Catching Idle Butterflies

How can God . . .

I heard that little voice yesterday after I referenced Jeremiah Jeremiah 29:11-13 at the end of my blog say, “Someone’s going to ask you about how when there’s so much suffering in the world, God promises prosperity. Wouldn’t some consider that a lie, or at the very least, a false impression, a false hope?”

You will then understand my chuckle when Mavis Moog commented:

"They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." How would someone in the depth of despair, who's life - through no fault of their own - has been an utter disaster, relate to this? Maybe someone dying of starvation or beleagred by war; would they feel this verse speaks to them?

I think Forever makes an extremely valid point. It could be argued that faith that God will sort it all out for you makes some people indolent and inaffective. How would you answer that suggestion?

I hope you don't think I'm trying to insult you or your beliefs, I'm just interested in how this works.

This is my response:

Of all the people I expected to ask that question, it's you, and I'm not surprised you had the courage to ask it. I'm never insulted or offended by genuine questions. I also know you well enough you never ask these types of questions rhetorically, but to learn.

To start, I consider myself no expert in Scripture. Books have been written in an attempt to answer this very question: Why do bad things happen to good people? If my attempt to answer your question falls short, I can recommend at least one book for you to check out.

I have no idea what it's like to starve, be in the midst of a terrible war, and the like. I do however, know despair. I've been in the depths of it and a few times saw no way out short of death. For a specific example, I recommend "Invalid Item" .

The scripture you highlighted references not material prosperity, but spiritual. The world may be falling down around us, but we hold on to the hope that God is there to give us strength and wisdom to endure. Nowhere in the Bible does it suggest life will be easy. Quite the opposite. The faithful will always suffer greatly, many times much more than others. Look at China as an example. Christians are being thrown in prison, tortured and killed for no other reason than because they publically proclaimed their faith. They do so anyway because their love of Jesus and what He did for them, and their faith that God will eventually reward them, in Heaven for certain if not in this world.

I know people who've gone on missionary trips to war torn and famine ravaged places, and they all return with the same impression. Though the people there are living in deplorable conditions, scraping the bare earth for barely enough to keep them alive another day, and/or suffering unmentionable evils by a savage government, they have joy, a faith that makes the most of us look like blind children still crawling. They know God is faithful and will help them through every trouble and trial. None of us leaves this planet alive. I can tomorrow lose everything I have, everyone I love, and perhaps die in a way that would make Charles Manson cringe.

All that matters little. What matters is the joy God gives me, and the hope and certainty my eternity is a bright and blessed one.

I also agree completely with zwisis. God expects action on our part (James 2:26: “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”). He's not a magician. Just like a loving parent teaches a child self-reliance in order to survive in a harsh world, so does God. That’s why He calls us His Children. He needs us to help those who endure war, starvation, and hopelessness, because that's the only way those suffering will see God's love. He gives us the tools, and the wisdom to use them. It's up to us whether or not we pick up those tools and put them to work.

If you want to know more about God and suffering, start off reading the Book of Job, and Ecclesiastes (my personal favorite). Other Scriptural passages dealing with suffering are Romans 8:18-39, and 2 Corinthians 1:5-11, all written by the Apostle Paul whilst in prison for preaching about Jesus.

I hope that helps, and if you have anymore questions, I will do my best to answer.