Pain and Providence

I am preaching through the book of Esther (although I will be taking a detour this week with the ordination of new deacons). Last week, in my first message in the series, I spoke about God's providence. God's providence is one of the most comforting doctrines in all the Bible. It means that God is in complete control of everything in creation--including the free acts of His creatures. This is comforting because that means God's children are always secure in His love.

In response to that, someone emailed me a question that asked, "What do you say to someone who has lost a child, or was abused, or lost a parent at an early age? How is this notion of providence helpful to them?"

I've preached sermons on this and there are entire books written on the topic. Below is a very brief response to those questions:

1) If you reject God’s sovereignty and providence because of tragedy, you don’t solve any problems. You actually create more. For example, if God was not sovereign when you were abused, parent died, child died, etc…, if God could not stop that horrible event, then God can’t protect you in the future, either. If you were on your own then, then you really are on your own. You are an orphan in the world left to your own protection, which is a terrifying thought. Also, if God’s providence was not at work even in that horrible event, then that means that your suffering has no meaning and no purpose. It was just a bad thing that God couldn’t stop from happening.

This reminds me of Rabbi Harold Kushner’s famous book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Kushner reasons this way—God is good. A good God would never allow evil things to happen if He were able to prevent it. If He did, He would not be good. Therefore, God is unable to prevent evil. He says, “God wants the righteous to live peaceful, happy lives, but sometimes even He can't bring that about. It is too difficult even for God to keep cruelty and chaos from claiming innocent victims.”

While this view of God seem to protect His goodness and keep Him unstained by evil and suffering, it offers little comfort to those in pain. If God is not in control, if God could not prevent your suffering, then He is just as much a victim as you. He may be kind, but so is Mr. Rogers. Is God nothing more than a heavenly Mr. Rogers?

Also, if God is not in control of your suffering, then that means that your suffering has no purpose. In the end, there is no answer to “Why?”

In 1982, someone laced capsules of Tylenol with cyanide and then put them back on the store shelves in Chicago. Several people died after swallowing those pills. Here is one writer’s take on that event. “The families of those seven people no doubt agonized trying to find some shred of meaning in why God or fate or luck had picked on their loved ones, of all the people in Chicago. We can concoct some answer and perhaps take some small comfort in it, but sadly, there was no meaning in those deaths. Each was a bizarre, horrible coincidence, nothing more. Therein lies the tragedy.” (Boykin, John, Circumstances and the Role of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), p. 42, quoted in When God Weeps, by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), p. 84.)

Nothing more? How horrible to think that suffering is without purpose or hope. In such a view, there is no comfort. There is no practical difference between a God who is not sovereign and no God at all.

2) One thing we must remember is, God knows what He is doing. While I often disagree with His decisions, I must admit that He knows more than I do. So, if I don’t understand why God allowed something horrible to happen, then I must conclude that the problem is with my understanding, not a lack of God’s power, love or control. While Romans 8:28 may not satisfy the questions of my heart about suffering, it must satisfy my head. By faith, I must accept the fact that God loves me and is using His almighty power to care for me.

3) Also, we must remember that we are in the middle of the story. Those living in the middle of the story usually can’t see the hand of God. Esther and Mordecai had no idea what God was up to when Esther was taken to the king’s harem. They had no idea what God was up to when Haman hatched his genocidal plot. In the same way, Joseph had no idea what God was up to when his brothers sold him into slavery or when Potiphar sent him to jail. We can’t see any good in the middle of our dark circumstances, but we don’t have God’s vantage point. We must by faith trust that God is up to something good, even if that seems impossible to us.

4) Finally, understanding God’s providence is only part of the equation in dealing with suffering. The other part is that we need to discover the biblical notion of lament. Tricia and I went to a conference with Michael Card a couple of years ago where he discussed his book, A Sacred Sorrow. In that book, he reminds us of the laments in the Bible. In a lament, people cry out and even complain against God. I think we need to give people the biblical freedom to do that. David does it (many of the psalms are laments). Jeremiah does it. Habakkuk does it. As Michael Card says, we need to learn to sing sad songs. So, for the person who has suffered greatly, or is suffering greatly, we should direct them to the laments and help them grieve, cry out and complain. It is okay to say to God, “You said you would be there for me, but I feel like you abandoned me.”

Also, let me recommend Joni Erickson Tada’s When God Weeps. Joni knows something about suffering. She has been a quadrapalegic since she was a teenager due to an accident. Her book is not only solid theologically, but written by someone who has some credibility on the issue.