The pain and suffering of this world has lead humans to start questioning everything they believe in. Some people might ask questions like: Why me? How could God allow this? Is God punishing me? Is God even real? Seeking the truth is important in my opinion, but being patient and trusting in God is even more important. It is not easy to trust in something that you do not understand, but that is the beauty of having faith. Understanding why we suffer or deal with things like death, rape, or terminal illnesses can be troubling. This is the reason why we can either turn to or turn away from God. By examining the theodicies of suffering, we can strengthen our faith in God without fully understand Him.
In the book Suffering and the Search for…show more content… One thing that shook me was learning more about the Perfect plan Theodicy. Before we read the book I had always said that I believed in this theodicy, but the way the perfect plan theodicy is described in this book is a little different than the one I grew up learning. Some of the things explained did not necessarily contradict my former beliefs, but it took some details to a whole another level. The Perfect plan theodicy is explained as a world in which God is sovereign over all and is in complete control. It offers the order and structure to the world. In most cases, it is relieving to know that God is in complete control, but for others it can offer discomfort because of the role that God plays in suffering. What i found intriguing, is that I no longer solely identified myself with the Perfect plan theodicy. In fact, I started agreeing with a few points in each theodicy. At first, the idea of not picking a theodicy made me feel so confused. What I later realized is that I do not have to pick one, but rather have a better understanding of all of them. I almost want to mix them all together and come up with my own theodicy. Most of the theodicies offered are drastic and are limited to interpretation. For example, I believe that there can be God’s plan and He is in complete control, but we still have free will. I truly believe in the concept that God knows every step…show more content… On one end, I do believe that everything has a purpose to it and that suffering is part of God’s plan, but to picture God behind some of the evil things in our world is not comforting. Babies dying, people committing suicide, and terrorist bombing innocent people are all things that are hard to associate with our God. How could a perfect God that created us in His image and this universe just right so that we could strive and live in it, either allow or make evil happen. With so many awful things in our life, It is hard to say that God choose this for us. What if we choose this life? We all are looking for answers and meaning, but timing and knowledge are everything. When I look back at my life I can see why things happened the way they did and why they happened sooner or later than what I wanted. In the moments that I felt lost and hopeless, I had pushed God away from my life. These moments are what reminded me to pray and to seek God through it all. Instead of looking for logically explanations, look for God.
As Billy Graham once said, “It is God’s job to judge, the holy spirit's job to convict, and our job to love.” Not only love others, but yourself and most importantly, God. In times of suffering is when we should offer love and support to
