Does God permit some bad things?

I recently had a 2 day long theological debate with one of my many dear friends who resides in the UK. We often chat via blackberry messenger. The subject matter was whether God permits certain trials and difficult situations in the life of a Christian, or whether all trials are orchestrated independently by the devil, without God’s permission.

This is going to be a long but very interesting read, so brace up.

 She is of the opinion that as Christians, things are supposed to come easily for us because all good things (healing, good jobs, success, finances etc) have been won for us by Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. She feels challenges are not from God, but from the devil, and believes that most Christians accept bad things that happen to us as God’s will.

I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that God permits certain challenges and trials to happen to us for his eventual glory. I cited Jobs trials as my example. God permitted the devil to tempt Job to show the devil that he (Job) would love God despite losing everything. I also cited the example of God manifesting his glory through the trials of infertility in many faithful Christian married couples, who after years of waiting, finally birth their child/children.

   She said unlike Job, we have our authority and dominion  given back to us(Thanks to Jesus).Just as God allowed Job go through what he went through, God is waiting on us to use what Christ purchased for  us. However, we are being passive experiencing what we shouldn’t be experiencing and accusing God of allowing bad things. She said Hebs 8:6 says we have a better covenant than the old one. Instead we are being passive, waiting on God to do what he has already given us, waiting on him to do what he told us to do; which is to go into the world, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers etc. In her words, ‘Let’s speak His word in every situation. I assure you, in due time, we will reap the harvest.’

This makes crystal clear sense to me.

However, I reminded her about John 9:1-7.In this scripture, Jesus and his disciples encountered a man blind from birth and when asked if it was his or his parents sins that cause the blindness, Jesus said in verse 3, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’. I believe God allowed this man to be afflicted with blindness from birth just so that Jesus may heal him and this great testimony may be recorded in the bible.

She believes that Jesus came for the purpose to heal (which I totally agree), because it is His will. Also that the man’s blindness came from the devil. (Yes I agree, but I believe God permitted the devil to strike him with blindness. However, she feels the devil acted independently). She said the verse never said God allowed it or caused it, instead it shows how much God wants us well that He may take all the glory. She feels when we are afflicted, we should not embrace the trails but rebuke them and receive our healing, strength, favour etc, as won for us by Jesus.  To this I thought, what about the many faithful Christians with myriads of illness and issues (e.g. infertility) ,who rebuke these ‘trials’ and declare the word , pray, fast, sow seeds of faith and are still yet to receive their healing; till its Gods timing. Once again, the cases of infertility that birth their babies after many years of waiting. Doesn’t that mean the trials are there for a purpose, for Gods ultimate glory at the end?

If things were to be so rosy for Christians as she believes, why did Paul tell us in Hebrews 12:7-12, ‘Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined (And everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers discipline us and we respected them for it. How much more we submit to the father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplines us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. However, to this , she replied that I took it out of context that God disciplines us not by hardships but by the word of God ,as is found in 2 Tim 3:16 which says ,’all scripture is for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

She cited James 1:13, which says when we are tempted we should not say we are tempted by God. I believe she interpreted this scripture wrongly, in her bid to counter my point that God allows some trials. I believe this scripture instead, simply explains that God never tempts us to sin, temptation comes to everyone; .Jesus Christ himself was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. The problem is our yielding to it which occurs because we have evil desires, lust or passions that are not being controlled. The trials will test our faith. But the temptation to be unfaithful to God during hardship is not from Him. He is, by definition, good. He can’t be tempted by evil; He tempts no person with evil.

I kept affirming that some, not all tribulations, are approved by God, though caused by the devil. I reminded her of Paul’s thorn in his flesh, 2 Corinth 12:7-10. To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassing great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me; but He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ power may rest on me. This is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

To me, human nature is naturally self seeking, ungrateful and forgetful. It would be easier to forget God’s awesomeness if things go smoothly all the time. We would trust and have faith in ourselves and we would have no need for God. Christ would not have said we should ask, seek, and knock (Matt 7:7), if things would come easily.  

She then asked me if rape, robbery, poverty, infertility were caused by God, I said No. Hence she said, therefore we should not accept any of these things as God’s will. I then asked why doesn’t He prevent them from happening especially as in some cases, these bad things draw us nearer to God. Her reply makes sense. She said God doesn’t control our free will. Also because these things are from the devil, He expects us to use our God given authority. She said contrary to what people believe, God doesn’t control everything. We make choices and decisions for or against Him.

I am of the opinion that, in the face of trials, God strengthens and helps us. Some trails bring out of us steadfastness,endurance,patience.Romans 5:3-6 says, Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that sufferings bring perseverance, perseverance,  character, character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who he has given us.  Also Isaiah 41:10, 41:15, 41:17 shows how God is ever willing to strengthen His own.

I know things will always work together for our good (Romans 8:28), thanks to Jesus. No one wants difficult situations, however these things happen. Having this mentality that trials come, helps me remain thankful to God in the midst of it and helps me trust Him. If we profess to have faith, we must be guaranteed that sooner or later our faith will be put to test..Joyce Meyer. Our trials give us a testimony. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all (Psalm 34:19).We cannot have a testimony without a test.

These trials permitted by God are not in any way God punishing us for our sins, that’s a lie from the pit of hell; for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

To tidy up her point, she made a beautiful analogy I must admit. As parents, we know our children may be bullied in school, so we teach them how to defend themselves from these bullies. Imagine how confused we would be, if after teaching them self defense they come home to accuse us of allowing other children to bully them. They were equipped with the foreknowledge for such challenges yet they chose not to practice what they were taught. The children eventually learn the hard way, even though that wasn’t how it was intended in the first place.

While writing this post, I was a little confused still, as to why it SEEMS God allows some bad things to happen. I kept asking the Holy Spirit to show me the truth.Thank God, He gave me a gentle teaching and understanding through this article.HERE

In Summary, it says, God is pure love and never wishes harm to anyone. The idea that it is Gods will that bad things happen to people is not only misguided but potentially devastating. How can people love a God who wishes ill or has hurt them. God wills only good for His people. There is nothing more important to our creator than for every one of us to have as much happiness and fulfillment as humanly possible. When bad things happen, God feels our pain, is very present with us, and works to bring out the best in a bad situation.

Dear Zukky, I am very glad we had this banter. I understand your view point but I feel you get it wrong by thinking things will be rosy for Christians because of Christ. The trials will come, and just as you affirmed, we should resist the devil, firm in faith. Most importantly, we should trust God. We must always remember the premise that God is good; a loving father. He desires that we walk in health and not in sickness or disease.

Dear reader, this is one topic I would like you to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.

Action Plan...Let us pray;

Lord I confess that you are good, and there is no evil in you. I rely entirely on you. Dear Lord, I ask that You activate the power and authority of the Holy Spirit in us, to renew our minds, teach us Your word and strengthen us in whatever difficulty,   the devil may bring our way.  Shed your light on the dark areas of our lives; loosen every knots of confusion. Help us know that it pleases you that we have as much happiness and fulfillment as humanly possible. Give us a clear understanding of your authority at work within us, that we may live truly victorious Christian lives, in Jesus name, Amen.