Tough Questions

Hello again from Central Arkansas. Despite this surprisingly aggressive storm season, we are all still here and doing well. Things are rolling along routinely, I suppose. Tiffany and I are counting the days until our summer vacation to St. Lucia. In preparation, I have been exercising, running, and pumping iron like never before.  I'm in the best physical condition of my life at just south of 30 years old. Special thanks to Joey, Matt, and Chris for being reliable workout partners. I met a man at our monthly Wednesday night meetings with the Christians at Emeritus Retirement Center who told me that he'd made it to 97 years old recently.  I could tell this wasn't a medically assisted number. He stood before me looking fit and healthy, with good posture and strong shoulders.  He told me that he attributed his longevity to regular exercise in his younger years.  As I shook his hand, I marveled at how he still had a firm grip.  I guess there is something to all this sweating after all.

I was going to pen an easy read today. It was going to be a quick update, followed by some thoughts on grilling for the holiday weekend. There's a problem, though. All these storms, along with the death, destruction, and pain they have brought along, have troubled me. I decided to try to verbalize the thoughts I've had and the conflict that has come with them. I apologize in advance if they come off as shocking, heretical, or otherwise faithless in any way, as I don't intend them to be. Here goes....

We pray to God for protection. We ask Him to be our shield, our shelter from the storm, and we mean it literally. "Don't let this tornado blow me away."  Then, when the storm passes, we thank and praise God for His protection. And then.....we ask His comfort on those who were killed, hurt, or uprooted.  Joplin, MO was nearly wiped off the map this week. Were there not saints there? Did they pray for protection?  What happened? And if God is doing what we like to think He's doing (answering our prayers for safety) then what did the saints in Joplin (or Tuscaloosa, Vilonia, or elsewhere) do that brought such a fate on them? Are we just special? Is it all a part of some plan, some grand design?

Consider a quote from famed Christian thinker and writer R.C. Sproul. These thoughts probably lie at the root of the questions I have. 

"If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God's sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled. Perhaps that one maverick molecule will lay waste all the grand and glorious plans that God has made and promised to us... Maybe that one molecule will be the thing that prevents Christ from returning."

Sproul is verbalizing what most of us have grown up believing without question. We believe, and rightfully so, that God's promises are true and that Christ will return. Therefore, God must be in total control of everything, because if He wasn't then He wouldn't be God and couldn't make such promises.  Right? Right?

I have weak moments, and maybe this is one of them. I'll admit to that. I'm just being 100% truthful with you when I say that this doesn't add up for me.  Do we conclude that God brought the storms?  Do we try to give Him a pass by saying he "allowed" them? I suppose these matters are far too complicated to be resolved by a quick answer or a couple of hastily selected scriptures. This is a mean, cruel, and unforgiving world that is occupied by an even more cruel enemy who, according to I John 5:19, has control here. Is this enemy, Satan, nothing more than "God's dog on God's leash," as some have said? If so, why is he constantly described as an enemy, foe, and general opponent of God's will? Alternatively, why are we told to stand guard, to "watch and pray," putting complete faith and trust in the Father if He is the one orchestrating all the calamity and trouble we face to begin with? Does that make any sense?

Some of you might be troubled by all this. To some, it might appear that I am questioning the sovereignty of the Father. Trust me, that is not the case. I believe with every fiber of my being that God is who He claims to be, and He is sovereign. However, I don't think belief in a sovereign God requires belief in an all-controlling God. I don't think I have to try to find a "purpose" in every tragic event. Sometimes tragedies just happen. Sometimes, they might be caused by the enemy. And sometimes, we bring them on ourselves. I have to ask these questions, difficult as they are to consider. You see, I interact with people who do not believe in our God on a regular basis. They believe in man, science, and reason. If I tell them the storms were "God's will" or "part of a plan," they are going to call me on it and make me explain myself. And I can't do that without making God appear to be the culprit or an accessory.  I can, however, describe a God who is at war. I can speak to them of a God who fights with me through this battle of life, a God who is there with incredible comfort and strength when the difficult times come.  I can tell them that we are living on a battlefield, and I stand with the strongest warrior in the fight. Battles go back and forth, and casualties are almost a certainty. In the end, however, I know that the strong warrior I stand with will win conclusively and permanently. I can't justify or reason my way through every tragedy.  I can stand by the constant, unmoving God who will be there after the storms have passed.