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To: RandFan

Truly horrible and makes me wonder how if there is a God how his is allowed to happen.

Maybe some Freepers can answer this questions because I can't...

I used to struggle with that question because of the suffering of loved ones. At one point I 'confronted God' about it and despite my 'attitude' He answered with profound Grace.

In some corner of my heart I feared that my loved ones were not receiving His care, were unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and were left to suffer alone (without God's mercy) with their pain and illness. In our confrontation, God reminded me that Christ suffered supremely on The Cross, and it wasn't because His Father didn't care what happened to Him. Christ sufferings weren''t because of any sin or fault.

God reminded me that He didn't leave His Son's side, or turn away, but actively suffered every grievous wound and betrayal Christ experienced on The Cross. So too God bore the agony and pain with my loved ones, knew their thoughts, and even knew in their pain that they doubted Him, but He never left their side and never stopped loving them. When they were no longer able to speak but were still living, He held them and reminded them He was there.

It is God's nature to remain with us- the Psalmist described in Chapter 139.

(Psalm 139:7-10) (NASB1995)

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

I believe 'make my bed in Sheol' could apply to medical suffering - nothing is ruled out when it comes to His presence. He WANTS to comfort and accompany us no matter the circumstances. If a loved one were to die in a horrible car accident or house fire, we can at least know God was there beside them.

But why should they suffer and die at all?

Why should Christ suffer and die? He died for us  -well what of the car accident victim? Who did they die for?

Suffering and sickness were never part of God's desire for us. He created Eden for us. We're the one who destroyed it and left, chosing the hardest paths for ourselves. It grieved Him greatly. The pastor of my church described The Fall of man as an explosion - a sin bomb that blanketed the earth, damaging heath and quality of life for us all. As with most things - we didn't see the consequences of exerting our will over God's.

In death, God wipes away every tear so that the sufferer no longer endures even the memory of what they went through.

In life, whatever their circumstances, they experienced God's love and made choices, exerted free will so that we are not puppets or carved images, but people given the (painful) life all of mankind chose, and some endure life more painfully than others. It says in the bible that our pain becomes the crafting of our character (I really can't articulate what I mean here - let's try a verse instead).

What does the Bible say about finding joy in suffering?
 
 
Romans 5:1-5

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I said above, "and some endure life more painfully than others."

To battle through that portion of life's 'unfairness', I had to turn to Job, over and over and over again because I couldn't wedge it into my heart the first 20 or so attempts.

Job demands to know why he has suffered so much. At first God answers Job from the position of Creator of the World, seemingly asking, "How can my creation demand accountability from Me, the ruler of all that exists, who is and always was, the Great I Am?

2“Who is this who obscures My counsel

by words without knowledge?a

3Now brace yourselfb like a man;

I will question you, and you shall inform Me.c

4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

5Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know!

Or who stretched a measuring line across it?

6On what were its foundations set,

or who laid its cornerstone,d

7while the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

In those chapters God is gentle and tender, explaining with great beauty and patience that to understand such questions, we'd have to be God. See the examples our Father in Heaven gives His children throught the rest of Chapter 38 and 39, to help us understand why we often struggle with the question trials and human suffering.

Our level of comprehension would have to rise to His level for us to understand how he uses His strength and omniscience. He knows where we are, what we feel, and larger topics like how the entire fabric of live on Earth works together for His will, and that His will is always good - there is no darkness in Him so whatever He allows, He will make good eventually.

1 John 1:5 King James Version (KJV)

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

In Chapter 40, God reminds Job of their separate stations - that of creator and creation, and that this results in so much of life that Job will not understand.

We don't despise children for not understanding adult concepts; but the desparity is unshakably there and we try to help them understand that we WOULD explain what they want to know, if they could understand it, but until they are older, they must wait.

For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known.

It's not that I am now impervious to the question of suffering - sometimes I still have to trace my way back to the questions I put before God which He has already answered.

One 'confrontation' I tried to have with Him was about the promises He made that He is our protector and fortress - how could that explain the worst experiences in life. How can I be completely protected and go through such extremes (IMHO).

For this, the pastor of our church said one day, that we are protected in our relationship with God. He would never allow anything to separate us from Him. We may suffer, but never so much that we can no longer choose Him and His will. Again, I am struggling to articulate what is meant - I have to find the notes I made wherever they may by hiding. But it meant life happens but His promises to be with us through it all, for us, loving us, never forsaking us - and that is our safety and protection. Yes, I've been spared horrible experiences through prayer, but not always. Yet His perfect will and His unfailing love have been my companions always - He keeps His promises, but sometimes I misunderstand them.


44 posted on 01/14/2024 5:25:00 PM PST by ransomnote (IN GOD WE TRUST)
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To: ransomnote

Thank you.


50 posted on 01/14/2024 7:13:57 PM PST by little jeremiah (Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming)
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To: ransomnote

Thank you for sharing that. Very timely and appreciated.


57 posted on 01/15/2024 1:20:14 PM PST by Oorang (Politicians:-a feeble band of lowly reptiles who shun the light and who lurk in their own dens. )
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