God is not the source of our suffering.
John 3:16 might be the favorite verse of Christians:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
In my Sunday School classes growing up, we always viewed "world" as having the connotation of "people." He loved people so much that He did what He did. And He does love people. But did you know that the original language of "world" is actually more along the lines of "cosmos?" He loved His creation, all of it, so much that He did what He did.
Might it be possible that Yahweh wants to redeem all His creation, that He loves His earth, that He wants His earth back? After Adam's fateful decision, mankind and all creation went into the hands of our bitter enemy.
And then there's this:
"...the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." - Romans 8:19-21
(By the way, never read Romans 7 about Paul feeling all yucky about sin without immediately reading his ultimate conclusion in Romans 8 about how it no longer has any power over him! Just a freebie.)
Creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. Why? Because it, too, is to be redeemed, but somehow that happens through true sons (daughters, too) revealed in their perfected state of power and authority through the Holy Spirit, in the very image of God in which they were created. In which we were created. And when I say "perfected state," please don't mistake me. I don't mean one day in heaven. When we choose to trust Yahweh and walk out our salvation relationship, we are then perfected. He does that for us. We are not perfect; we are perfected through Yahshua, and therefore our perfected state is current. Either we're clothed in His righteousness, or we're not. He says we are, so I'm going with that.
Yahweh is very eager to redeem His creation back to His original purpose and plan, and His glory and desire is to do it through sons. He sent the One Son to bring many sons to glory (Heb. 2:10), "for both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. 2:11). I think a lot of Christians know this in their heads but don't know how to believe it as revelation applied in how they view their lives. That's going to change, though.
So we inherited an imperfect world, but it will not stay that way. Yahshua must reign "till He has put all enemies under His feet (I Corinthians 15:25)," until "the kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15). So the kingdoms of this world do not become obliterated except to the degree that they change, that they are redeemed. We'll get into the "kingdoms of this world" another time, but think this way: everything is either of Yahweh-the Kingdom, or not of Yahweh-Babylon.
And here we find the source of our sufferings and trials. There is a war at hand to put every enemy under our King's feet. Yahweh is interested in doing it through the many sons He's bringing to glory through the One Son. So we all have work to do in this earth. How do we do it? The same way Yahshua did: by doing what the Father does as discovered through oneness communion with Him in the present, and by hearing His voice. To simplify: hear and obey.
"Jesus (Yahshua) answered and said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever he does, the Son also does in like manner'" (John 5:19). Now again, change your mind if you need to about how this was just for Jesus. Yahweh sent the One Son to regain His original intent: many sons in the earth. That's us. Or if it's not you, it certainly can be, and it's absolutely worth your while.
Now that we have a right perspective about our lives in this earth and His heart for it, we can see that those enemies that cause suffering are not Yahweh's will, His heart, or His desire for us (James 1:13).
However, we encounter them because we inherited an imperfect world.
And Yahweh is faithful still, in the midst of it all, to "work all things together for good to those who love Him" (Romans 8:28). And He is actively working through His sons to redeem it all. That's a great honor and responsibility, and it flies in the face of everyone just begging for Him to end the suffering, end it all, and rescue us out of here.
He already rescued us, now it's time for us to enter the joy of getting some work done with our Dad.
He allows suffering, because Adam made the choice of disobedience and opened the door for suffering to enter the earth. As of yet, the earth is full of curses. The only way for Yahweh to eradicate suffering would have been, and would currently be, for Him to remove man's will, which He won't do. And since suffering has gained some legal right in the earth through man's disobedience, Yahweh will also use it to teach us and bring us to greater glory. He will use anything to help us: the good, the bad, the ugly. He'll even make a donkey talk! (Numbers 22:28)
My son Levi looked like he was starving to death. And despite all that he ate and drank, he was. At four, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Never once have I gotten angry at God and asked Him why He did this to us. Because I know that He didn't do it to us. In fact, He's more angry about it than we are. I also know that any disease is as much His enemy as it is mine and that He hates it, He loves Levi, and He wants to see us beat this thing as much as we do. He's talking us through it, and He's rooting for us. And make no mistake, whether it's in my lifetime or not, whether it's in Levi's lifetime or not, diabetes will be defeated.
There's a great assurance in knowing that you're on the winning team. And if we can get outside our little bubble and think generationally, beyond our physical lives, it really starts to get fun. We can really go to work on stuff and not get overwhelmed, because we are faithfully building toward something greater than ourselves. We're eradicating enemies and building the Kingdom.
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| (Mother Teresa) Don't get mad at God; get to work. He's mad about it, too. |
So if you are facing trials and tough times, don't allow the enemy to drive a wedge between you and your Father.
Any thought that would try to make you feel wounded by God is a liar and belongs in hell.
Take that thought captive and say, "That is not what I think! God is for me!" (Romans 8:31)
Then stir up His Spirit abiding in you (There is no other way), hear His voice, get His will, and act according to that plan. His overriding desire is to take that thing down with you, through you.
So, rise up in His strength, sons and daughters of God, and take that thing down.
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