Attica Assembly of God

Where is God in all This?

©Copyrighted by the General Council of the Assemblies of God and Used By Permission.

A little boy, seated on the back pew of the church, was asked by a deacon: "Son, what are you drawing?"

The boy confidently replied: "Oh, I'm drawing a picture of God."

The deacon knowingly countered: "That's impossible because no one has ever seen God."

To which the boy replied: "Sire, they will as soon as I finish my picture."

While we chuckle at this apocryphal story, it does raise a critical question: What effect does illness have upon my perception of God?  How does God look to me when I am really hurting?  It is just here that we need to think hard.  For if we end up with a distorted picture of God, it will both plunge us into deadly error and prevent our faith from moving toward healing.

THE QUESTIONS WE ASK

Some people, during times of illness, wonder whether God's goodness should be called into question.  "If God is a good God, how come something so bad as this has happened to me?"  Yes, it is a logical enough question, but its implication points in the wrong direction.  The Bible clearly teaches that the presence of evil and suffering is the consequence of man's sin, not God's poor judgment.  The hardship of our first parents (Adam and Eve) was in direct consequence to their willful disobedience to God.  Accountability centers only in man's sin.  God's goodness remains.

Second, we wonder if there is a cause-and-effect relationship between our sin and our sickness.  "Am I sick because I have sinned?"  Again, it is to Scripture that we must turn.  A blind man was brought to Jesus: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?"  Jesus replied: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned... but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life".  Although willful disobedience can result in human suffering, it does not follow that sin and sickness are automatically related.  The fact is both saint and sinner alike suffer.

Third, when illness strikes its devastating blow, we wonder what we might do to bring about God's healing.  "If my faith is strong enough, can I be sure that I will be healed?" When the apostle Paul came to the Lord asking for the removal of a thorn in the flesh, God spoke definitively: "My grace is sufficient..." (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Over many years of pastoral ministry, I have been privileged to pray for many to be healed.  Why some have been healed and others have not, I cannot answer.  I choose to leave that question with God.  However, one thing is clear: Healing is not appropriated nor granted according to the quality of one's faith alone.  If that were so, healing would stand alone as a gift of God to be earned and merited.  Instead God calls us to an expression of earnest faith.  The rest belongs to Him. 

Fourth, some wonder if thoughts of death invalidate and cancel faith.  "If I even think of the possibility of death, does that mean that God will see that as a failure of faith and withhold my healing?" Just recently a family, facing a terminal illness, asked what they should do in light of this prognosis.  I encouraged them to trust the Lord for a miraculous healing, but I also suggested the prepare themselves for the possibility of death.  Paradoxical?  Yes.  But it is also biblical.  Hezekiah was commanded to "set his house in order," yet God granted his request for healing.  It is right to trust God.  And it is also right to prepare for death and eternity.

THE ANSWER WE SEEK

Of course, the questions persist.  A child is struck down by a drunk driver.  A mother with small children is diagnosed as incurably ill.  A gifted young minister must resign his pulpit because of ill health.  Where is God in all this?

I want to duck the question "Why?" because it leads me to considerations that are well beyond my comprehension.  It calls for speculation on the ultimate purposes of God.  It demands too much of human intellect.  In fact, I am reminded of the assault of Satan upon the throne of God.  Why was he so dramatically cast down from the heavens?  Could it be that he sought for insight and understanding that belonged only to God?  God calls us to a life of total trust and reliance on Him.  He has not offered human understanding for all that He has chosen to do.

The answer we seek is found in Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  While not speculating on the origin of suffering, this much is clear for the people of God: God works in all things for good.

God may not answer all of my questions, but I can be confident that He will work for good if I will wholly trust Him.  It has been just this miracle that I have witnessed over and over again.

Out of the brokenness God has brought an incredible wholeness.  From the ashes God has created a new beauty of life.  It is just that that gives hope and courage in the darkest night.  God is at work.  And He is a skilled craftsman.

THE HOPE WE AFFIRM

Our hope in suffering is rooted in God's great love.  Have you ever observed the inseparability of a small child and a rag doll?  No matter how tattered, the child demands its presence.  To the parent, the badly worn doll is without value and should be discarded.  To the child, the doll is priceless.  Why?  The child loves the doll.  Its value is measured by love.

So it is in our relationship with God.  We have eternal value, not because of any intrinsic worth, but because we are loved by God, our Heavenly Father.  In this we find strength and hope.  We can sill trust when everything seems to have gone wrong.  We can still discover a res, even when the support network of life seems to have broken.

We are loved of God.  That we affirm.  And in that we have hope.

Scripture references are from the New International Version.

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