Matthew 26:36-39; 27:45-46; II Cor. 12:7-10

WHY DOES GOD PERMIT SUFFERING?

The Bible says, "God is love."

But, if God is love, why is there so much misery and suffering?

Why do violent acts of nature kill so many every year and why is there not enough food to keep hundreds of thousands from starvation and why is there so much cruelty and suffering inflicted on people by other people? Why is something like the tragedy we’ve witnessed in Oklahoma City allowed to happen where lunatics blow up innocent men, women and children?

If God is love?

In one of Hugh Walpole’s novels, a young man says, "You know there can’t be a God Vanessa. In your heart you must know it ... ask yourself, ‘How can there be a God and life be as it is?’ If there is one, He ought to be ashamed of himself ... that’s all I can say."

Someone who saw my sermon title this week said, "That’s quite a question you’ve bitten off there pastor!" And so it is. The other night, my wife asked, "What’s your sermon about this week?" When I told here the title, "Why Does God Permit Suffering?" she said, "Yeah ... why does He?"

***

Even as I approach the question of "Why?’ I can hear voices that have rung out over the ages, "Ours is not to wonder why...ours is just to do or _______(?)"

The first problem we have to deal with when the problem of suffering is raised is the old theory among so many Christians that it is wrong to ask "Why?" -- much less argue or debate with God about human existence and its problems.

I want to suggest, however, that on the contrary, the vigorous and hearty asking of "Why?" is not only okay -- it is the first step toward reconciliation with God in the midst of pain and it is right in line with good, solid Biblical tradition:

Moses in the wilderness with his people cries out, "O Lord, why have You done evil to these people?"

Gideon in a time of anguish says, "If the Lord is with us, then why has all this befallen us?"

Then there is good old Job who is the classic confrontation of the problem of evil and suffering: "I have my life," Job cries, "I will freely express my complaint, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, ‘Does it seem good to you to oppress me -- to favor the wicked?"

And if we are still not convinced, there are the words of Jesus Himself from our scripture today: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"

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Since we are in good company then, let us go ahead and ask "Why?" "Why does God permit suffering?"

The question why emerges in four kinds of difficulties that cause suffering. Let’s take a brief look:

1. Natural Disaster

A Tornado sweeps through a town -- a hurricane devastates a community -- wildfire roars through a subdivision -- or what of the tremendous toll accidents take on people every year? Couldn’t God for instance, suspend the law of gravity when a plane begins to fall to the ground?

That would seem like a great idea, but if gravity were suddenly suspended, we’d all fly off into space. If natural law were suspended, there would be chaos and all of life would be in jeopardy.

Perhaps we can deal with difficulties that come from natural disaster and accident -- but what about:

2. Illness and Disease

Why did God create life in such a way that some cells can go wild and destroy? Could He not have made human life so that we would never suffer the pain of disease?

This may sound like a great idea at first glance -- especially when it involves the young and the innocent. Yet when life became a reality, all life forms became possible -- even diseased cells. Many diseases are a thing of the past, thanks to the skill and intellect God gave to us. It seems that we are called to work with God in the midst of human trial and difficulty. Although it can be painful, it is sometimes the tension, the struggle and the pain of life that calls out the best in us at times.

As bad as illness and disease are, they are a part of what humanity and mortality are all about. God did not intend for us to live forever in this dimension. But there is another kind of suffering and that is:

3. Heartache and Emotional Pain

Why is it that we have to go through some of the grief and turmoil of soul that can come on us so powerfully? Whether it is standing at the graveside of someone we loved or seeing someone we love go through pain; it is sometimes the emotional pain that bring the question "Why?" to the surface.

I can remember very clearly standing out in the yard in the midst of the night with tears streaming down my face, saying to God, "Why? Why does it have to be like this?" And just as clearly, I can remember a question that came to my mind as though someone out there was with me in my pain... ""Would you give up the experience of love in order to escape the pain of loss?"

But then there is one other area of life’s suffering that haunts us:

4. Human Evil

A while back there was a popular song that included the question, "How can people be so heartless -- how can people be so cruel?" Lately, that’s a tremendous understatement. It’s more like, "How can people be so absolutely evil?"

Names like John Wayne Gacey, and Jeffrey Dahmer are etched on our minds as horrific examples of the worst kind of evil. Now the name Tim McVeigh is added to the list.

Listen carefully. I am absolutely convinced that it is in the face of human evil that we can see the existence of the "Evil One"! M. Scott Peck MD is a psychiatrist who has become rather well known for his books -- especially, "The Road Less Traveled." Dr. Peck has had an increasingly spiritual dimension to his writings and his practice. In what I find to be his most fascinating book, "People of the Lie." he affirms that it is in the face of unmitigated evil in some persons that he came to believe once again in what we would call Satan or the devil.

An yet... even in the face of human evil like we’ve seen in Oklahoma City, you can see what St. Paul wrote, "All things work together for good to those who love God..." (NOT ALL THINGS ARE GOOD!) Who will ever forget the picture of that fireman in Oaklahoma City carrying a one year old child from thw wreckage. Tragically, the child had died, but there was a picture of the fireman and the child's mother holding each other in their pain -- strangers discovering the warmth of human compassion and sympathy in the midst of suffering and evil.

***

Here’s a very important point to remember when we face heartache ... when we are hurting, it is not so much an intellectual answer we need. Supposing you looked at the incident in Oklahoma City and asked, "Why God?" Then somehow a scientific formula of some kind appeared magically in the sky with the answer ..."It’s because X+y over the square root of Y div. by etc....." would that really satisfy? No, here’s the clue:

We do no so much need an answer for our brain as we do healing for our pain!

You see, when I am hurting, it isn’t an intellectual hurt -- it’s a heartache. I am crying out "It hurts!" more than I am wanting to actually have an explanation of "Why?" Besides, when is the last time something really wonderful happened to you and you said, "Why me?"

LET ME TAKE YOU TO SOME LESSONS THAT CAN DRAW US CLOSER TO GOD WHEN SUFFERING COMES.

If you will turn with me once again to our scripture, there are three things we can take from the experience of Jesus in His time of tremendous suffering:

1. ASKING THE QUESTION "WHY" IS NOT WRONG.

Look at the last part of Matthew’s scripture ... even the Son of God in the midst of suffering asks the question "Why" -- and feels alone, and abandoned.

2. GOD DOES NOT SEND SUFFERING TO PUNISH US.

Matthew shows us a Jesus whose spirit is overcome with grief. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death!" Ever feel that? Jesus had done nothing wrong ... in fact, He is the one who lived in perfect harmony with His Father in Heaven. If ever there lived a person who did not deserve humiliation, rejection, suffering and pain, it was Him.

No -- God does not send suffering to punish us!

3. GOD IS NOT ABSENT WHEN WE SUFFER, IN FACT GOD SUFFERS WITH US.

Think about it. When you cry out "Why?" You are crying out to someone who knows what it is like to wonder why, to feel alone and abandoned and to feel physical and emotional pain.

No -- God is not absent when we suffer, but is right there with us. A dear friend said to me that during one of the most painful experiences of his life life, he cried out to God -- "Where were You when my son died?" He said that somewhere within a quiet, gentle voice seemed to say, "I was in the same place I was when my son died."

Why do pain and misery plague our lives at times? Why does God permit it? Every intellectual answer to these questions will necessarily fall short of satisfying the pain that comes with suffering. It is the affirmation of God's presence with us -- even in the midst of our suffering that will finally lead us out of the darkness.

Ultimately -- the scriptures teach us that God will right every wrong, mend every broken heart and fill every empty heart that has turned to him for comfort. "...God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." [Rev. 21:3-4]

The person said it best who wrote, "For all that I have seen, I will trust God for all that I have not seen."

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