This is the fifth and final part of a five-part series. If you missed the
earlier posts, you can read them here:
Background:
The points presented in this series are in response to a friend's
questions a few months ago. She asked questions like:
- Why doesn't [God] save more from tragedies?
- Young girls are being raped and murdered. Why won't he save that
kinda stuff?
- Why does a sweet, kind God not save children?
I have done my best to address these and answer the question about
why God allows tragedies, understanding that I don’t have all the answers
myself either. This final post is a collection of additional quotes, verses, and resources that might help as you further explore why God allows suffering and hardships in our lives. I pray that these posts have led you to consider God and His activity in our lives in a new way.
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Here are some more quotes and verses I found that might be helpful:
“Although suffering may seem unfair at times, on a personal level suffering has the ability to produce so much good if allowed. On a broader lever, God uses the suffering in this world to bring about some good. Although it was not His original design, He uses the pains that rattle our world in ways we may not see it. To try to grasp or comprehend the reasons and validity of everything that happens is an exhaustive endeavor that will leave you discouraged and lacking in faith. Instead, hope for the fruit born out of suffering,” (Why Does Suffering Exist?).
“Getting mad doesn’t help either. Anger is a secondary emotion. It doesn’t achieve the will of God. In tough times our anger and resentment can begin to simmer. We imagine that by drifting away or giving God the cold shoulder, we can teach Him a thing or two. The beginning step is to seek an ally that will love us better than God. Some see alcohol as a ready friend offering quick comfort. Others believe a church switch to where ‘people really understand me’ will relieve their pain. Coping mechanisms and strategies for handling hurts and disappointments abound. But regardless of the action we choose, we’re focusing again on a tiny pencil dot on the line of eternity,” (The Part of God’s Will No One Wants).
“Faced with the part of God’s will I do not want, He is the One I draw close to, trusting that He is weaving a plan – even when I don’t understand how,” (The Part of God’s Will No One Wants).
“if we could handle these things without Him, many of us would try,” (The Part of God’s Will No One Wants).
“If something is going on in your life today and you’re wondering about God’s character, ‘If God really is X, then why is Y happening?’ the answer to that dilemma is prayer. God says, ‘Call to Me, [in that moment] and I will tell you great things you don’t know,’” (Authentic Prayer from James MacDonald).
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us,” – Romans 8:18
“Notice the method Paul and Barnabas used to encourage the churches about facing hardships [Acts 14:21-28]. They did not encourage the churches to pray that God would spare them from hardship. Neither did they minimize the hardship. Instead, they encouraged the churches by helping them embrace the reality and inevitableness of it. Hardship will come, so prepare for it. It will come because God uses it for His kingdom purposes,” (Jason C. Dukes, Session 8 of The Gospel Project Chronological, Volume 10).
“God does rescue the holy from affliction, but he does so not by rendering them untested but by blessing them with endurance,” (Basil the Great [circa 329-379], as quoted in Session 8 of The Gospel Project Chronological, Volume 10).
“We believe that Christ wants to give us comfortable, easy lives with minimal hardship. But that is not what Jesus promised. Actually, He promised the opposite,” (Jason C. Dukes, Session 8 of The Gospel Project Chronological, Volume 10).
"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," - 2 Timothy 3:12
"I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich!...Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution...Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life...He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death," - Revelation 2:9-11 (See Rev. 2:7, 17, 26-28, 3:5, 12, 21 for more promises from Jesus for those who overcome.)
"Doing nothing about evil, ungodly stuff going on around you isn't what God wants. You can stand up for holiness. Don't just turn your head and hope the bad stuff goes away. Pray hard against it, and if you get the chance, speak the truth in love," (Dannah Gresh, The One-Year Mother-Daughter Devo).
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many," - 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
- "We go through difficult circumstances so we'll rely on God and not on our own strengths," (Jared Allen)
- "Prayers of others make a difference." (Jared Allen)
"Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ," - Galatians 6:2
"When doors close, don't stop seeking God and serving Him," (Jared Allen).
"God uses closed doors to direct us to the one who is waiting for us [Jesus]," (Jared Allen).
"Sometimes our disappointments in life can become God's appointments," (Jared Allen).
"Despite our failures, God can use our faith," (Jared Allen).
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed," - 1 Peter 1:6-7
- "Pain proves and purifies our faith," (Jared Allen).
"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed," - 1 Peter 1:13
Here are a few other resources you might want to check out. I have not read the books, but have checked out the websites and videos mentioned below.
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www.everyperson.com – “A Safe
Place to Explore Questions about Life and God”
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Resources from Ravi Zacharias – He has some videos on YouTube, books, and a
website. From my
own quick searching online, I think your best option to find something related
to this specific topic
would be to type his name into the YouTube search and look at some of the
videos that are
found. There are some with titles like “How could an all-powerful, all-loving
God allow evil to exist?” “Who is responsible for evil?” and “Belief in God through times of suffering.”
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When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner
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Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People: Answers to One of Life’s
Greatest Moral Questions by
David Arnold
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https://www.gotquestions.org/bad-things-good-people.html
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The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
Sources (listed in the order in which they first appear in this post):
1. Rust, Brittany. "Why Does Suffering Exist?" Brittany Rust, on YouVersion Bible app, Accessed: January 2018.
2.
Matte, Gregg. "The Part of God's Will No One Wants," in partnership with El Centro Network, Baker Publishing Group, on YouVersion Bible app, Accessed: January 2018.
3. MacDonald, James. "Authentic Prayer from James MacDonald," Walk in the Word, on YouVersion Bible app, Accessed: January 2018.
4. Holy Bible, New International Version. East Brunswick: International Bible Society, 1978. Print.(Some quotes also came from the NIV version (not 1978) on biblecc.com.)
5. Dukes, Jason C. Session 8 of The Gospel Project Chronological, Volume 10, Lifeway. Print.
6. Gresh, Dannah and Janet Mylin.
The One Year Mother Daughter Devo, Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2010.
7. Allen, Jared. "That's Not in the Bible: 'God Won't Give You More than You Can Handle.'" First Baptist Church, Round Rock, TX. 15 April, 2018 Presented. Sermon.
8. Allen, Jared. "That's Not in the Bible: 'When God Shuts One Door, He Always Opens Another One.'" First Baptist Church, Round Rock, TX. 22 April, 2018 Presented. Sermon.
9. Allen, Jared. "1 Peter: Holiness in Hard Times." First Baptist Church, Round Rock, TX. 3 June 2018 Presented. Sermon.
10. Allen, Jared. "1 Peter: Holiness in Hard Times." First Baptist Church, Round Rock, TX. 10 June 2018 Presented. Sermon.
