"Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say... Where is the God of judgment?" —Malachi 2:17
It is very easy for
people, even Christians, to get upset with God because of the injustices in
the world. We listen to the news day-by-day and hear of so many horrible
things happening in the world, it's so sad. One of the most popular
questions that people ask me is, "Why does God allow so much suffering in the
world?" The Biblical answer is that sin causes all the misery in the
world. However, such a simple answer raises many more questions.
Such as, If God is Omnipotent, then how could He sit back and allow all this
evil to happen? Does not the Bible condemn us if we don't help a brother
in need? Yes, it does (1st John 3:17). So then why doesn't God
help people when He sees them in need? Why the double-standard?
Why didn't God stop wicked Herod from murdering thousands of children in an
attempt to kill Jesus? Why didn't God stop Pol-pot, Hitler, and Stalin?
How could a God, who says He loves mankind, sit back and watch little children
be raped, tortured, and killed? In EVERY war, unspeakable atrocities
occur in staggering numbers. I saw a young African girl on TV who had
survived the Rwandan killings. She had been gang raped and had her head
spilt open like a watermelon with a machete. Tragically, she survived.
Where is the God of judgment? Where is justice?
I have just shared with you the reasoning of hundreds-of-millions of people. So many people get angry at God, even denying Jesus Christ, because of the woes of the world. The prophet Malachi under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit said that God is wearied when we ask the question..."Where is the God of Judgment?" I can relate to these feelings myself at times. I have often asked God why He allows the blatant wickedness in Washington D.C. to continue. Then I realize that it's because America's citizens are apathetic and complacent concerning sin. In fact, Americans sit night after night watching godless Late Night Shows like Conan and Jay Leno. These shows glorify sin, corruption, and everything that is unholy or immoral. God and His Word have been kicked out of the public school system, yet people get angry when I speak the truth by saying that public schools are godless. It is no wonder that Americans murder their children through abortion, accept homosexuality, indulge in pornography, accept witchcraft (Harry Potter), listen to Satan-inspired rock music, and curse in God's name. When you remove God, all that remains is the Devil.
I used to get upset with God and ask Him why He doesn't do something about the miseries in the world. Even though I realized that sin was behind most of the suffering, I became impatient watching it continue to happen, feeling helpless. Over time, I came to realize several truths which the Holy Spirit needed to teach me. The Holy Spirit asked me, "Do you really think God doesn't care?" I knew that God cared (1st Peter 5:7). The Holy Spirit reminded me that horrible things happened back in the Bible too. Jacob loved Rachel dearly but she died while giving birth to Benjamin. I'm sure Jacob asked God, "Why?" Suffering is nothing new. The simple truth is that we are living in a fallen world (1st John 5:19). Look at all the Israelites that Pharaoh murdered to thin the herd. God allowed that atrocity to happen, yet He spared Moses. We don't know why God does what He does, but we must trust Him. Here are a few truths I learned:
1. Either we trust God or we don't. It's as simple as that folks. God told us in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Someone once said that if God were small enough for me to understand, then he wouldn't be big enough to handle my problems. There is no way that our finite, frail, and corrupt fleshly bodies made of dust will ever understand an Infinite, Omnipotent, Holy, and Divine God until God explains it to us in Heaven. I am going to trust God no matter what, just as Job said in Job 13:15, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."
2. God knows what He is doing. God could stop the suffering instantly if He wanted, we must trust God's wisdom. We read in 2nd Peter 3:9 that God is "longsuffering." Which means that God is incredibly patient with mankind. If God were to intercede and stop men from committing evil, then it would defeat the entire purpose for which God created mankind. Revelation 4:11 declares that mankind was created to "please" God. If we don't please God, then it is only because we don't want to. Hebrews 11:6 says that we cannot please God without faith. God formed man from the dirt of the earth and breathed life into his undeserving body. Man became a living soul. God gave man a conscience and the Written Word of God to guide him in all matters of morality, justice, and faith. Sadly, most people spit on God's plan of redemption. Ironically, most of those wicked people are religious people (Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Lutherans, Orthodox...all FALSE religions). It truly is man's wickedness that brings so much misery upon this world. We should not blame God or get upset with God for doing what He chooses to do as the Supreme Creator of the Universe. God knows what He's doing, after all...He did speak the universe into existence.
3. The wicked will pay. Psalm 7:11 declares that God is angry with the wicked every day. John 3:36 reads, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Galatians 6:7 promises us that a man will reap what he sows in life. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the great white throne judgment when the wicked will be judged according to their works and then cast into the lake of fire forever with Satan. Romans 12:19 promises that God will repay ("punish" in Greek) all evildoers. No one is going to get away with anything or else God would be a liar. Yet, it is difficult for us to hear of these great atrocities when there is so little we can do to help them. Much of the suffering in poorer nations is the result of gangster government. I remember after the deadly Tsunami that killed at least 216,000 people that some countries refused to allow any direct aid to it's people. All the money, food, and funds had to go through the government thugs who just wanted to steal everything. So much of the aid from the United Nations is stolen while the poor continue to starve to death. Believe me, Hell WILL be hot enough for these types of tyrants, God will make sure of it. God is not willing for anyone to perish (2nd Peter 3:9), but he will punish the wicked with flaming vengeance (2nd Thessalonians 1:8).
4. The world needs Jesus. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually. Please note that spiritual death is not the same thing as the "second death." The "second death" mentioned in Revelation 20:15 is when a person is cast into Hell fire. "Spiritual death" is what Adam brought into the world when he sinned, and has passed upon all mankind (Romans 5:12). EVERYONE is born spiritually dead, without God. This is why EVERY person must be "born again" by the Spirit of Christ. Yet, men rebel against God and despise the Word of God. Instead, the world's leaders turn to Satanic Freemasonry and Devilish occult groups to guide them, with Satan as their god. This is tragic, but foretold in the Scriptures (2nd Corinthians 4:4). All we can do is preach the Gospel of Christ and try to wake people up concerning the truth. Most people won't listen, but a few will. Jesus wasn't just concerned about the group, He was concerned about that one lost sheep, the individual. We must not allow the problems of the world to cause us to slack off on soul winning. The world needs Jesus today as much as it ever has, and the great commission to go soulwinning is still in the Bible (Matthew 28:19,20. Let us proclaim Christ crucified to the masses! Let us tell other about the blood of Jesus that cleanses away our sins forever! Thank God!
5. It hurts God deeply when we accuse Him of not caring or not being just. This is really the main point of my article. I was studying the Bible one day and noticed something in Malachi 2:17 that I had never seen before..."Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say...Where is the God of judgment?" -Malachi 2:17. It really made me feel bad when I read those words. I thought about all those times that I had questioned God, asking Him why He puts up with so much evil and corruption. I never thought that it wearied God when we ask those types of questions. Then I thought about Ephesians 4:30, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Did you know that we can "grieve" God? Ephesians 4:25-32 mentions several things that grieve God. It greatly grieves God when we don't trust Him.
I've always heard that faith is obeying the Bible, and it certainly is, but faith is also what the Bible motivates us to do. Faith is what causes us to do things for God. It is by faith that I built and maintain this website. It was by faith that Noah built the ark. It was by faith that David went out to fight Goliath. It was by faith that Rahab the harlot hid the spies. It grieves God when we question His justice. It grieves God when we say that He must not care. God does things His own way, and in His own time. Isaiah 55:8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." I once saw a sign that read, "An emergency on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part." Many of us expect God to act based upon what we think is important. But God's ways are above our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. What is important to God is that we trust Him unconditionally, no matter what. Mr. Job set the example for us in Job 13:15 when he so wisely said, ""Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..." END
