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Category Archives: Does God allow suffering?

Is God in Control?

The issue of God’s sovereignty is a highly debated one. It has presented itself in scores of questions through the ages, such as: Does God’s will always prevail? Is God responsible for natural disasters? Does God cause or allow sickness? Is God in control of everything that happens on the earth?

When we take a good look at how God’s will was modelled through the life of Jesus however, the answers literally jump out at us! Everything Jesus did was exactly what the Father wanted, because Jesus had the same nature as the Father.

God’s Son has all the brightness of God’s own glory and is like him in every way. (Heb 1:3a CEV)


Jesus vs. the Father?

If disasters, diseases and death were the Father’s will, then Jesus and the Father would have constantly been at each other’s throats:

1)     If the storm on the lake which tried to kill Jesus and His disciples was the Father’s will, then Jesus’ rebuke of the storm was against the Father’s will (Mark 4:37-41).

2)     If God had “allowed” the son of the widow of Nain to die, then by raising the boy from the dead Jesus operated contrary to the Father’s will (Luke 7:11-17).

3)     If it was God’s will for the ten lepers be ill, then Jesus was violating the Fathers will by healing them (Luke 17:11-19).

The truth is that a kingdom divided cannot stand. Jesus was not out on some solo rogue mission – He only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19).


Natural Disasters

On 22 February 2011 a massive earthquake struck Christchurch in New Zealand, killing dozens of people. Many “doom and gloom” prophets were in agreement that it was God’s judgment of that nation. Cornel Marais (www.charismaminstries.org) however slammed the nail in the coffin with this truth: “If God were responsible for the earthquake in New Zealand, then every rescue worker and doctor who are trying to save people’s lives are directly opposing God’s will – stop preaching stupid theology!”

The same goes for the magnitude 8.9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami which hit Japan on 11 March 2011, killing thousands and thousands of people. There were outcries of these disasters being “Signs that the end is near” and statements like “What else does God have to do to get people’s attention?” Truth be told though, all these events are tell tale signs of a church who doesn’t care or who doesn’t know who she really is… Jesus would never have allowed a tsunami or a flood or a storm to kill those He loved.


Creation Subject to Frustration

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom 8:19-21 ESV)

Creation is groaning and creaking because of mankind’s fall in Eden. The entire planet is waiting for the sons of God (believers) to rise up and rule again! After creating the universe in six days, God left mankind in charge of His creation:

And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the seas, and over birds of the heavens, and over all beasts creeping on the earth. (Gen 1:28 LITV)

What are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them? Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you placed them over all creation. (Psa 8:4-6 GNB)

But with Adam’s fall, death entered the world (Rom 5:12). Nevertheless the command to rule the earth still remained – God never commanded mankind to stop ruling. In man’s fallen state however this was an impossible task, since Satan had hijacked the planet and was wreaking havoc at his leisure. Even Jesus acknowledged him as the ruler of this world (John 12:31). Yet this was exactly why Jesus came in the flesh:

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8b NKJV)

And as born again, spirit filled believers who have been given all the benefits that Jesus had while He walked the earth, our mandate is also to destroy the devil’s works!


On Earth as it is in Heaven

The fact that Jesus prayed these very words is a clear indication that not everything that happens in the earth is God’s will! Why would Jesus have prayed these words if God’s will was always triumphing? Because if God’s will was prevailing everywhere on earth at present, that would make Him responsible for all the destruction, violence, famines, wars and devastation we see today. How can we ask for help from the very same person who is trying to kill and destroy us? If God were really in control, it would mean He is a mass murderer!

One of the ugliest things to say to a person after they’ve had an accident or suffered some sort of loss or after they’ve received bad news is: “Don’t worry, God is in control”, or “It’s OK, God has a plan.” This implies that God is so lacking of ways to demonstrate His splendour that He has to go around harming people so that He can rescue them again. What a dumb theory…


Suffering

All of the suffering and persecution endured by the New Testament saints came about as a result of their stand for the gospel. Not once does the context refer to God putting them through some sort of trail to test their faithfulness. Jesus already tasted death on our behalf so we won’t have to be tempted or tested. If we were to endure temptation in the here and now, it would certainly not be of God.

Another Bible verse which has been butchered by those who blame God for suffering is Romans 8:28 which says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

What this verse is actually saying is that whenever something bad happens to a believer (whether it’s due to their own poor choices, due to an attack by the devil or simply because we live in a fallen word) God is able to use those bad circumstances and turn it around for the good. This does not say that God caused the bad circumstances!


Sowing and Reaping

An unfortunate result of mankind being given the wonderful privilege of having a free will is that we can choose to destroy ourselves. Apart from our decision to believe in Christ unto eternal life (which ensures that all the eternal consequences are good), all our decisions here on earth have good or bad consequences, here on earth:

Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant. If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life. So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith. (Gal 6:7-10 GNB)

We can see from these verses that we are encouraged to do good to others, simply because it will have good consequences. However when we make bad decisions during our life on this earth, we might sometimes have to face the bad consequences for these decisions. Chain smokers may end up with cancer. Thieves may land up in prison. Adulterers may end up with sexually transmitted diseases. Still salvation, healing and deliverance is freely available to all these people. Sin cannot stop the power of God! If it could, then God would not have been able to save us in the first place.


A Faith Destroying Prayer

God’s will is actually very easy to discern: Anything we see happening on the earth that would not be tolerated in Heaven, is not God’s will – bottom line.

When we command sickness to leave a person’s body, but we say “Lord if it’s Your will” afterwards, we effectively nullify and cancel that prayer. How can we pray with faith if we are unsure about whether we are praying in God’s will? God’s will is that ALL be healed, saved, delivered, restored and blessed.

But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, not dependable in all his ways. (Jam 1:6-7 MKJV)

The Bible lists only two job descriptions, we need to make up our minds about who is responsible for life and who is responsible for death:

The thief does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly. (John 10:10 LITV)

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Job

Job

This often misquoted, misunderstood book in the Bible has been the cause of much blame to fall on God for causing sickness, poverty, despair, loss of loved ones and suffering. In fact it’s almost strange if any Christian has not at some point in their life blamed God for something bad that’s happened to them, thinking: “If He allowed it to happen to Job, He’ll allow it to happen to me”.

According to some theologians Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible, written even before Moses recorded Genesis to Deuteronomy. Job was an upright and God fearing man: [Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil]. Since the Law and 10 Commandments had not been introduced yet, there was no standard of holiness to try and measure up to and Job had free and open access to God’s presence. Then one day the following happened: [Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it”]. How did satan ever manage to get to Heaven and appear before God? This is a topic we will look at in depth in our next message.

The point is, even IF satan could manage at one point to stand in heaven before God, he can’t do it any longer. Shortly after Jesus had sent out the 70 disciples, they came back to Him, rejoicing that even demons were subject to His name: [Luk 10: Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven]. Satan was cast out from heaven (again) on that day! He no longer had any right to stand before God and accuse mankind of anything! Therefore we do not have to fear that satan can report any bad conduct to God anymore. It has all been forgiven at the cross.

During the period that satan tried to destroy Job, things were made even worse by Job’s friends who came and talked with him, trying to share their “wisdom”. We saw in Job 1:1 that Job was a righteous man, but now Eliphaz accused him of being sinful and that his suffering was because of his iniquity: [Job 4:7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same].

Job himself also accuses God of quite a few atrocious things: [Job 9:31 God throws me into a pit with filth, and even my clothes are ashamed of me. 32 If God were human, I could answer him; we could go to court to decide our quarrel. 33 But there is no one to step between us – no one to judge both God and me. 34 Stop punishing me, God! Keep your terrors away!] (GNB). Job claims it is God who is killing Him: [Job 13:15a Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him].

In the end, after going around in circles many times and having the issue even more confused by his 3 friends, God steps in and speaks to Job from within a violent storm: [Job 38:1 And now, finally, GOD answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said: 2 "Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about? 3 Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers] (MSG).

God then goes on to describe the spectacular ways in which He created the universe, including animals, the oceans and the heavens and asks Job if he was ever present when these things were created. In the end Job realizes the error of his ways and his foolish words and he becomes too distressed to speak: [Job 40:3 Job answered: 4 "I'm speechless, in awe – words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! 5 I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen"] (MSG). [Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know].

Now if we can forget about being religious and think logically for a moment: If somebody were to talk about things they did not understand, what are they actually doing? They are talking rubbish! Job was talking rubbish! He even admitted it several times! We can therefore not accuse God for punishing us, allowing difficulty in our lives, stealing from us or anything of the likes since we would be talking rubbish.

Our Father is a good God and a giver of good things: [Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning].

If anybody claims they are going through a “Job experience” but does not come out twice as rich and blessed on the other side as they were going in, then they have not really experienced what Job went through but have instead experienced first hand what it’s like to be robbed by the devil:  [John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly]. These are the only 2 job descriptions in the Bible – it’s up to us to decide who is responsible for which…

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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Innocent as Children

Offense and unbelief in God’s goodness can be two of the most crippling forces in the life of a Christian, and something that all believers need to guard against. It was unbelief in the goodness of God that caused Adam & Eve to eat from that tree in the Garden of Eden. God had already given them everything AND they were created in the image of God Himself! (Gen 1:27 And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him). But Satan convinced them that somehow God was still holding out on them, that they “could” be like Him, when in fact they already were!! The writer of Hebrews also commands us to guard against this same attitude: Heb 3:12 Take heed, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

We see the same thing in the hearts of many Christians today. We have all been disappointed or hurt at some point in our lives, either by life itself or by people, and when we have on top of this a heart that has been hardened to a certain extent towards God (who is NOT responsible for any hurt or pain in our lives), we tend to start asking Him why these things have to happen to us. “Why me Lord?? Why are You allowing this?” The biggest cause of people doubting the goodness of God is the filter through which they see life. The goodness of God can be seen all around us, and when we get to know Him as He TRULY reveals Himself through His Word we can not help but to be overwhelmed by His goodness! Even the angels shouted it out when Jesus was born: Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Even mature Christians can carry offense around when they know that the disease they have commanded to leave in the name of Jesus is supposed to leave that person’s body, but it doesn’t. Even as I am writing this I have just spent the past WEEK at home suffering from the worst flu I have probably ever had. Now in my life I have seen deaf ears open, cancers healed, demons cast out, etc etc, but no amount of rebuking, resting, commanding the flu to go, having communion, simply “receiving” or soaking would make this flu go. I could easily have begun asking God: “Why Lord? Why do I have to suffer like this? Your Word says that by the stripes of Jesus I have been healed, so why am I not seeing my healing?” I can choose to adopt this attitude and let offense creep in, or I can choose to worship God in spite of my circumstances. In heaven there will be no suffering or sickness, so this life is the only time that I can bring God an offering IN my pain and in spite of my pain, even though He is not responsible for it.

Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding (California) says that he has learned that the secret to staying fresh in God is to focus on the things that God is doing, and not on the things that God isn’t doing. Rob Rufus from City Church International (Hong Kong) says that the secret is to have the innocent heart of a child restored to you, feeling as though you have never sinned and as if nobody has ever sinned against you.

Some people’s hearts are so hardened that they have become filled to the brim with skepticism and doubt in the goodness of God. These people, even if God were to perform a mighty miracle right in front of their eyes, they would still try to find some way of explaining it away.  They will believe that there could have been some form of a hoax involved, some trickery and that they are actually being “holy” not to be deceived by this so-called “miracle”.

John the Baptist, the mighty prophet and forerunner of the Messiah, whom had seen the Spirit of God descend and remain on Jesus, had been imprisoned Herod. Now John could have chosen to keep on believing because of the things he had seen, but instead he became offended and began doubting Jesus because of his own sorry circumstances, so he sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him if He were REALLY the Messiah. So Jesus sent him this reply: Mat 11:4 Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John again those things which you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel proclaimed to them. 6 And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in Me.

About 3 weeks ago I had an amazing conversation about “ministry” & “calling” with my friend Johannes Loubser in South Africa over Skype, and just as we had said goodbye, a feather (which I believe with my child like faith to be angelic) came floating down right in front of me out of nowhere (remember I was inside a closed room) and landed on my desk! If I had given any room in my heart to offense with the flu this week, I could easily have forgotten about the feather from 3 weeks ago. But you see the faith that sprung from that miracle 3 weeks ago kept me going through this tough time! I have learned in my life that offense can never be given, it can only be taken. No matter how bad the insult, the denial or betrayal, you still have to TAKE offense.

Offence & unbelief in the goodness of God can creep in through years of indoctrination by powerless preachers who form theologies to make excuses for their lack of power, instead of adjusting their theologies to conform to the level of God’s Word. Mar 7:13 making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have delivered. Heidi Baker from Iris Ministries (Mozambique) often lets her orphan children pray for the sick and they have a success rate of over 90% in healing deaf people, as well as seeing many other breathtaking miracles occur daily. She says that the reason why she mostly has her children pray for the sick is because all children still believe that God does miracles, that He can heal cancer and open deaf ears. And they will keep on believing it until an adult tells them God can’t do it. They have not been “ruined” yet by materialism and unbelief and they have pure hearts that believe in the mighty power of the kingdom of God.

Maybe this was part of the reason why Jesus said the following: Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, Allow the little children to come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven. And also Mat 18:3 and said, Truly I say to you, Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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Does God Cause / Allow Sickness?

[Isa 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed].

At the cross Jesus was made to be sin for us (even though He had no sin), so that we can become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). At the very same cross He was also made our sickness & disease so that we can walk in complete health and administer divine healing to all those people who are afflicted with infirmities. People who question that it’s God’s will to heal the diseases of ALL people should therefore also question that it’s God’s will to forgive the sins of ALL people.

Do you think there is any sickness in Heaven? No. Sickness is so foreign to God’s holy perfect nature, that if He were to touch for example a lump of cancer, it would instantly disintegrate into nothingness. Sickness can not co-exist in the presence of God. Jesus died so that we could walk in perfect health!! He bore our infirmities and by His stripes we were healed (1 Pet 2:24)!! So if He did all this for us, we should then ask why would He still make us sick and thereby cancel/void the work of the cross? Does God have a split personality? Is He double minded? Of course not.

No, sometimes sickness comes on believers because we allow it. God gave all authority on earth to mankind, we were told to rule the earth [Gen 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth”]. Jesus came 2000 years ago to restore the authority that God gave to mankind, but which was lost by Adam in the Garden of Eden. Jesus took back this authority from the devil and disarmed him completely, and gave this authority back to the church. And Jesus also gave specific commands regarding healing: [Matt 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give].

Did Jesus say “pray for the sick?” No! He said “heal the sick”. Now why would Jesus tell us to do something if it would be impossible for us to do it?

Right now, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. What is He doing there? [Heb 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool]. Jesus is waiting for you and I to step into what we were called to be: Ambassadors of His kingdom clothed with the presence and authority of our King. By administrating God’s healing to people’s diseases, casting out demons and advancing His kingdom, we are making the devil God’s footstool.

The world is also waiting for something. [Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God]. From these verses we can see that creation is waiting for the sons of God to be made manifest in the earth. Until the day we, as the church, begin to step out and start bringing heaven to earth through faith, this world will be subject to frustration. The sons of God are you and me. [Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus]. Also see, Gal 4:6 & Heb 12:7). We walk in His calling as sons of God when we allow the mighty Holy Spirit to work though us to bring heaven’s influence into the earth. [Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God].

God does NOT use sickness to test our character or to bring Himself glory. It is God’s will for ALL to be healed. Sickness, depression & death are all from the enemy, but health, joy & life are gifts from God. [Jam 1:7 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning]. God doesn’t need to “test” the faithfulness of anybody’s heart with sickness, because God has already approved of us – He is perfectly pleased with us through the obedience of His Son Jesus on our behalf.

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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