A lot of religious believers have told me that when something terrible happens in their lives, such as the loss of a loved one, the idea of God and his supposed plan gives them comfort. I used to believe this way, and now I’m pretty much sickened by it. I lost my mother, a wonderful person who never had a bad word to say about anyone, to a senseless disease. But thinking that it was somehow all a part of God’s plan would make it HARDER for me to deal with it. It would make me angry. It would make me ask questions like, Why would God even create this disease in the first place? Why give little kids leukemia? Why allow all of the terrible suffering that has plagued mankind for all of his existence, and still plagues him today? And I’m supposed to just chalk it up to God having a plan that I can’t know or understand? Not good enough. Pathetic, in fact. And wishful thinking, in any case, is not going to grant me any peace. Does believing in God grant some people comfort in their loss? Sure, but so do mediums and seances.
Dan Turner
DOC# 767569
My husband was very much like you. He was very angry at God, shaking his fist at God, mostly over the loss of two of his sisters, but God spoke into his life over the years, and healed him, and by the time he passed from this world to the next, his testimony was of the love of God, how God had changed his life, taken his anger, made him a preacher of the word, given him a family, and he spoke often of looking forward to the day he would come face to face with Him in heaven.
Just wanted to share his story with you. Hope you don’t mind,
Ann
Sometimes after my husband passed away, I wondered where God was, because I felt so alone and deserted, but I did find Him in and through the whole grieving process as I trusted in him one day at a time. He brought people into my life to help me through it all. I often asked him “Why? Why did you take my Jim and leave me all alone?” but I know now that there were things I needed to learn that I could not learn except on my own. My husband’s life and work was complete….mine was not, and me, I’m still a work in progress 😉
I don’t have the answers by any means, but I think it probably has something to do with being creatures with freewill who chose to live in a flawed world instead of a perfect one. Nature still takes it course, life still happens, and God allows us to experience the consequences of our actions, actions that affect more people than just ourselves.
As a Christian, I agree with you, Dan – it’s obscene to suggest that God plans to give people leukaemia or any other disease. But the world has not agreed to God’s plan, which is for ‘the fullness of life’ for everyone, as a result of loving God first and then loving each other as yourself.
It’s not everyone who chooses to ignore all his instructions, but as we are all affected by each other it’s inevitably the most vulnerable who get the worst impact in this life. God’s plan was never just for the mortal span of this life, though, and his promise is to turn the world’s system upside down.
If you get the chance to read a bit of Matthew’s gospel, chapters 5 through 7 – to me, that’s divine common sense, whether you’re a believer or an atheist. See what you think of it?
I am a Christian and I don’t have all the answers either. And I don’t necessarily think all things that happen in life are God’s plan. The reason why there is so much sickness, suffering, etc, in the world is because of our broken relationship with Christ; the whole world is not as it should be and as God intended it to be. It is extremely difficult to comprehend and we all have many questions. Maybe start talking to God about it and reading his word, see what he reveals to you? I also have things that I cry out and question God over, but I cannot compare any of my circumstances to what Jesus went through. Jesus knows and understands. I am currently living in northern Uganda, attempting to serve God here as a teacher, but don’t understand a lot. I still have many questions about poverty. But also, us Christians have a lot to answer for. Don’t believe what we say (since we are all influenced by our own sinful/selfish thoughts), just go straight to the Bible.
Jody
Be encouraged. My husband lost his mother while he was incarcerated and like your mother she was a wonderful person. Just as I shared with him, God is not the author of disease and does not seek to kill or destroy. The comfort I think people find is in knowing that our loved ones now exist in that perfect peace. Much love to you Dan and I pray that your mind does not consume what’s in your heart. Many blessings.
Okay – my thoughts are 100%different as i don’t believe in God. Those that say it is “God’s plan” are those that don’t understand even the Christian saying of “You reap what you sow”. This “Plan” is none other than the law of cause and effect. Life is a cycle just like everything else in nature. Birth, sickness, aging, death. We do the same thing. The essense of who we are, over and over. The life we lead affects the next cycle. Many instances of cause and effect are easy to see and some aren’t, but just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that it is a plan of God’s. I absolutely do not believe there is an entity in the universe doling out benefits and punishments, but people believe what they are taught. That doesn’t make it true.