By Pastor Matt Hantz

Blessed Hope Community Church

Seriously. Knock it off! At some point I'm starting to feel like a frustrated parent who wants to send 2020 to its room with no dinner.

Covid-19, quarantines, missed school, cancelled sports seasons, demonstrations, riots, violence, fights over masks. You name it - it seems to be going wrong. And now this! A windstorm that just wreaks havoc across our community and the state. Some of us were lucky - and had to clean up a few branches and limbs and were only without power for a few hours. But others weren't so lucky. Lost power, homes destroyed, property thrashed, livelihoods threatened - and months of clean-up on the horizon. And while it's great to see community come together to help one another in these difficult times - when you add them all together there is an obvious question that many people struggle with. Where is God in all of this?

That's the question a lot of people have asked me recently - why God would allow these things to happen? Really, they are asking - is God really good? If He is good, then why do bad things happen? Is it that He isn't powerful enough to stop them? Does He just not care? Is it possible that God isn't even real? And the truth is - those aren't unfair or bad questions. They are sincere, heart-felt questions that are filled with pain, uncertainty and grief - and they deserve to be answered.

So here is what I know to be trueand I hope it helps. God is real. God is good. God is powerful. God cares. God loves us. And yesevil, pain and suffering still happen in our world. Why does God allow some bad things and stop others? Honestly - I don't know. But - and here is where faith comes in - even though I don't know the purpose behind bad things happeningwhat I know about God allows me to trust Him even when I don't get it. The Bible clearly teaches a couple of helpful truths that help us have this kind of faith.

1 - God is not the creator of evil and suffering (Genesis 1:31)
2 - God is not immune from suffering, but immerses himself in it to bring us freedom (2 Cor 5:21)
3 - Though suffering isn't good - God can (and will) use it to accomplish his good purposes (Romans 8:28)
4 - The day is coming when suffering will cease and God will judge evil (2 Peter 3:9)
5 - Our present suffering will pale in comparison to what God has in store (Romans 8:18)

Listen - I know that this can be a lot to process - especially when you're right in the middle of the difficult times. Please feel free to contact me if you're struggling right now and I'll be happy to chat.

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JS August 17, 2020, 12:26 pm AMEN!

Blessings to all