials, suffering and sorrow can strengthen our faith, 1 Peter 1:6-9. God may teach you patience by allowing you to face adversity. Even repeated failures teach patience. Pain is sometimes the only way to humble a proud spirit and cause a person to think seriously about the direction of his
Century (July 10, 2007): 29‐32.
1. What is suffering? Explore this concept utilizing various specific examples.
“The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship”. Each day a new tragedy occurs. Thousands of people are killed in a terrorist attack, hundreds drown in a tsunami, thousands of people die from an earthquake and a baby dies of sickness. How are these things possible if God protects us? Where is God in the midst of suffering? At the beginning of time, God created the universe. At the end of the six days, God “saw everything that he had made, and indeed is was good” (Genesis 1.31). If gods creation was good then it must have been without terrorist attacks, tsunamis, earthquakes, disease and sufferings. According to Moses in Deuteronomy 32:4, “His work I perfect”. The holocaust is a story of immense human suffering. Eventually 7 million people were killed from the concentration camps, in the most inhuman ways possible. Immoral and prejudice acts have been committed against the Jewish people for over 1900 years prior to the time of Hitler. During the holocaust the Naxi regime upholded power and strength, while millions of human lifeves were lost because of racism and hatred. The degree of suffering
God uses suffering, failure and loss to bless the Christian: The Bible does not promise the Christian that he will have a pain-free life while on earth. This will come later in heaven. Our life here must be lived among the thorns, with sickness, disease, death and a battle with sin. We will suffer at the hands of unmerciful people who will mistreat us. But trials, suffering and sorrow can strengthen our faith, 1 Peter 1:6-9. God may teach you patience by allowing you to face adversity. Even repeated failures teach patience. Pain is sometimes the only way to humble a proud spirit and cause a person to think seriously about the direction of his