Today I would like to talk about the subject of human suffering
and how we as followers of Jesus Christ can seek the best for the other person
who is facing suffering to the glory of God. You have likely heard someone say,
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” I know that the Scriptures teach us
that no one is good, but I do not think that this is what is in mind when this
question is asked. There are those who are following the Lord and seeking the
best for their neighbor who undergo tremendous tragedy, seemingly without
explanation. The thinking in most people’s minds when asking this question is that
if you do good you get good and if you do bad you get bad.
By
profession I am a Critical Care Registered Nurse; which means that I help
people, who, because of illness or injury are unable to sustain life without
help. Everyone who is in the intensive care unit is there, because either they
want to get well or someone else wants them to get well. I see a great deal of
human suffering in this profession, many people do get better but many others
do not. Why does one person who does things that seem foolish with regards to
health; like excessive drinking and smoking live well into their 80’s, while
another person who does not do these things has a massive heart attack at half
that age and either dies or suffers with heart failure for several years before
sub-coming to the disease?
The books of Job and Ecclesiastes deal with this question on a
personal level, but neither gives the full answer as to why there is human
suffering. These two books acknowledge that evil and human suffering both exist.
These two books also acknowledge the attributes of God’s divine power; that God
is sovereign and omniscient. These two
books also acknowledge the attributes of God’s goodness; that God is benevolent
and just. In the face of human suffering people have a tendency to doubt God.
John M. Frame said, “We simply feel a discrepancy between our experience and
what we believe God to be.”1 The
thought process is this; if God is all powerful and God is all good then he
would not allow evil to exist.2 This is
because human logic puts God into a box, we forget that God is
incomprehensible.
The book of Job gives an
answer for Job's suffering, but Job himself is not given an answer. We the
readers get to look in on a scene in heaven that Job is not privy too. We know that Job is
suffering, because God’s policies for running the world are on trial. The
acquisition by Satan is that Job is righteous, because God is good to him. Job
suffers to demonstrate the righteousness of God. Job is never given the reason
for his suffering, but comes to understand that God is incomprehensible.
Then
Job answered the Lord and said,
"I
know that You can do all things,
And
that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
'Who
is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore
I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things
too wonderful for me, which I did not know."
'Hear,
now, and I will speak;
I will
ask You, and You instruct me.'
"I
have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But
now my eye sees You;
Therefore
I retract,
And I
repent in dust and ashes."
The preacher/teacher in Ecclesiastes
says that all is vanity, that the wise and the fool alike die.4 The preacher/teacher
in Ecclesiastes concludes that retribution theology
is wrong, God gives good things to both the evil and good alike, because he is
benevolent, therefore we should enjoy the good things that God gives us.5 “The
conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments,
because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment,
everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. We should fear God and
keep his commandments this is true worship.”6 The
conclusion that the preacher/teacher makes in the book of Ecclesiastes is that
God is benevolent to both the evil and the good, but you need to fear God and
keep his commandments because when all is said done God is judge. This brings
to mind the name of God given to Moses on Mount Saini.
Then
the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord
God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness
and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,
transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished,
visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to
the third and fourth generations."7
In conclusion neither Job nor
Ecclesiastes gives the answer for human suffering, both point to the fact that
human suffering does exist. Therefore, when talking with someone who is
suffering we should not deny that evil exists nor pretend that we have all the
answers. What we do know is that God is sovereign and good, but let us never
forget that God is incomprehensible. Therefore, let us not put him in a box. So
when others are suffering acknowledge their suffering. Walk with them in their suffering, hold
their hand and pray with them. Let them know that you do not have all the
answers, but also let them know that God is good and God is Sovereign even in
the face of their suffering and loss.
1 John M. Frame, Apologetics to the Glory
of God an Introduction (Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 1994), 150.
2 Cf. Ibid., 150.
3 Job 42:1-6 (NASB).
4 Cf. Ecclesiastes 2:12-17.
5 Cf. Ecclesiastes 5:18 & 9:9.
6 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NASB).
7 Exodus 34:6-7 (NASB).
Bibliography
Frame, John M. Apologetics to the Glory of God an Introduction. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 1994.
The Lockman Foundation. The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.
