“It was a tragic act of God.”
When a major disaster occurs, it’s not unusual for someone to refer to it as an “act of God.” The term is used in relation to tornadoes, hurricanes, massive flooding and other natural phenomena. Granted, there are those who refer to them as acts of nature, but just as often, God is the one who is blamed for the event that led to a loss of property and sometimes lives.
We don’t limit the blame to God on those matters only. When people die unexpectedly through an illness or some accident, it’s not unusual for us to turn to God and ask Him why. Why, not in the sense of “help me to understand” (though that is often a part of it), but more often than not it’s along the lines of “God, You need to explain Yourself in allowing this to happen.” It becomes an accusatory statement, one of questioning whether or not God had a valid reason for such an event.
I’ve heard well-meaning people attribute losses to God—“It was God’s will that your child died,” for instance.
It seems that we are quick to blame God when things go wrong, but not so quick to give Him the credit when things go well for us.
And I think we need to ask the question why these two things happen—God gets the blame, but we take the credit. What causes us to come to these conclusion?
The God of Judgment
I think a large part of the mentality that God is responsible for all things bad stems from the fact that God’s judgment in the Old Testament resulted in bad things happening to people. Being kicked out of Eden was God’s doing. The Flood was God’s judgment. The destruction of Jericho had God’s fingerprints all over it. There are numerous examples of God working in our world to bring calamity to a people or a person.
But we ignore other factors that enter into bad things happening to people, both good and bad. Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden because of their disobedience and sin. God sent the flood to destroy evil people, but He also sent redemption through the Ark. Though all of Jericho was destroyed for their sinfulness, God spared Rahab and her family because of her faith in God as demonstrated through the way she protected the spies from Israel.
We can look at Job for an example of how God did not directly cause the suffering, but rather allowed Satan to bring suffering to Job. It is important to realize that Job’s ordeal was a test of his faith, not a punishment. Because Job was strong in his faith, he was able to endure the afflictions that fell upon him and, in the end, have a greater awareness and understanding of God. The same is true of Joseph and others in the Bible who, through no fault of their own, endured hardship that brought them closer to God.
“Yes, but Job suffered because God let it happen,” you may say. Granted. But that doesn’t make God the heavy in this. Remember that Satan threw everything he had against Job, but God would only let Satan go so far. Job suffered horribly, and God allowed him to suffer horribly, but God knew the end result and God brought about greater blessings to Job because of the trials Job endured.
“But God allowed the suffering. Wouldn’t it be fair, then, to say that Job’s suffering was God’s doing?” No, because though God allowed the suffering, God did not directly cause the suffering. Satan was the one who brought the torment on. For Satan, it was the opportunity to disprove Job’s faith. Satan could have easily said to God, “I’ll grant You that Job is a righteous man. But he’s one of a very few. Look at all the many more who don’t know You or even really care about You.”
Joseph’s suffering was at the hands of evil people who had evil plans and designs against him. Potiphar’s wife, Joseph’s brothers and even the forgetful fellow inmates all had selfish motives for the things they did. God didn’t put any of that into their heads, yet God is blamed.
We see tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis, earthquakes and torrential rains, forest fires and other horrific natural disasters and blame God. We never stop to think that we live in a fallen world, where evil is strong, and the sway of Satan is powerful. Sometimes things happen as a result of an imperfect world, but that doesn’t mean that God is behind it all.
Ignoring the God of Love and Freedom
When we consider God, we can focus strictly on His sovereignty, and if we do, then it would seem fair to attribute life’s travails to God. In fact, there are numerous verses in the Bible that attest to God’s sovereign power. It was God alone who hardened Pharaoh’s heart. In Malachi, God makes a statement about loving Jacob but hating Esau, even though they were brothers. There are a lot of verses that speak to God’s sovereign nature. God is God. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9).
But there are also verses that speak to God’s love and His willful restriction of His sovereign power to allow us freedom to choose. John 3:16 speaks to whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants everyone to be saved, but He’s not going to force Himself on us—it is a matter of freedom and of choice, and of God limiting His sovereignty in this matter. Jesus calls those who are thirsty to come to Him for living water—seeming to be our choice to decide if we are thirsty (cf. John 7:37-38).
The fact that God’s love is so vast allows Him to limit His sovereignty and allow us the freedom to make choices. And those choices can result in adverse circumstances coming into our lives. A person makes the mistake of getting behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of an over the counter drug that impairs the ability to drive and ends up causing an accident that takes the life of another. The person may truly regret what he or she has done, and truly repent of the foolish action. While that person will experience the full effect of God’s forgiveness, that person will still have to suffer the consequences of that choice to drive under the influence.
Couldn’t God have prevented the car from starting? Couldn’t God have prevented the drug from taking effect? Couldn’t God . . .? The short answer is, yes, He could have directly intervened, but too often He allows us to make decisions on our own. Following God does not make us all automatons, incapable of thinking, feeling and doing on our own.
A part of the fruit of the Spirit as expressed in Galatians 5:22-23 is the element of self-control. Self-control lets us know that a part of our relationship with God is making decisions. In Paul’s great confession of Philippians 3:4-11, every time Paul mentions that he “considers,” it means he is making a conscious decision. It is an on-going event in his life. There are other instances in the Bible that speak to our making decisions each day to follow Jesus, to obey God.
And, lest we think that God doesn’t really care what we do or say or feel, we need to remember His promise to us in 1 Corinthians. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). These two verses show us several things. First, good Christian people can sin. Second, what we are enduring is not unique to us—it is common to man. Third, God knows our limits and won’t let Satan go past those boundaries. Finally, God will also show us a way out, but we have the responsibility to, first, recognize the temptation and second, flee through the door He provides.
Conclusion
Greater minds have struggled with this issue, and we have only scratched the surface of the subject. As is often the case with these posts, this is really an introduction to give us pause to ponder, to consider what the Bible says and how you understand it.
My bottom line is that God often gets blamed for too much and is seldom if ever credited with all that He prevents from happening and all that He does allow that helps us. It is important to remember, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! . . . Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4, 6-7).
© 2019 Glynn Beaty