How do we suffer gracefully, without becoming hardhearted and bitter? How do we cope with the disappointment of unanswered prayer? How do we bear with the inevitable grief and loss of those whom we love? How do we understand some of the promises of God such as “ask whatever you will and I will do it” in relation to life in this world? Does God really listen to our prayers? Does he really care what happens to us?
Our options are somewhat limited regarding the existential question of why we suffer. We can either ignore the question altogether or face it directly. If we seek to earnestly answer the question, however, we again only have a couple of “live” theological options. First, if we affirm that God is both all-powerful and all loving but will not remove our personal suffering on the basis of some sort of “principle” (for example, because he will not overrule the consequences of our free will), then he may seem indifferent to our pathos, since this would seem to imply that God values the ideals of justice more than those of mercy and compassion. It should be clear that this option is not viable for believers in our Lord Yeshua, who clearly taught us that God desires “mercy and not sacrifice” and taught us to show compassion to all people (Matt. 9:13; 12:7; Matt. 6:15, etc.). Another approach is to affirm that God is indeed all-loving but not all-powerful. God simply can’t intervene to end our suffering because he is unable to do so. God wants to bless us and take away our pain, but he’s limited in his means to do so. In other words, evil exists independently of God’s control as a powerful force that contends with and undermines creation. It should also be clear that this option is also not viable for believers in our Lord, since God is repeatedly affirmed to be “omnipotent” or all-powerful throughout the Scriptures (e.g., Job 42:1-2; Isa. 14:27, 43:13; Jer. 32:27; Dan. 4:35; Matt. 19:26; Psalm 147:5, etc.). This leaves us with the option that indeed God is all-loving, all-powerful, and therefore pain and suffering are “tools” in his hands, intended or permitted to work for his glory and for our ultimate good (Rom. 8:28). In other words, God uses suffering as a means of transformation of the soul (soul-building theodicy). In short, if we have trouble accepting God as our “Heavenly Father” who may use trouble in our lives to transform us in love, then we run the tragic risk of becoming bitter and resentful people. More can be said on this subject, of course, but this must suffice for now.
In light of such profound questions that so intimately affect our lives, it is important that we are “real” and honest with God… From our Torah we read: “You were not willing to go up but rebelled at the word of the LORD your God. And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the LORD hates us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt…'” (Deut. 1:26-27). We may decry the childish insolence of the people, we lament their lack of faith, and yet God was still speaking through Moses to Israel… The sages ask whether we can ever be justifiably angry at God, and answer that yes we can, because otherwise we could never love Him “bekhol levavkha,” with all our heart (Deut. 6:5). Indeed, how can we claim to love God if we withhold the truth, lie to ourselves, and attempt to hide who we really are from Him? If you are angry at God, he already knows, so why the pretense? Being angry with God is part of being a real person in a real relationship with Him, and allowing yourself to express the truth of your heart to him is a sign of trust. God can “handle” the darker storms of your heart: trust Him to heal you this hour.
Hebrew Lesson:
