Even apart from the Bible, there are very compelling reasons to believe in God: the origin of the universe and the origin of life, the astounding complexity and design, and a basic universal morality.  There are many other pieces of evidence one could explore such as human consciousness, personality, rationality, and religious experience.  Someone may not be persuaded by a particular piece of evidence, but just as the different strands come together to form a strong rope, so too the different strands of evidence for God’s existence intertwine to form a compelling case. 

        The picture we have developed of God thus far from these various arguments is of an unbelievably powerful, intelligent, eternal and moral being.  However, what about all of the evil and suffering in the world?  Since the dawn of human civilization, people have clearly recognized that the world is filled with problems.  Just look at the daily headlines and you will see ample evidence for that.  All of this suffering, past and present, gives many people reason to regard this as the biggest objection to belief in God.  Is this evil and suffering compatible with a good God or does it nullify God’s existence?  He might be almighty and all-knowing but is he really a good God?

        I have a pretty big task before me so it will help if I am very clear in what I am attempting to accomplish.  I have two goals.  First, I want you to think biblically about this subject.  Unfortunately, many people regard the problem of evil as a complete mystery, something which has no explanation at all.  If that is the case, does that not cast a shadow on God?  The biggest objection to his existence and he has nothing to say about it?  I disagree.  I think God knows we struggle with this question and because he loves us, he does shed light.  To do so, we must lay aside any preconceived notions about God and listen to his word afresh.  If you will, I believe that while you might be challenged, you will see how Scripture makes sense.  This leads to my second goal: I want to make a biblical case that belief in God is compatible with the existence of evil and suffering.  Again, notice I said a biblical case.  I am not saying a generic notion of God makes sense of evil, but the biblical portrait of God does.  Now, I am not saying that I am going to solve everything for you and that you will understand the hand of God in every instance.  That is impossible.  There will always be an element of mystery.  However, it should not remain a complete mystery.  Scripture gives us some foundation blocks to see how belief in the God of the Bible is compatible with evil and suffering. 

 

         To begin our discussion, we must establish something very important.  Without God, the problem of evil does not even make sense.  What do I mean by that?  In order for something to be called evil, it means that you need an ultimate standard of good.  God is that standard.  He has no evil, he does no evil.  He cannot be tempted nor does he tempt anyone.  That is why 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”  If there is no standard of good, you cannot call something evil, it is just a matter of preference.  However, this really makes no sense and does not line up with human experience.  To deny that the tragic and wicked events of the world are not really evil seems inconceivable.  If someone does, I really think they need to question whether they are a card carrying member of the human race. 

        Sadly, if you are an atheist, this is the position you are left with.  You cannot say anything is objectively wrong.  An atheist can only say that he or she does not like something.  Also, pantheistic religions like some forms of Buddhism and Hinduism deny the objective reality of evil.  Why?  All is one so there is no distinction between good and evil.  It is all one.  Somehow, it does not seem to square that hospitals are the same thing as concentration camps.  The Christian might have to answer the problem of evil but the atheist or the pantheist has to answer the problems of good and evil.  They cannot account for either even though they both obviously exist. 

        Evil exists—but in order to call evil “evil” you must presuppose the existence of God.   This truth haunted C. S. Lewis while he was an atheist.  In Mere Christianity, he writes, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust.  But how had I got this idea of just and unjust?  A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.  What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” (45-46).  This is truly a powerful point and one that you should press a skeptic on.  If they want to argue about the problem, they must assume God exists.  The tables are turned on them.  Right off the bat, we see that evil and God are compatible.

        However, we long to know more.  Ok, so God and evil are compatible but why does he allow it?  I think Scripture sheds light on this all-important issue.  In particular, I think there are four reasons God allows evil: to allow free will, demonstrate his wrath and justice, stir people to repentance, and to mold believers into Christ-likeness.  With any evil event, more than one if not all of these reasons may be factors.  We should avoid any simplistic answers that we often hear. 

          The first reason God allows suffering is because he gives us the freedom to choose God or reject him, to obey him or reject him.  The 1644 Westminster Confession of Faith, the doctrinal statement of orthodox Presbyterians, famously says that the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy him forever.  God made us to know him—plain and simple.  He was not under any obligation to make us.  He did not lack fellowship since God is a trinity and enjoyed perfect relations among the three persons of the Godhead.  Thus, God made us to know him. 

          Because God wanted us to have a relationship with him, he gave us something so that we might know him.  What is that?   A free will.  Two people in a relationship must want to know each other.  Therefore, God gave us a free will.  He did not want robots because robots are not capable of maintaining a relationship.  This free will allows us to seek God or to reject him, to seek good or evil.  In order to have a genuine choice, we must have the capacity for both.  Though our wills have been damaged by the fall of Adam and Eve, we still have the ability to choose or else God’s judgment would be unfair.  Lest we forget, not only does God allow humans freedom of choice, he also gives angelic beings freedom as well.  Of course, some of those beings abuse that freedom by tempting people into sin and creating false beliefs about God.

         Now, one of my great delights is coming home sometimes and having our girls stop what they are doing and run up to me saying “Daddy.”  They are truly happy to see me and want to be around me—still working on my wife about the running up to see me thing.  Another blessing, though not quite as heartfelt but just as important, is when they obey what I tell them--to clean their room or go potty or get dressed and they obey.  Now, if I found out that their joy to see me or their obedience was the result of a computer chip the hospital implanted that forced them to behave that way, their actions would lose their significance.  The point is that they choose to love me and they chose to obey me.  That same freedom can be used to reject and disobey me.  Likewise, because God loves us and because love presupposes a choice, God allows us the choice to love and obey him.  There must be real freedom or else there is not real love.  This real freedom must allow for the possibility of evil. 

        Let me deal with an objection.  People say that God could intervene when evil is about to occur.  He gives us free will but always intervenes when evil is about to arise.  This objection initially sounds good but it is not thought through because it means taking away our free will.  If God intervenes every time evil is about to occur, then the choice between good and evil is pointless.  We are back to being robots which is not a very desirable existence.  And some add this makes God deceptive because he misleads people into thinking they can carry out an action, albeit an evil action, when it is not even possible.  I do not think this objection holds water. 

        The first reason God allows evil is because he loves us enough to grant us free will.  It is important to remember that this freedom is the cause of all evil.  It is not God’s fault.  All evil comes from human and demonic sin.  We must not forget this.  And we must not forget that God is perfect and holy. 

 

            A second reason that God allows evil is to demonstrate his wrath and justice.  Sometimes God allows people to suffer directly for their own sins.  A man embezzles money from his company and is found out.  He loses his job, goes to jail, his wife divorces him, etc.  A woman lies to her friends, family, and co-workers.  Eventually, people catch on to her lies and it leads to a strain in family relations, the loss of friendships and her job.  You see my point.  Much suffering comes directly from our own choices.  I believe when this occurs, these repercussions are not coincidences but are God’s judgment to demonstrate his wrath and justice. 

            However, there is more to it than that.  We also suffer indirectly for our sins.  Turn to Habakkuk 1.  Habakkuk was an Israelite prophet who lived in the kingdom of Judah.  If you recall, King Solomon’s kingdom was split into two parts: Israel and Judah.  Israel was wiped out in 722 AD when the Assyrians invaded.  It was now a century later.  In v.2-4, Habakkuk complains to God about the wickedness of his people in Judah and wonders why God does not judge them.  Despite witnessing the judgment of northern kingdom of Israel, the people of Judah persisted in sin for over a century.  God would not allow this forever.  In v.5-11, God responds.  God is going to judge the wicked Israelites by sending the Babylonians to conquer them.  He allows the Israelites to suffer at the hands of the Babylonians as judgment for their sin.  Later, Habakkuk predicts the downfall of the Babylonians because of their wickedness—this of course happened at the hands of the Persians. 

            The people of Judah were going to suffer for their sins—not directly as with the guy who embezzles money where there is a clear line of cause and effect.  The people of Judah would suffer indirectly.  However, whether it is directly or indirectly, both come from the hand of God. 

            What point am I trying to make?  Sometimes we suffer because God is judging for other actions.  He indirectly judges us to demonstrate his wrath and justice.  Please understand—I am not saying this is the case in every instance.  If you remember the story of Job, that was the assumption of Job’s friends.  If Job was suffering, he must have sinned.  That is not always the case and we are mistaken to apply that universally.  However, we are likewise mistaken to think that we do not suffer the wrath and judgment of God for our sin.  This is true individually and corporately.  Amos 3:6 says, “Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it?” 

            This whole notion of suffering indirectly for our sin explains God’s usage of natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wind storms, droughts, plagues, and diseases.  People have experienced such disasters throughout time but they been riveted into our minds in the past couple of years because of the Indonesian tsunami, the Pakistani earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina.  According to the Bible, the Lord is the one ultimately responsible, not the blind forces of nature.  The Bible does not mince words on the matter.  For example, Isaiah 45:5-7 states, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

            Why?  Why doesn’t God just let this go?  Perhaps more than any other part of this discussion, this is where it is vital to think biblically.  Because God is holy and just, he will not tolerate sin.  We all stand condemned.  He has the right to judge us.  This is not too harsh.  It meshes with the biblical view of God who will not tolerate sin.  Therefore, God judges sin through the actions of other people and God uses human evil and calamity as tools of judgment upon our sin.  Since God has created all these things and belong to him, he has the power and authority to use them as he sees fit.  Since God hates sin, he judges it through these various means. 

            In the midst of such acts of judgment, I believe God simultaneously has a dual purpose.  This leads me to . . .

 

        The third reason God allows suffering is to stir people to repentance.  Turn in your Bibles to Luke 13.  In this passage, people approach Jesus about a recent tragedy: Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the area, slaughtered some Galileans who came to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices for no apparent reason.  Jesus also mentions a second tragedy: a tower in the town of Siloam fell on 18 people and killed them. 

        Jesus’ response is fascinating.  It was common in those days to believe if tragedy befell you, it was because you were a worse sinner than those who avoided the tragedy.  You see this viewpoint with Job’s friends.  Applied to these two recent events, the logic is simple: these people must be worse sinners than others because tragedy befell them.  Apparently, the people who brought Jesus the news expected him to affirm this.  Jesus’ response is surprising.  He makes several points that we must grasp:

        First, Jesus blames all of humanity as being worthy of such tragedies—both human evil and natural disasters.  He tells everyone present to repent—not just the murderers, adulterers, and thieves.  Any notion of people dying in tragedies because they are worse sinners is refuted.  People die in tragedies because all people stand condemned before God.       

        Second, Jesus warns them of a worse fate than dying in a tragedy.  He warns them to repent--twice.  Why does he say that?  To begin with, he is certainly talking about more than physical death when he warns them about perishing.  Jesus would clearly be in the wrong if he believed everyone would die in some tragedy.  He does not mean physical perishing but spiritual perishing.  Jesus and the apostles in various places teach that people are spiritually dead—they are separated by God because of their sin.  If they persist in this state, they will experience eternal death which is eternal separation from God.  So Jesus is warning them to repent of their sins so that they will avoid eternal death. 

        Jesus is affirming our last point—that God allows evil to demonstrate his wrath and justice—and goes beyond it.  What I mean by that is that God has another reason for tragedy—to stir people to repentance.

        Why would these types of events stir people to repentance?  Jesus does not explicitly say but I think the reason is that they stir us to consider God’s wrath and justice.  They are snapshots of final, eternal judgment.  When we observe these judgments in the here and now, our hearts should be stirred to recognize that God is holy and just and we need to avoid his wrath.  We need to repent.

        This is not some sort of irrational fear of thunderstorms or heavy rains.  Rather, these are acts of God where he uses human evil like with Pilate or natural disasters like the Tower of Siloam to jar us, to awaken us to the reality that God hates our sin.  Notice how Christ calls the victims sinners and offenders.  Psalm 7:11 states, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.”  God feels indignation because people continually rebel against his authority.     

        This past week, the nation witnessed the sad ordeal of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.  As of yesterday, there were 5 dead and others still missing.  John Piper is a well-known pastor who serves at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.  His church is within eyesight of the church and in fact he drove over the bridge the night before it collapsed. 

        His family has a nightly devotion.  The Scripture they were slated to read the night the bridge collapsed was this very same passage—certainly no coincidence.  I wanted to share some thoughts that Piper penned about the bridge collapse and its relation to evil.  Piper resonates with the thrust of Jesus’ teaching: “The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever.  That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and the hope of eternal life.  That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge.  That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live.  If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most important message in the world.”

        We see that such calamities do stir the hearts of many.  After 9-11, the nation was genuinely shaken and many people were seeking answers.  With the tsunami, it has led to the advance in the gospel as Christian missionaries have walked through doors opened by the disaster.  In Thailand, where Christianity is a very small percentage of the population, one village leader said, “The tsunami was a tragedy, but for us it brought new hope.  If it had never come, we wouldn’t know about Jesus” (Dec 2005, SBC Life, 3). 

        God is not evil but he allows us to experience evil in response to our actions.  It must be stressed—these judgments are a result of our rebellion.  In that light, God is not guilty of evil.  He has the right to judge his creatures since he made us and maintains a perfect standard by which we are to live. 

        Some may not like the picture given of God.  Let me challenge you with this, if you think God exists, you have three possible routes for explaining these calamities.  Either God cannot prevent them or he can but he chooses not to.  These choices are both unappealing and unbiblical.  The third possibility is that God allows them for reasons given thus far.     

        Now, let us shift our focus to just believers as we look at the fourth reason God allows evil and suffering: to create greater Christ-likeness.  So just to be clear, we are focusing on the Christian and God’s usage of suffering to grow them in Christ-likeness.  Let us look at this now.

 

        C. S. Lewis has famously said: “Pain is God’s megaphone to get our attention.”  Why is this true?  As believers, when we get comfortable we have a tendency to forget God, to lose our zeal and passion for him.  Not everyone, but in most cases.  God uses suffering to get our attention. 

Some people reject this idea because they believe that God only wants them to be happy.  A very famous quarterback allegedly explained to his soon-to-be-ex second wife why he had an affair: “God wants me to be happy.”  I believe many people share his sentiments.  God is there to make you happy.  As I said earlier, if that is your view of God, you will have a hard time explaining why evil exists other than God cannot stop it or does not want to.  However, if you believe God can stop suffering and wants to, then you are left with the choice that he has a reason for it.  The reason is that he knows that our holiness is more important than our happiness. 

         Let us look at a passage that shows God’s ultimate purpose for us is Christ-likeness.  Turn to Romans 8:28.  God is orchestrating all things for believers—not for unbelievers—according to his purpose.  And what is his purpose?  Keep reading v.29.  Our goal is Christ-likeness and suffering produces that.  

 

          Now, when we say God creates greater Christ-likeness, I think there are two ways in particular that God accomplishes this.  First, God uses evil and suffering to discipline us.  Though we might know the Lord and be growing in our relationship with Christ, all of us struggle with sin in varying degrees, whether sins of omission or commission, overt or subtle.  So what?  Sin, of course, impedes our relationship with Christ.  Because God loves us, he does not allow us to remain comfortable in our sin but disciplines us.  In the NT book of Hebrews, the writer draws a comparison between earthly fathers and our heavenly Father.  In 12:9-11, he writes, “We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.  Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” 

        My children love to run across parking lots.  I don’t share that same love so I discipline them so that they will do what is in the best interests of them, my wife and me, and other people.  Because I love them, I do not leave them alone but discipline them.  God disciplines us too because he loves us.  If someone has a tendency to lie, they will eventually get caught.  If someone brags about themselves, they will get humbled.  God orchestrates circumstances to discipline you. 

        There were four college students who all lived together and were taking Chemistry 101.  The night before the exam they spent their time watching football and goofing off.  Realizing they were going to bomb the exam, they made up a lie to the professor that they had a flat tire on their way to the exam again.  Surprisingly, the professor fell for it and let them make up the final the next day.  The guys were excited and relieved.  They studied that night for the exam. The professor placed them in separate rooms and gave them a test booklet.  They quickly answered the first problem worth 5 points.  Cool, they thought!  Each one in separate rooms, thinking this was going to be easy . . . then they turned the page.  On the second page was written . . . “For 95 points: Which tire?”  Gotcha. 

        More than likely, God will expose your sin—not because he hates you but because he wants to free you from the bondage of sin.  Even if you avoid some direct consequence of sin, God will plague your conscience and make you miserable.  Your conscience is your red flag to warn you about offending God.  When things weigh on your conscience for some time, more than likely by God, you have sin that needs to be confessed.  It is amazing how confessing eases our conscience and renews fellowship with God.  Paul says in Acts 24:16: “I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”

One way God uses evil and suffering is to discipline us so that we will repent of sin.  A second way God uses evil and suffering is to test us. 

 

        Unlike with discipline, the suffering we endure is not necessarily because of our sin.  It is important to distinguish between testing and tempting.  Testing is aimed at spiritual maturity.  Tempting is aimed at spiritual destruction.  God tests but does not tempt.  Every time God tests he intends you to obey and grow spiritually. 

        A classic passage concerning this truth is James 1:2-4 [read].  James commands his readers to count it all joy when they face various trials.  Why?  Because through these trials come greater steadfastness to seek and obey God and from steadfastness comes greater perfection as you desire God more and more.  You will not reach perfection in this lifetime but that is the goal that we are striving after.  Testing produces that. 

        Why is suffering so effective for our spiritual growth, whether it be from discipline or testing?  You probably already know this.  Very simply, they make us more dependent upon God.  They make us seek him and long for his presence and guidance.  The testimonies of people I have met and read about almost unanimously agree that their times of most intimate relations with God come during the most difficult times.  As Dickens would say, these are the best of times and the worst of times.  

        I think it is also worth mentioning that suffering has spurred on the greatest growth in the church.  It grew a lot in Jerusalem but it did not spread across the Roman Empire until it underwent heavy persecution as described in Acts 8.  During the years, as the church experienced different waves of persecution, that was when it experienced tremendous growth.  The early church leader named Tertullian famously said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”  In other words, suffering produces spiritual and numerical growth in the church.  This was not just in the early church. 

        It still holds true today.  Where is the church growing the fastest in the world?  In areas where believers experience hardship.  Why does the church grow when it suffers?  The reason is the same as our own personal spiritual growth.  As Christians mature, the kingdom will advance By the way, the area of slowest growth is the western world.  Why do you think that is? 

        I have given four reasons why God allows evil and suffering: to preserve free will, stir hearts toward repentance, and for the believer, to mold us into greater Christ-likeness.  These are solid reasons and by themselves, I believe provide a cogent, logical explanation for why God allows suffering.  However, from a biblical perspective, something more is needed—Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection which is integral to understanding the problem of evil.  In particular, Jesus helps to demonstrate three qualities of God to cement our trust in him. 

        Someone might say, “It is easy to allow others to suffer, even if for good reasons.  How come God doesn’t suffer?”  I do not think that God had to suffer—he did not owe us anything.  It was our own mess.  However, if he did, it would show us something about the character of God.  This is what we see.

        Christ, in particular, demonstrates the love of God as no one else.  Jesus left the glory and splendor of heaven.  He took on a human body and nature with its limitations of pain, hunger, thirst, and fatigue.  He endured hardships and persecutions because of his ministry.  He died on the cross.  In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.”  As amazing as it is to die for another person, especially the kind of death Jesus died; we know there was much more going on than that.  He suffered the wrath of God on our behalf so that we might be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  By his atoning sacrifice, Jesus offers each person an opportunity to experience the love and grace of God. 

        Also, the love of God is shown in the actions of the Father who loves this evil, rebellious world so much that he sent his Son to die on our behalf (John 3:16).  I think we take the power of the Father’s sacrifice for granted.  Alvin Plantinga is one of the world’s most famous philosophers and a Christian.  He writes some poignant words, “As the Christian sees things, God does not stand idly by, coolly observing the suffering of his creatures.  He enters into and shares our suffering.  He endures the anguish of seeing his son, the second person of the Trinity, consigned to the bitterly cruel and shameful death of the cross.  Some theologians claim that God cannot suffer.  I believe they are wrong.  God’s capacity for suffering, I believe is proportional to his greatness; it exceeds our capacity for suffering in the same measure as his capacity for knowledge exceeds ours.  Christ was prepared to endure the agonies of hell itself; and God, the Lord of the universe, was prepared to accept this suffering in order to overcome sin, and death, and the evils that afflict our world, and to confer on us a life more glorious that we can imagine.” (cited in William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, 551). 

        This is no stand aloof God or a God utterly removed from creation that Muslims insist upon.  This is a God who cares far more about his creation than we do and is willing to take the evil and suffering upon himself and reconcile the world to himself.  From a biblical perspective, we should not wonder whether or not God loves us.  Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

        Some might also wonder about all of the evil that apparently people get away with.  Murder trials when people appear to go free?  Or madmen like Saddam Hussein killing hundreds of thousands of people?  Do not these things call into question God’s justice?    

Once again, we need to go back to the cross where we see the justice of God.  What do I mean by that?  Because God is perfectly just, he will not simply sweep sin under the rug—he will not simply forgive sin—he must exercise his justice and punish our sin.  Do you see that?  Jesus died to satisfy the justice of God.  If there was any other way to satisfy God’s justice, do you think Jesus would have endured such suffering?  No way.    Therefore, since the justice of God did not spare Christ, it will not spare sinners either.  Romans14:12 says, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”  The cross shows how seriously God takes his evil.  God will have the last say. 

 

        Finally, people wonder can God rid the world of evil and establish goodness forever.  Will evil always exist?  Again, let us go back to Jesus and his cross.  The cross was not an accident but the culmination of God’s eternal plan to redeem the world.  Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”  The cross could have been thwarted at any point if God so desired.  Do you remember Jesus’ words to Peter when Peter wanted to fight the soldiers at Jesus’ words?  Jesus said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” 

        God was in total control of the situation, even with Satan.

We know from the book of Job that Satan does nothing without God allowing him.  It was at the cross that Jesus dealt a death blow to Satan.  In John 12:31, Jesus says, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.”  Later in 16:11, Jesus says, “The ruler of this world is judged.”  God has given Jesus all authority in the universe as it says in Matthew 28:18 to advance the kingdom of God which has been growing ever since and will one day reach its culmination when Christ returns.  At that point, as Revelation 20 teaches, Satan along with his demons will be crushed by Christ and cast into hell forever.  Evil will finally be ended. 

        You say, “How can we know that?”  That sounds good but very abstract.  It does except for the tangible proof that Jesus gave by rising from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection shows that he has all power over death, evil, and demonic power.  Because he has such power, we can trust his promises to vanquish these things for all of eternity.      

Ultimately, not just Satan will be removed but all forms of suffering.  When will that occur?  Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”  I think we all long for a day when we will no longer suffer.  No answer for the problem of evil is complete without a lasting picture of hope. 

        The Scriptures give us a rock on which to deal with the problem of evil.  If someone is grounded in the Lord, they will be able to withstand the worst calamities.    Robert Rogers was an electrical engineer who lived in Kansas City.  He was married to his wife Melissa for 13 years in what he called was a fairy tale romance.  They had four kids, three of them biological and an adopted little girl from China.  They were a strong Christian family that placed a high value on their family.  Though they lived a blessed life, they experienced their share of trials.  One of their kids was born with Down’s syndrome, they had two miscarriages including one that was nearly fatal to Melissa, and their baby girl from China was a special needs baby because of a heart condition.  As Robert says on his website: “Life was never easy and money was never plentiful, but God was always good and family was so much fun.  Perhaps our special-needs children taught us to appreciate the little things in life so profoundly.  We treated family moments (and pictures) as something sacred to behold and treasure.”

        On August 30, 2003, their family was driving home at night from a family wedding when they were caught in a flash flood 6 feet high and hundreds of feet wide.  Robert kicked out the driver’s window, but unfortunately he, his wife and youngest child were instantly flushed out of the van—his three youngest were still buckled in their car seats.  Sadly, Robert was the only one of his family to survive. 

         Robert writes, “When I was drowning with my family underwater in the darkness, I could literally sense the peace of God assuring me that they were all going to Heaven and that it was all going to be OK.  There was no pain.  There was no fear.  I continued to simply trust God. Somehow, He pulled me above the rapids and over to the shore . . . I was the only survivor.  Even as I identified each of their cold, wet bodies, I had peace through the pain and tears – because of Jesus. He conquered death and removed the sting. In the worst moment of my life, God’s presence was the sweetest it’s ever been . . . God blessed our family with sweet fillings and a life of “No Regrets.”  His purpose through me is not finished yet.  I believe I miraculously survived and am alive to tell the remarkable testimony of hope and God's grace through tragedy. God can bring beauty from ashes.  There is peace through Jesus. God is still good, all the time” (www.mightyintheland.com/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=45).  I can think of no greater tragedy than losing one’s family.  Rogers’ incredible perspective is not because he is a positive person, but because he embraces the truths and promises of Scripture—they are alive to him and a rock to his beaten and battered soul. 

 

        This leads me to my first point of application.  Let me speak to you about dealing with this issue yourself, not just in your interactions with others.  Ingrain it in your mind that God is in control of all things, that he is good, and that he does allow you to suffering so that you will become more like Christ.  Remember that with every instance of evil and suffering, God is trying to teach and grow you.  These are never haphazard but always opportunities of growth.  We should not say, “Why me?” but “How do you want me to grow like Christ?” 

         Let me urge that now is the time to imbed these truths in your heart.  When calamity hits is not the time because your heart will be torn in a million ways.  Prepare yourself now.  These biblical truths I have been expounding have tremendous practical value for your life.  They can be an anchor for your soul when it seems the world is caving in around you.  We can trust God.  1 Peter 4:19 says, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”  If we will remember that truth, we can truly say, “God is good all the time.” 

 

         Also, I want to make a couple of applications in dealing with others about the problem of evil and suffering.  It is important to realize the distinction between the intellectual and the emotional problems of evil and suffering.  The intellectual problem deals with the apparent logical difficulty of an all-powerful, knowing, and loving God with the existence of evil.  As we have seen, belief in the existence of God and evil are not contradictory.  In fact, you have to believe in God even to be able to call something categorically evil.  We have also seen that there are solid reasons for God allowing the problem of evil.  All of this to say, there really is no intellectual problem of evil.  As a Christian, you need to be prepared to answer this question.  I have given you arguments to equip yourself.  And as Christians, you should not be apologetic about why evil exists.  We do not need to feel like God has messed up or is not in control. 

 

         With that said, let me move to the emotional problem of evil which deals with people’s doubt or rejection of God because of what they have experienced.  In these cases, you might answer all of their intellectual objections.  However, that is not what they need at the moment.  If your co-worker looks gloomy and you ask him if there is anything wrong, and he tells you his wife just got diagnosed with breast cancer.  Now is not the time to unload a bunch of reasons why God allowed this to happen.  The Bible says “to weep with those who weep.”  At these times, people need a shoulder to cry on or a prayer on their behalf.  However, eventually, though, they might seek the intellectual reasons so that they can better understand the mind of God.  You should be prepared for that.  Just remember, people deal with the emotional problem of evil just as much, if not more, than the intellectual problem.  

Conclusion

         In closing, it deserves mentioning that we should be careful in putting God on trial.  God has created the world along with us.  He has a right to govern as he wishes.  One area that I am horribly deficient is music.  I have never taken any music lessons in anything.  The extent of my skills was learning to play one or two diddies on a recorder in junior high.  I do not know how to read music.  What would it look like for me to walk into a graduate school of music in New York City and start instructing the class?  Or to walk up to the conductor of a world famous orchestra and tell him that he does not know what he or she is doing?  Sheer madness. 

         When we are in the presence of someone whose knowledge and skill in a subject blows us away, we are wise to keep our mouths shut.  How much more when this applies to God?  His knowledge of the universe and how to run it is infinitely beyond us.  After questioning God throughout his ordeal, at the end of the book God strongly reminds Job that he is God and Job is not.     

          It is vital to remember that the mind of God far exceeds our capacity to grasp these things.  Why God allows suffering will always remain somewhat of a mystery to us but did you know that it is not a mystery to God.  God is not up there trying to figure out how to make it look acceptable.  In other words, we have already discussed some pretty compelling reasons that God allows evil, in my opinion enough by itself to rest assured.  However, we need to also realize that given the fact that we are so limited and that God is so unlimited, how can we say that God does not have good reasons for allowing evil?  God may have thousands of reasons not just the handful I have given.  I would imagine that we have not even scratched the surface of God’s mind. 

         We can trust the Lord.  If he has revealed solid reasons for allowing evil, we certainly can rest assured that his infinite knowledge and goodness has reasons far exceeding our present knowledge.  A beautiful rug may look rough and knotty from the underside, but beautiful from the intended viewing angle.  Likewise, the present world looks rough and knotty, but from God’s perspective, it looks like a grant tapestry that he has woven together.  As the apostle Paul, a man of profound intellect, humbly acknowledged, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.  Amen” (Romans 11:33-36).