Play along a moment and imagine you’re selected to be “God For A Day.” You’ll be granted absolute power for 2
4 hours. What will you do? Would you order up a luxury item or two (million) for yourself, friends and family? During their day, I think most people would eventually perform what they consider the ultimate act of good will – to remove suffering from the earth. No more poverty, disease, or bad guys. So why doesn’t God act in such a manner? He has the capabilities!
Some would argue He doesn’t actually have the ability to make such changes. Yet how could the One who called this complex universe into existence with just His Word be powerless to make comparatively lesser changes? Other people believe God is not good or compassionate after all. They reason, “If I were God, I would have done something about this mess long ago. What is He waiting for?”
In time, He will clean it all up, but for now there are more important matters than gifts and pleasures. To God, we are like children, really small children with a bent towards self-centeredness. To Him, we are like the kid laying on the floor in the store kicking and wailing because he can’t have the candy or the toy. Now a wise parent knows that indulging such a child’s whims would render him very bratty. Our “grown-up” understanding about our real needs can be as deficient as the toddler who throws his tantrums.
While I am a big fan of God’s gifts, suffering can have a high benefit in our lives. Denying a kid candy protects his health. Strict rationing of toys helps him realize he can be happy without them. God knows He risks our misunderstanding. We don’t tend to appreciate His discipline. Nor do we instinctively rejoice when He allows us to be mistreated or really sick. Yet an intense bout with adversity can open our eyes to life’s ultimate realities and help us shed our preoccupation with small things. I often connect with cancer patients about how God gained our undivided attention after our diagnoses. In the Bible a man named Job had the right attitude in the midst of his agonizing personal tragedy and illness:
“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10).
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You” (Job 4:25).
Ultimately, Job overcame his trials not because of God’s gifts, which had all been stripped away, but by God’s presence. He never goes away. Job realized God was worth loving all the time, regardless of his circumstances. We can have the very best any time, any place, any where – all because we can have Him, our Stronghold.
As for me, I’ll pass on being God for a day. There’s enough problems in the world.
Lord, help us trust your management of our lives. Teach us how to fight and when to rest. Most of all teach us to embrace the fact that You are God and empower us to trust You and Your goodness, even when we are hurting.
