In The Moment Of Pain And Suffering
Monday, November 17, 2008
(By John Kim)
“Where was God during the tsunamis in Southeast Asia?”
“What was God doing on September 11, 2001?”
“Where was God when I was going through ______________ [you fill in the blank]?"
It’s a question that most of us, if not all of us, have asked at some point in our lives. Certainly, it is a question that the world constantly asks of our God, this supposedly all-loving and all-powerful Being who seems to sit idly by as countless millions – helpless women and children not excluded – grapple daily with the problem of evil and suffering in our world. Their argument is clear enough: If God is willing but not able to do anything about evil and suffering, then clearly He is not all-powerful. And if God is able but not willing to do anything about evil and suffering, then clearly He is not all-loving. In short, your God is lacking…your God is not God.
So Christian, what say ye? How do we respond to a family member or a close friend who, out of his/her authentic pains and sufferings and hardships and scars of life, turns to you for answers? What do you say?
Well, I for one don’t think we should say much. Really??? But what about those neat memory verses that we have tucked away specifically for these occasions? Is there a time and place for these truths? Maybe. Sure, there may be an appropriate time to quote Romans 8:28 and assure your friend that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Yes, there may be an opportune moment to say of your friend, as Jesus said of the man born blind in John 9:3, “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” There may even come a time to exhort your friend in suffering with the challenge of these words from Job 1:21, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Maybe. But we probably shouldn’t. Not in the moment of pain and suffering anyway; not when the pain and the hurt can still be felt, because it is that real. The sword of the Word of God can do real damage if not handled correctly or carefully. Then what do we say? What do we do? Well, allow me to propose a verse of the Bible which I believe gives us rare insight into this matter of walking with others through pain and suffering. From John 11:35
“Jesus wept.”
Picture this: The infinite God-Man, the Word of God made flesh, the perfect representation of God revealed to man, the all-loving and all-powerful God Himself……in tears, crying alongside Mary and Martha at the death of Lazarus, knowing full well what He was about to do. Think about this! God – yes, the all-loving and all-powerful God who sovereignly rules over His universe at every moment – crying with us in the exact moment of our pain. Here lies the uniqueness of Christianity over all other religious systems: Our God suffered; indeed, our God still suffers whenever we suffer. The word ‘compassion’ literally means to ‘suffer with’. This is our God: “compassionate and gracious” (Exodus 34:6).
Where was God during the tsunamis?
He was there, among those who were suffering.
What was God doing on September 11?
He was crying.
And He still cries with us through all of the real suffering and pain of life.
In conclusion, when a close friend or family member is suffering, let your words be few. Keep those neat verses tucked away for later. Simply come alongside them and suffer with them, as Christ did. Point them to the living Jesus who is really there and crying with them, even as He knows full well what awaits for us on the other side – yes, a place with “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). This is our God.
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