Foregone Conclusion
It is a foregone conclusion that suffering gets a bad wrap. Why wouldn't it? Nobody likes suffering. It is by definition a bad thing. There is low-grade suffering like, "Darn, I missed the bus." There is average suffering like "That didn't go as expected." And then there is tragic suffering that occurs because of paradigm altering catastrophe or loss. When reflecting on our lives, we want to put silver linings on difficult circumstances and may even be half-glass-full people that can find something good in anything.
Platitudes may keep us afloat during low-grade and average suffering. But the fact of the matter is that tragedies happen in life that cannot be reconciled with bumper sticker life affirmations. There are events that no matter how you dissect them, don't seem to have a bright side. There is suffering that simply cannot be spun into a positive no matter how much we manipulate it.
The power of positive thinking comes up short when airbags are deployed, when illness wins and when creation bears its teeth and consumes.
These things throw us into uncharted waters with deep questions and significant pain as tragedy steamrolls over our lives. If you have not suffered tragedy, then gear up your prayers of thanksgiving. If you have experienced tragic suffering, then you understand I have not overstated the situation.
When life is moving along swimmingly, we are prone to say that God is blessing us. The bible says God longs to bless us, He wants what is best for us, and gives us good things. That is an undeniable truth found in scripture. God's provision is a core element of Faith and the bible tells us that God's goal and aim for humanity generally and us specifically is that we would know Him and enjoy Him forever. These are thematic melodies that resonate throughout the Old and New Testaments. Bedrock truths that eventually lead to the ultimate provision of Himself in Christ and the implementation of His Spirit into a broken world. God is good, has provided and is providing, has blessed and is blessing now. All true.
But, if God is good, and it is a foundational truth that God provides and loves and cares, then how does suffering fit into that truth? If God is all these good things, then how can suffering be included in that, much less exist at all? If God is good, why do we suffer? If God is the provider, then why do we experience loss and lacking? If God is for us, then why does tragedy occur and destroy so many good things?
Our experience tells us life is a combination of good and bad. So, in that sense, the bible speaks correctly when we read Psalm 23, 88 or read of tragedies in the Old Testament and the gospels. Bad stuff happens, suffering occurs, and the bible speaks honestly and rightly when it tells of events that end badly. It accurately portrays life in the way we experience it, with light and dark colors. And this lends credit to the bible's authority and honesty about the human condition.
In many ways, scripture paints a picture that reflects the reality we experience, and thereby gains credibility, reliability, and authority merely, but not solely, from the fact that it is so honest and accurate. But if the bible is telling us the truth about the mixture of good and evil in this life while at the same time telling us God is good and Jehovah Jira - the One who provides, the One that loves, the One that wants what is best for us, then how is this good, providing, and loving God mixed up with all the bad? If reality contains suffering, then how does a good God fit with suffering and tragedy?
Thankfully, this is not a new question and is one that has echoed through the halls of history for millennia. Indeed, it is a question the bible asks with striking clarity and directness.
The bible provides answers to these difficult questions. A challenge, however, is do we have the courage to hear the answers? It is natural to bring our presuppositions to difficult inquiries and demand that God answer in a way that fits inside our pre-existing assumptions. There is a certain humility and honesty that is necessary to digest the answers.
The answers may not fit into mental categories that already exist. The answers may open new doors and expose ideas not previously considered. The challenge presented to us, just as we will see was presented to the human biblical characters, is can we hear the answers? We have to be willing to stand in the shoes of biblical figures like Job, Habakkuk, the Psalmist, Amos, Paul and ultimately Christ himself and approach the throne room with the confrontational and bold questions while at the same time respecting the answers provided.
We cannot explore every scenario and every ideology in this context, but we can look honestly at the answers God provides in Scripture and then subject ourselves and our opinions, to the answers. These are difficult questions and so it is natural that the answers are also difficult. But if we approach our task with a contrite, inquisitive, honest, and bold heart; prepared to listen, then we can grow and learn together.