I was raised a Christian. I grew up going to church practically every Sunday, and attended youth group on most Wednesday nights. Being a Christian was fun to me; all my friends were always at youth group and Sunday school was never boring. When I heard other people weren’t Christian, I didn’t understand why, being a Christian seemed so easy.
A series of events that happened to me over the years made question God’s goodness. The first was when my mom’s father was diagnosed with cancer and only lived eleven more months after diagnoses. How could this incredible God I had learned about all my life, allow something so bad to happen? The second was when I was in third grade, the mother of my best friend was diagnosed with cancer. She only lived a short time after her diagnosis. The third was when I got to my junior year of high school, a boy from my school passed away in a car accident. The final one was at the end of my freshman year of college, four nursing students passed away in a car accident too. I had so many questions for God as I saw the faces of all these families. How could he take my best friend’s mother? How could he take children away from their parents? How could he take my grandfather before I was even old enough to really know him? I hurt for my friends that lost their best friends. I hurt for the families that lost a child. I hurt.
One day I was on the phone with my YoungLife leader, we were talking about tribulations. She told me “God didn’t promise our life as Christian’s would be easy. In fact, he told us the opposite in John 16:33.” (“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”) God said we would face trouble, but he has overcome that trouble. In times of tribulation, instead of asking why, we must cling to the God that has the answers.
God did not intend for suffering to be part of this world. (God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. –Genesis 1:31) In fact, it is our sin that continues to create this suffering. Though our world may be bad, our God is good. One of my friends once shared with me this quote: “Life get’s hard, but my God stays good.” What a comforting thought, that in such a bad world we can run to someone who is constantly good.
