Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. James 1:2-3
In an Alpha Bible study that I participate in on Sunday evenings, the topic came up, “if there is a God and He is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?”
This is a question I here a lot from people in today’s culture. Some people believe in karma – what goes around, comes around. However, this doesn’t explain why some really wicked people seem to thrive while many good people are suffering.
For me, when I hear some non-believers ask this, I think it boils down to the fact that we want to be our own gods. By that I mean, we don’t want to be subject to any authority over us – and this can get us in a lot of sticky situations.
We see this in our culture where many are rebelling against what was once considered moral and decent. We see it in the breakdown of families as we pursue our own pleasures and desires over what God has ordained as good.
The Bible says in James, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:12-15
As I was working in our garden yesterday afternoon, I noticed that some of the most beautiful roses are surrounded by thorns. And if you’ve ever picked blackberries, the biggest and sweetest berries have lots of prickly things around it. I’ve scraped up my arms pretty good in the past reaching for them. Perhaps, God is using our tough times to produce in us something wonderful, a testimony of His greatness and not our own.