Since the beginning, one of the most perplexing questions about God is, “If there is a God, why does He allow hard things in my life?” This “hard thing” could be many things. It could be the loss of financial freedom, the loss of a loved one, the pain of heartache, the fragility and loneliness of old age, and yes – WAR.

If God is a God of love and justice – and He claims He is--why does He allow hate to fester to the point that men pick up rifles and shoot one another? Why does He allow the unjust slaughter of the innocents that seems so cruel and heartless? All that bloodshed – for what purpose?  So that men who sit in ivory towers get their way?

Every single person has probably asked these perplexing questions at some point in their lives. It may be a small comfort to realize that you are not alone in asking these questions. But persistent and perplexing questions need answers. At least, we think they do. In fact, we demand answers. We are sure we deserve answers. And if we do not get an answer, we tend to start questioning God. We begin to believe that if there was a God, He would provide us with a rational explanation for our predicament.

You see, we want life to make sense. We like to experience cause and effect. So when God allows something, it needs to make sense. But when life does not make sense, we start to question God. But this is exactly where we start to go wrong. Why would we need to trust a higher power if life made sense? If wars were sensible, clean, and fulfilling, we would take them in stride and go on our merry way.

Another reason for our modern difficulty with a question like this is that we are accustomed to trusting in man’s incredible abilities to conquer great odds, solve hard questions, and develop machines to move almost any kind of “mountain” imaginable. But when God allows mankind to get into a situation out of man’s control, suddenly we realize our smallness and inability to cope. When God allows global disasters, world wars, and worldwide diseases, we are forced to come to grips with the realization that we are almost powerless.

There are two answers to this perplexing question of “why does God allow this?” The first answer is that there is no answer. While this might seem like a strange “answer,” it is not meant to be. If God is God, then His answer may not be known to us, and we will need to be satisfied with that. Isa 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. If God was a man, His reasoning would probably make sense to us. Since He is God, His thoughts and reasons for allowing the carnage of a bombed-out infrastructure and the bloodshed of thousands and maybe millions is beyond our comprehension.

The second answer follows the first – God wants us to trust Him even if it makes no sense. Because if there is no answer known to us or if it makes no sense, what is our next option? We can throw God out of the picture. But then what are we left with? The power of man; but that is limited because man cannot do everything he wants to do. The power of government, but governments can only do so much in a natural or manmade disaster. Outer space and extraterrestrial life, but if scientific fact is limited – so much more is science fiction. What are we left with? Nothing. So then, God allows these perplexities to call our attention to Him. There is nothing else left other than accepting God’s divine will and accepting the fact that God does not owe us an explanation of why He allows what He does.

If you already know of God, He is calling you to come closer to Him. He is stripping you of everything else you could place your trust in. He is calling you to put your faith and trust alone in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to this earth as God’s Son. He was willing to come and to suffer and die on the cross. As He did this, His blood was poured out as a sacrifice to offer salvation to all men. This precious blood of Christ is miraculously able to remove all the sins of mankind in the hearts of those who faithfully seek Him and accept this salvation. When we realize there is nowhere else on earth to turn, let us turn to Jesus. When we do that, we will have forgiveness for our sins and find true peace. The terribleness of war and strife on this earth reminds us of a beautiful, peaceful, war-free home in heaven!

If you do not know God, He is trying to get your attention. He loves you. The message of the gospel is for you. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God allows these perplexing things because He loves us – every single person. He loves us and wants us to trust Him. While God allows war, He also allows us free will to choose Him. Even when we find ourselves in the dark clouds of war, choosing to follow Jesus the Light of the World creates a life of goodness and Light for the Christian even amid dark clouds of hate and destruction. Those who choose the darkness find themselves on the easy road to perdition and hell. Those who choose Christ find eternal, everlasting, glorious life in Heaven. No matter what happens than in life, if we believe in Him and obey His Word, these promises will be ours. Ro 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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David Sweigart

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Pilgrim Mennonite Conference

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