Why does God allow suffering?

Lately I’ve been challenged emotionally by what is happening in our world. I know I’m not the only one. All over the news we see our fellow brothers and sisters in anguish, families broken, lives torn apart. It makes very little sense to me. I’ve been asking God why such things have to happen. I’m reminded that while the crisis in Haiti is pressing and is making headline news, it is not the only atrocity our world is facing, has faced, or will face in the future. For all of us who have been given life on earth, we will experience severe pain in some form or another.

All over the world people are suffering, struggling, and perhaps questioning their very purpose. Looking in from the outside, it’s impossible to fully understand the extent of people’s pain. Pain can reach so deep, to such a degree that our very spirit is shaken. One ends up asking one very short, yet intensely profound question. Why?

Countless books have been dedicated to attempt to answer these questions. Prestigious authors have mastered large manuscripts focused on this very issue. For clearly it’s an immensely delicate matter that few of us have been able to ignore. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow suffering? If God is such a loving God, why did this person have to die?

I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the reality of all of this lies in one unique dilemma we humans face on a daily basis. We think it’s all about ‘me.’ We’re not satisfied if things don’t go ‘our way.’

Drawing from a much lighter perspective, but relative to this idea, is the question of what is today’s purpose. Today was probably all about me. My alarm went off, but I wasn’t ready to wake up. I was tired. I was late to work. I became upset when something didn’t go right. I took something personally. I believed I should make more money. I was disappointed with my hair. I was upset when someone was driving slowly. Today, in large part, was about me. For some reason, it wasn’t too fulfilling. The world didn’t revolve around me and give me praise, when sometimes I thought it should have. Why? Because the world and the people in it, were not created to give me praise.

The world, and the people in it, have been created by the Almighty God, to give Him praise. This was His primary intention in creating the world.

‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’ (Gen. 1:27) God created the soul of man in his image. He didn’t need man to make him more complete, or cure his loneliness.  He wanted to create man with the purpose that we interact with Him. Man would experience life on earth, created by God, and worship him. He may eat a piece of fruit, hand delivered by God, and praise God for its perfect taste. She may fall in love, and thank God that He provided a perfect mate.

God gave us free will. We took it and ran with it. Therefore, we live in a fallen world, where good and evil exist simultaneously. God promises that in the midst of the pain and the struggle, He is good. Despite the sin that surrounds us and the turmoil that seems to entangle us, He is still God.

Things never go the way they’re supposed to when it’s all about us. God wants to interact with us. God wants us to love Him, like He first loved us. That was His whole purpose in creating us in the first place. But what is love if it’s forced?

While I’m not in any way undermining or trying to disregard people’s pain, I’m joining those of us who may be asking similar questions. During our difficult times, perhaps all we can do is sit down and ask God what He may be trying to tell us. Each time I battle with this issue in my mind, I’m brought back to the truth that God’s way is perfect. I must remind myself that I am created in His image, to worship Him, and delight in the beauty of being in His presence.

And who on earth could ever understand some of the pain we go through? Only God. He knows. We’re here for such a short bit of time. What’s God’s purpose for you?

Broken

The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time
I am here still waiting though i still have my doubts
I am damaged at best, like you’ve already figured out

I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing
With a broken heart that’s still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on
I’m barely holdin’ on to you

The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded, I’m an open book instead
I still see your reflection inside of my eyes
That are looking for a purpose, they’re still looking for life

I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing
with a broken heart that’s still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on, I’m holdin’ on
I’m barely holdin’ on to you

I’m hangin’ on another day
Just to see what you will throw my way
And I’m hanging on to the words you say
You said that I will be ok

The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone
I may have lost my way now, haven’t forgotten my way home

It is when we are barely breathing that we realize that the only one who can restore and replenish, is the one who gave us breath, the one who gives us life. We might get lost and lose our grip, but He will never let us go. Sometimes He allows us to reach rock bottom where the only direction to look is up. Reach for him. He won’t let you down!

Enjoying God’s will

“God and I seem to have an on-going argument. ‘Speak louder!’ I keep telling God. And I think he keeps replying, ‘Listen harder!’”

http://www.net-burst.net/tough/guidance.htm

You Are Not For Sale

Statistics can be appalling. Numbers and digits and data and dates might confuse the mind, as we’re trying to resolve, “if so many people have been become enslaved by such and such, how many people is that?! And this compares to that…Yikes!”

And then I’m asking myself the question, does it really matter, to me? Does it reach me at my core that 27 million people are enslaved today? Or is that just a number that I put on my notepad that will shuffle aside and catch dust over the next few years? But more importantly, could I, we, do something about it?

Human trafficking is the practice of luring someone away from their home, and forcing them into labor of some sort, even sex, for little to no wages. Children across the globe are being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It is happening in our own backyard. Visit www.slaverymap.org to discover what’s happening in your home town. Denver, Houston, L.A., New York; around the world. It’s everywhere.

Can something be done? Yes. And something has, and is, being done.

I must thank my dear friend Shellie for enlightening me on this issue of which I knew nearly nothing about. Shellie recently quit her job as an interior designer. She could no longer work on a project they had in Asia. A country club by day; a night club by night, men would be able to show up, and easily hire a child for sex.

Shellie has done her research and is now volunteering her time educating those of us around her on this catastrophe. These stories don’t necessarily make breaking news. But they are breaking lives.

Visit www.notforsalecampaign.org to learn more.

It is their mission to END slavery once and for all.

A Time to Speak

Well everyone. Here I am. If you hadn’t noticed, an entire year went by that I hadn’t written in my blog. What happened?! Only the good Lord knows. But, I am delighting in the encouragement I have coming from many directions to continue to write. I’m also reminded that there is a season for everything. My year of silence in my blog didn’ t necessarily signify anything in particular, or, perhaps through such reflection this will be proven otherwise! If nothing else, it shall be my newfound pursuit of attempting to put my thoughts, or His whisperings, into words. What a beautiful thing!

Hmm. Isn’t life complex? Though at times, rather simple.

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones,
and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Where there is darkness, LIGHT

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying (to ourselves) that we are born to eternal life.”

//The Peace Prayer of St. Francis//

It is unknown who authored this prayer.  What is known is its mastery of words, its ability to draw emotion from those of us who can relate to its true description of human nature.

It’s disappointing when I feel like I’m letting someone down, letting myself down, and worse yet, letting God down. But relieving to know that God can instill hope when I feel hopeless, and can bring forth joy when I feel sad. And then there are people who seem so difficult to love! God didn’t expect us to work these things out on our own. How tiring! Thankfully He is strong when we are weak.

Where there is darkness, may there be light, as God has always promised. With his light leading the way, we can expel darkness of our world. How do we do it? Ask Him!

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

 

 

John Perkins: Former economic hit man, now advocate for human rights and environmental change

 

 

“…a compelling story that also offers hope and a vision for realizing the American dream of a just and compassionate world that will bring us greater security.”

 

  

Some say ignorance is bliss. But too often, what we don’t know will only continue to hurt and exploit others. This book has the potential to bring you to a higher level of awareness of corruption and injustice found in our world, and may urge you to speak out.

 

After working as a paid professional for years, secretly manipulating countries out of money, this author comes forward with the truth of what most of us are entirely unaware of. His work is full of insight and ethical bravery we all could stand to reflect on. He challenges those concepts many of us have heard our whole lives and determined to be absolute truth.

 

We may acknowledge that injustice permeates our world. We might have wondered who made the shirt we buy for $20; how many cents she made. We might have reminded a friend that there are orphans on the other side of the world who had only one plate of food today. But maybe…we could do a little bit more.

 

 

 

John Perkins is the founder of Dream Change, a non-profit organization which encourages people to create more sustainable ways of living. Visit www.dreamchange.org to see how global consciousness is being transformed.

When You Look at the World

U2 – When I Look at the World

When you look at the world
What is it that you see
People find all kinds of things
That bring them to their knees

I see an expression
So clear and so true
That changes the atmosphere
When you walk to the room

So I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you it’s no use
I can’t see what you see
When I look at the world

When the night is someone else’s
And you’re trying to get some sleep
When your thoughts are too expensive
To ever want to keep

When there’s all kinds of chaos
And everyone is walking lame
You don’t even blink now do you
Don’t even look away

So I try to be like you
Try to feel it like you do
But without you it’s no use
I can’t see what you see
When I look at the world

I can’t wait any longer
I can’t wait ’til I’m stronger
Can’t wait any longer
To see what you see
When I look at the world

I’m in the waiting room
I can’t see for the smoke
I think of you and your holy book
When the rest of us choke

Tell me, tell me
What do you see
Tell me, tell me
What’s wrong with me

 

 

 

 

Bono’s words will always stir something within me. How often do we get consumed by the lens with which we see the world, we don’t give another’s viewpoint a moment’s notice?

 

The stresses we undergo, the uncertainties we face, and the stories that define who we’ve become, all help to create our framework of relating to society.

 

“Without you it’s no use…tell me, what do you see?” We’re made for relationship, to bounce ideas off each other, to assist our neighbors in their pursuit of generating their own world view.

 

When you look at the world, what is it that you see?

Servants’ Hearts around the Globe

This weekend has been enlightening, challenging, and provoking all at the same time.

 

I went to a benefit dinner for The 1010 Project, which is a non-profit organization that serves people in Kenya by helping them start their own businesses. Their efforts are concentrated on raising awareness of extreme poverty in the world. One of their partners in Kenya, Michael, is here visiting the States for the first time, and was invited to speak to the United Nations in New York!

 

At church a video was presented on a family who moved to Cambodia. A few years ago they were able to start up an orphanage and are currently raising 16 children there. These vulnerable little ones were merely surviving on the streets, but now have food in their bellies, a large loving family, and a community where love and acceptance are at the forefront.

 

I watched a DVD about a newly founded orphanage in Uganda. These three young ladies from Colorado are responding to the call of seeking justice by providing a home for countless young ones on the street. Their vibrancy and deep desire to make change in these little souls is inspiring.

 

And today is Micah Sunday! The Micah Challenge is a “global Christian campaign…..halve absolute global poverty by 2015.”  Micah Sunday is a day in which churches around the world are joining together in prayer, seeking guidance and increasing awareness of extreme poverty in efforts to uphold justice and create positive change.

          

 

How remarkable it is to learn of what our neighbors are doing to stand up and fight against injustice in our world!

                               (photo pasted from www.micahchallenge.org)

 

 

 

 

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What’s Your Security Blanket?

 

 

When I was a little girl, I had a blanket. I took it with me to the grocery store, to the park, to school, and on vacation. Eventually the blanket got so torn up, that a part of it ripped off. My parents wanted to wean me from the blanket, so they told me I could only take my part with me everywhere I went.

 

I remember clutching onto my part like no one’s business. Most of the time I held it to my nose…to this day I’d be able to identify its smell! The world was totally unsafe without my part. My part and I had such a strong bond that if anyone thought of taking it away, boy were they in for a loud surprise.

 

Now I’m all grown up. And I think I still firmly hold onto certain “parts” that will never provide that security we’re all in need of.

 

I have a job. What if the company goes under? I have good health. What if I get in a horrific car accident? I have an apartment. What if it goes up in flames? I have friends and family. God could choose to take any of them home any day.

 

This world is scary. With our economy in question, understandably millions of people are concerned about their money, their savings, their retirement. It’s a precarious situation for most.

 

However, God never wanted us to place our trust in anything other than Him. Jesus says, “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.”  (John 16:33)

 

Jesus didn’t say, “You might have trouble.” He didn’t say, “Those of you who have trouble.” He said, “you will have trouble.” It’s somewhat comforting, because sometimes we think we’re the only ones.

 

Let’s face it folks: life is hard! In a world where good and evil exist simultaneously, none of us is allowed to go through life without turbulence.

 

In the midst of the storms, God is steadfast. He longs to be our one true security. Unfortunately, we tend to put our faith in other things, believing that they will give us what we need. In the end, we’re all lost without Him.

 

I thought that my part kept me safe from the world. As loving parents, they eventually took my part away. They knew I would survive without my part. In fact, I’d flourish without it! And they wanted me to see how.