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Where was God?
Where would God not be? Where was God when Cain killed Abel? All things come in there own time, Abel is not dead, as people who ask these questions would think, his body was killed, his spirit continued. Why is the flesh so much more important than the spirit to so many? Your real question is why is there pain? Do you know the answer to that?Where was God?
Where was God?
I'm not saying he should stop every bad thing happening to us.. Us adults usually deserve the punishments because of our sins.. Children haven't even begun their lives of making mistakes and paying for them, they are innocent and vulnerable.It is a valid question, but we need to consider it from God’s viewpoint.
When we make demands of God, we demonstrate this attitude: God owes us, He should prevent every bad thing from happening to us because He is God.
But in true fact, God does NOT owe us, we owe Him. He is not under any obligation from men to right any wrongs, He is under obligation only by His character. Instead of demanding and questioning Him with whys, we should be entreating and pleading with Him to help.
God protects me everyday from serious harm, very real serious harm from real living people.. So why can he not protect them?Really important question, which crops up again and again for all thinking believers. Whenever I'm struggling with comprehending how God permits so much evil in the world, I end up in two places that help me get past it.
The first is that God does not stand aloof from all the pain, anguish, sin and despair. In Jesus, he took on flesh and experienced poverty, rejection, being misunderstood, being beaten and, finally, executed. He knows what it is to be human, and he understands. In a real sense he is beside us when we are suffering.
The second are the verses at the end of Revelation:
"Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!"
and
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. "
We are surrounded by evil, and stories of evil today, but there will be a day when God puts everything right.
How are we supposed to bring people to Christ when that sort of thing has happened to them? It's totally understandable why they don't want to know.. What can we say to them to change their minds?No, all power belongs to God. Jesus is Lord, and no-one and nothing in all creation is above him.
We don't know why God does not bring about his justice more quickly, nor why he doesn't intervene to stop evil things from happening.
It is hard to understand but we don't change their minds, God does. The only thing I can offer is Matthew 10:14, I think the meaning is: always try but if someone is not listening, just move on and let God do the rest.How are we supposed to bring people to Christ when that sort of thing has happened to them? It's totally understandable why they don't want to know.. What can we say to them to change their minds?
So God has no power of the evil of this world yet he saved my life, brought me back from absolute devastation. He is fighting my enemies EVERYDAY to keep me safe from harm. The difference in my life is like night and day. He fights the wicked for me everyday. If he can intervene for me then why not for the most vulnerable human beings on the planet?
I'm not saying he should stop every bad thing happening to us.. Us adults usually deserve the punishments because of our sins.. Children haven't even begun their lives of making mistakes and paying for them, they are innocent and vulnerable.
How are we supposed to bring people to Christ when that sort of thing has happened to them? It's totally understandable why they don't want to know.. What can we say to them to change their minds?
Thank you for that Born Again 2004. I went to bed last night and was in prayer when it came to me that I should 'leave it at the cross' as I was really struggling to deal with it. It's beyond my understanding so I'm trusting in the Lord with all my heart and I lean not on my own understanding. Proverbs 3: 5-6.It is hard to understand but we don't change their minds, God does. The only thing I can offer is Matthew 10:14, I think the meaning is: always try but if someone is not listening, just move on and let God do the rest.
Thank you Hekuran. I had an Epiphany last night that I should leave it at the cross as it is not for me to understand. I trust in our Heavenly Father.If you want to do a deep dive into the question of justice in the world, the whole of the Book of Job explores it in detail. It's written as a poetic drama, and it's rich and complex.
Here's an overview
Thank you Enxu for your message and your personal experience of childhood trauma. Because it is beyond my understanding I have 'left it at the cross in Jesus' name Amen. I was tormenting myself over it and getting nowhere. I trust in the Lord with all my heart and I know what a loving and kind person he is and of his amazing powers.There are many reasons to this, most of which I myself would never know. I have asked the same question before in front of God and others, especially when I think about the lives of Hitler and how his childhood abuse panned out. While I do not know how God will judge him per se, I believe on judgment day that whoever played a role in his downfall will pay the price. Jesus did say woe to the one from whom offences come.
One reason I can think of why some children are not rescued immediately from abuse is because God will use that abuse to bring the person to Himself. I would never have known God exists in my atheistic family background if not for the pain the abuse caused. Another reason is that God will use the abuse a believing child endured to strengthen him/her for greater things and even bring the offenders to repentance. God allowed Joseph to be betrayed by his brothers so they can go on to see the depths of their sins and finally repent. Joseph’s suffering brought about not only Joseph’s own greatness as a leader in Egypt, but also the salvation of Israel from famine and sin. In my own personal experience, my parents repented of their sinful ways precisely because of the pain of abuse and they would never have realised their sins without my suffering. God did a marvellous thing by using my pain to turn my parents around from their sins.