" Why does God allow sufferings in our lives?


Everything which happens in history, some argue, is simply the outworking in time of God's eternal decree. Nevertheless, the Bible also seems to affirm that man has some genuine freedom and is therefore morally responsible for what he does, (Free- will).
God is sovereign and nothing happens apart from His will (Ephesians. 1:11; etc.). This includes calamities and disasters of every kind. Although God is not always the efficient cause of such calamities, He nonetheless allows them to occur in accordance with His sovereign purposes for the world.
How, can a Jewish individual reconcile an all-powerful God to the crimes of the Holocaust? When capable of intervening, why did God allow the continued crimes against humanity and the Jewish self-respect? For the life of me I don't understand, I can only analyze the question, I can't answer it. I would have to see, God as a mother witnessing the abuse of her child by her spouse, many in this society would insist that she contributes to the suffering of the child and is as responsible for the pain of the child as the abuser. Regardless of the fact that she is not directly imposing the abuse, her “turning her back” allows her child to continue to suffer. If our society does not condone this behavior in a parent, why is it so willing to condone it in God? To turn his back, to remain hidden, during the Holocaust was either a desertion of the people with whom he held a covenant, or an undeserved punishment. 
Surely it is difficult for us to understand why God would allow some things to happen. But simply because we find it difficult to imagine what reasons God could have for permitting them, does not mean that no such reasons exist. It is entirely possible that such reasons are not only beyond our present knowledge, but also beyond our present ability to understand. A child does not always understand the reasons that lie behind all that his father allows or does not allow him to do. It would be unrealistic for us to expect to understand all of God's reasons for allowing all that He does. We do not fully understand many things about the world we live in, what lies behind the force of gravity for instance, or the exact function of subatomic particles. Yet we believe in these physical realities.

Comments

The Good News said…
One of the most rewarding reasons that suffering has value is experienced by those who can say with conviction, "I know how you feel. I've been in your shoes." Suffering prepares us to minister comfort to others who suffer.

Feeling isolated is one of the hardest parts of suffering. It can feel like you're all alone in your pain, and that makes it so much worse. The comfort of those who have known that same pain is inexpressible. It feels like a warm blanket being draped around your soul. But in order for someone to say those powerful words,"I know just how you feel because I've been there", that person had to walk through the same difficult valley first.
The Good News said…
One of the most incredibly comforting things we can ever experience is someone else's tears for us. One of the most powerful words of comfort I received when we were grieving our loss was from a friend who said, "Your pain may not be about just you. It may well be about other people, preparing you to minister comfort and hope to someone in your future who will need what you can give them because of what you're going through right now. And if you are faithful to cling to God now, I promise He will use you greatly to comfort others later." That perspective was like a sweet balm to my soul, because it showed me that my suffering was not pointless.
Anonymous said…
That is really touching. I'm going to start looking at my suffering differently now. God always has reasons for everything. I'm sorry for your loss, David. I'm not sure yet what or who that was but I"m sorry for your pain.

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