Prayer, God, and natural evil

Given the nature of this fallen world, it is reasonable to assume that all people will face dark times. In Christ, we do enjoy an abundant life (John 10:10), but there are also the moments that we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (Ps. 23:4; 2 Cor. 4:16) and experience unspeakable pain.

Some pains are what we would properly call "moral evil," the direct result of someone's sin. These are such things as divorce, suicide, abuse, theft, adultery, addiction, murder, or even mass terrorism on the scale of 9/11 or the Holocaust.

There are also events called "natural evil." It's not the result of someone's evil intent, but it is bad nonetheless. Heart attacks, miscarriages, strokes, hurricanes (think, Katrina), cancer, tsunamis, car accidents, the natural but untimely death of loved ones. There is no one to blame for such things; they are just part of living in a world that has malfunctioned. It's like a copy machine, which, instead of making copies, chews up the paper and jams. Something has gone wrong internally.

We have less trouble spiritually with moral evil. There is someone to blame. Just having some place to point our finger gives us a bit of emotional relief. Perhaps this is why unsolved murders can be so difficult for victims' families. We cry out to God to save us from that pain and deliver us from that evil--whether it be Satan or some other person (or both). (Matt. 6:13)

When it comes to natural evil, however, we don't seem to know what to do. We pray superficially, "God, if it be your will, fix this..." But, we leave out a very important element of the prayer that Old Testament figures like Job included in their prayers--recognition that God is sovereignly responsible. As I read the impassioned laments of Jeremiah and the pain-laden pleas of Job, their prayers seems so much more real and substantial than the typical American prayer meeting. They don't beat around the bush in an attempt to spare God's feelings; they just get right to the point:

"The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors are marshaled against me. (Job 6:4, NIV)

Job was afflicted with all sorts of evil by the permissive will of God, who allowed Satan to sift Job. While Satan was morally to blame for the afflictions, Job insisted on taking his complaint to God, against the advice of his wife and friends. Job was even willing to confront God on the possibility that God might strike him down for such an impropriety as demanding an audience with the King. Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." (13:15) His own wife, exasperated by his continual pursuit of this apparently abusive God, said to him, "Curse God and die." Job replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job affirmed that the trouble was from God, even though he wasn't sure he deserved it. Then, the author of Job applauds Job, "In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." (2:8-10, NIV) 

Likewise, King David cried out, "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22)," a phrase, which Jesus said himself as he died on the cross. (Matt. 27:46) In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the eve of his execution, Jesus cried out to the Father, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matt. 26:39) Satan did not put Jesus on the cross--God the Father did. Look, too, to the prophet Habakkuk. As God was about to unleash the godless and blood-thirsty Babylonians upon the nation of Judah, Habakkuk cried:

LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, LORD, have appointed them to execute judgment;
you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (Habakkuk 1:12-13, NIV)

Like Job, David, and Jesus, Habakkuk never questions the goodness of God. In fact, he affirms it. But, he does bluntly broach the apparent conflict. For Christians today, it might look something like this: "God, I know that you're good and holy. I know you love me, because you sent your own Son to die in my place for my sin. I know that you are all-powerful and good. So, why are you doing this to me? What's the purpose? Please tell me."

Habakkuk ended his prayer to God this way:

I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he
will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint." (Habakkuk 2:1, NIV)

Is this accusatory and inappropriate as a way of approaching God? Or, is it a humble recognition of God's sometimes incomprehensible sovereignty? I suggest it is the latter. Sometimes reality challenges our view of who we think God is, and that is OK.

[The question as to why God would allow and/or cause some natural evil is a different post; I'll make no such theodicy here. God may never tell us why He does certain things, and He is not obliged to answer to His creation. But, God's revealed Scriptures tell us that we may trust that they are for the good of God's children. (Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12:7-12)]

When reality conflicts with your theology, don't ignore it through superficial prayers and don't curse God (like Job's wife). Take it to God and, in humility, plead with him to explain it to your soul. And remember: one such prayer of suffering poured from the lips of Jesus himself, the man-God who ultimately will be the one to judge you. (John 5:22)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. [emphasis added] (Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV)

The King loves you and longs to have a real relationship with you. He desires it so much that he gave his only son to make that happen. Don't be afraid to be real with Him.