God, Suffering & Disasters
Pastors Leslie & Adeline Chua
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
And not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from your Father.”
“And the LORD said to him,
“Pass through the city, through Jerusalem,
and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan
over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
And to the others he said in my hearing,
“Pass through the city after him, and strike.
Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.””
Suffering and disasters are part and parcel of life in our fallen world. The questions of where God is when misfortune strikes, and why a good God allow calamities are often asked.
These are age-old questions. Even the most faithful saints struggle to comprehend the mystery of suffering and disasters. Job, whom God considered as upright and blameless, wrestled with God over the sudden and inexplicable calamities that befell him. In the end, he still did not get the answer, but he came to an intimate knowledge of the sovereignty of God. He understood that God could do whatever He wanted.
Various Reasons Why Bad Things Happen
Often, we fail to pause and consider if the unpleasant circumstances in our lives might be brought about by our sins and transgressions. Our contention is if God is good and sovereign, then, it is His duty to intervene and prevent human suffering.
We forget that morality, among other things, plays a role in such matters. One cannot escape this truth, which is evident in both the Old and New Testaments.
Contemporary Christians think in this way for two reasons. First, we are self-centred, and our approach to considering such matters reflects our egocentricity. We only think in terms of our own welfare. Second, many Christians do not have a spiritual or supernatural worldview. For those who are more educated, equating misfortune to sin and God’s judgement is considered naïve and superstitious.
I have met more of such believers in recent years than in the past. They are quick to point out the example given by Jesus in Luke chapter 13. The tower in Siloam collapsed and killed eighteen people. Many Jews believed that these people must have died in that tragedy because they were worse sinners than the others who lived in the same city of Jerusalem. Jesus corrected their misconception. He did not give any reason except to say they ought to repent, or they would likewise perish (Luke 13:4-5).
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Not all suffering and disasters
are the result of sin and divine judgement.
There are other reasons.
In our fallen world,
bad things happen all the time.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people.
This is not uncommon.
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On another occasion, Jesus and His disciples walked by a man who was blind from birth. The disciples were curious to know if the man’s blindness was due to his sin or his parents’ sin. Jesus gave an astonishing answer, “That the work of God might be displayed in him.” Then, He proceeded to heal the blind man. The miraculous act of healing brought glory to God (John 9:1-7).
So, it is true. Not all suffering and disasters are the result of sin and divine judgement. There are other reasons. In our fallen world, bad things happen all the time. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. This is not uncommon.
Bad Things Happen to Those Who Do God’s Will
Bad things can also happen to those who obey God and do His will. In fact, they suffer precisely because they are doing God’s bidding.
When Jesus sent out the twelve apostles, He warned them of opposition and persecution. But He also reassured them that God was constantly watching over them. God knew everything, even the minutest and seemingly insignificant things. For instance, He knew the number of hairs on their heads. Even a sparrow would not fall to the ground if it were not His will (Matthew 10:29-30).
The Theology of God’s Sovereignty
While the sparrow analogy is reassuring, it is also disconcerting. Birds fall off the sky for various reasons. It could be due to a bullet from the rifle of a hunter, who is hunting not for food, but pleasure.
Does God permit a bird to die for sports?
Yes, according to the Scripture – “Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Matthew 10:29 – NIV). The sparrow would not have died if God did not permit it to be killed.
Now, put a promising young man in his prime in the place of the sparrow. He is godly. He serves God faithfully, and he is engaged to be married to an equally wonderful young Christian lady. Out of the blue, he is hit by a car, or he is struck with cancer, and he died. You have come across tragic stories like this. They happen all the time.
How do you make sense of it?
The same old questions will swirl and twirl in our heads – Why? Doesn’t God have a good plan for His children? Isn’t God in control?
Did God allow the seemingly untimely death to happen?
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The theology that God is sovereign,
and who is also all-powerful,
must necessarily mean
that He permits suffering and disasters
to happen even to good and innocent people.
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The answer is yes. God permits it to happen. The same truth that applies to the sparrow also applies to the promising young man. God sees everything and He knows everything. If God’s eyes are on the sparrow, how much more His eyes are on the young man.
The theology that God is sovereign, and who is also all-powerful, must necessarily mean that He permits suffering and disasters to happen even to good and innocent people. But then, no one is good, and no one is innocent by the holy standards of God. We all are guilty.
Truths such as this are uncomfortable and disturbing. Nevertheless, we must learn to embrace it.
It is never easy to explain why terrible suffering and horrific disasters happened to innocent people except to say that God is sovereign. Often, we do not understand why God does not save, but we can be sure that He is good, and He loves us. There is no doubt about that. So, we just have to rest in the knowledge that God knows what is best for every individual and we just have to trust Him.
Suffering & Disasters Arising from Sins
Do not forget that God judges sin and punishes sinners. Suffering and disasters are among the consequences. It is naïve to think that God deals differently in the New Covenant era. Sin is an affront to Him, and when it crosses a certain limit, God will act, and judgement will follow.
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Do not forget that God judges sin and punishes sinners.
Suffering and disasters are among the consequences.
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We are familiar with the Old Testament story of the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the exile of the Jews to Babylon.
Secular history would record the reason as primarily geopolitical. The land was situated at the major crossroads of three continents – Africa, Europe, and Asia. All the ancient superpowers covet this valuable and strategic piece of real estate.
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While not all sufferings and disasters are the results of sin,
sin is one of the main reasons for them.
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However, the Old Testament prophets painted a completely different picture. From a spiritual perspective, God was solely responsible for bringing the Babylonians to attack Judah. It is to punish them for their sins of violence, bloodshed, injustice, idolatry, and vile abominations (Ezekiel 7-9).
While not all sufferings and disasters are the results of sin, sin is one of the main reasons for them.
The unprecedented calamities predicted for the Tribulation at the end of this present age are the unleashing of God’s wrath and judgement on humanity for their sins and wickedness.
God Knows How to Save His People
God knows how to save His people if He chooses to do so.
Ezekiel gave a fascinating account of how God did that during one of the Babylonian attacks on Judah. This is a glimpse into the spiritual realm.
God sent “six men” to execute His judgement on the people and land. At the same time, He assigned another man to mark out those who were singled out for protection (Ezekiel 9:1-2). Clearly, these seven men were angels.
Ezekiel 9:4-5 (ESV)- And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity…”
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God knows how to protect His chosen ones
if He chooses to do so.
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God protected those who “sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it (Judah).” These were the righteous ones in the land who could not stand the spiritual apostasy and moral decay in their nation.
God sovereignly marked them out for protection. They were protected from the sword, arrow, famine, and pestilences. They went through the horrors of the wars, but they were preserved. They were the righteous remnants.
God knows how to protect His chosen ones if He chooses to do so.
That Which is Most Important
God is sovereign. He does as He pleases. We are not privy to how He decides in each situation of our life.
We must learn to embrace suffering and disasters. We may perish or walk out of our crises triumphantly. Either way, the most important thing is to always live in the will of God.
We thank God for our victory. However, if we perish, we are confident about our destination.