Past The Pain

Hebrews 11:1-6

It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

IS GOD GOOD? THAT’S THE QUESTION underlying our lives and really underlying all of human history. The superficial response to the problem of pain is that God cannot be simultaneously all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving because if all three of these attributes were operating, he would not let the extreme suffering of this world continue. His knowledge would allow him to see the problems and come up with solutions, his love would compel him to intervene, and his power would enable him to succeed. But this mind-set maximizes our own experience and minimizes how God is revealing himself on a cosmic scale for all eternity. And it is blind to the end of the story.

You will deal with this problem not only on a philosophical level but also in your personal life. You have experienced pain, and you have probably been tempted either to suppress it or let it overwhelm you. As a believer in the goodness of God, you need to refuse both. Otherwise, your pain will color your perception of God, and your perception of God will color your relationships, your work, your attitude toward life, and your influence in this world.

In other words, the way you see God is enormously important. Pastor and author A. W. Tozer called it the most important thing about you, and he has been quoted on that point innumerable times. You have to be relentless in believing God is good because you will see contradictions to his goodness all around you, often in your own experiences. But between the lines of your circumstances and behind the pain of your losses, he is working on a story that ends extremely well for you, if you will hold fast in faith. Trials are for a moment, but his goodness is forever. To experience it, you will have to choose to believe in his true nature. When you do, his nature grows in you, and many hurting people will be drawn to it.

{Lord, you have promised that our earthly trials are momentary and greatly overshadowed by future glory. Let me live with that perspective—healed, whole, and a testimony for others to see. Amen.