By Ken Blue
“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.” Job 14:1, 2.
If anyone was acquainted with grief, it was Job. And the mystery is revealed to us why he was chosen to suffer as he did. However, that does not answer the question most people have on the subject. “Why do I have trouble?”
Clearly, God knows the end from the beginning. So, why would He create a world He knew sin and suffering would ruin? That is a question that has troubled many, and created more atheist than any other issue. If God is all loving, why would He create, and if He is all powerful, why doesn’t He stop the suffering?
None of us can know the full mind of God. If so, we too would be omniscient. We can only know what is revealed. Love has no meaning without an object and opportunity for expression. We do know that God loves His creatures, and desires fellowship with them. Knowledge of what action one will take, does not force that action. Also, the creature must have a free will to choose, or love has no meaning. These are some of the things we can know about God and His creation.
Man was created without a sinful nature. He had a free will to obey God’s Word, or choose to disobey. Again, love and freedom have no meaning without these choices. God set before Adam two choices. One was everlasting life, the other was spiritual and physical death. With coaching from the Devil, and from his wife, he chooses to disobey God.
This did not change God’s love in any way, it simply altered the course of mankind, and the way in which God would manifest His love for him. God’s first act after Adam’s sin was redemption and forgiveness. However, he informed them of the suffering that would follow as a result of their choice.
Man’s ability to choose and to love was not lost. However, he loved his knowledge of right and wrong, and his “bent” was toward that which was wrong. It was exciting, exhilarating, and pleasurable to all the senses. They were now their own gods. They now knew from experience the choices that would make them know more, and make them happy. Also, they could now see things unseen before. They could walk according to how they saw things. They no longer needed to walk by faith in what God said.
This ability was passed on to every man. Thus, we are free to make choices that will destroy our own lives, and the lives of others. Adam’s first son demonstrated the free exercise of his will when he chose not to believe God in the matter of offerings. He hated his brother and murdered him out of envy. Cain was not forced to take those actions. He exercised his free will; murder, and misery followed.
Now, why do you have problems? The answer is, you were born. You may choose to guard your life, and do well, or you may freely make decisions that will destroy yourself and others also. Two things are evident in Scripture. One, is the love of God, and the other is His righteous power. Our problems come from unbelief, and the choices we believe will make us happier.
Through God’s love and power, He given us the Scriptures to inform and guide us through this world of sin. He informed us of His love, and salvation that was demonstrated in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, He will not force you to choose. The choice is yours.
As to God’s power, it too is seen throughout Scripture. Concerning the question, “why doesn’t He do something about the wickedness?” I assure you that He will. Peter describes the process. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.
Job said, ““Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” The question is not about God’s love or power. That is amply explained. The question is, since you have a free will, what are you going to do with God’s Word, and offer of free salvation? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.