Cristu Rei, Dili. Timor-Leste
Why did God allow Cain to murder Abel (Genesis 4:1-8)?
Why did God allow Herod to slew the innocent babies (Matthew 2:13-16)?
Why did God allow the blameless and upright Job to plummet from health and prosperity to boils and poverty in no time, for apparently no reason (Job 1:1-2:10)?
If we are to blame God for these bad things that happened in the Bible, then we are underestimating the problem of evil in the world, which came by man’s fall in the Garden of Eden. Evil is a fact. We must face it. Evil, not God, influenced bad things to happen to us. God allows evil to affect us to teach us about Himself.
It’s been almost two months since the OneLife.OneYear East Timor team has been brought back to Singapore, under the very wise decision of the church leaders. The team has not been able to function as one due to personality differences, challenging living conditions and inability to adapt to the Timorese culture. Certain responses to the culture shock have been hurtful, frightening and irrational. Team members are hurt emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.
But I am thankful that God is in control and in His timing, brings the teams back for healing and restoration. Through it all, God has never left us nor forsaken us. God is too loving to do anything cruel to us, He is too wise to make a mistake, He is too deep to explain Himself and He is too near not to be aware of our need. We may not understand why bad things happen but we trust that God allows them to shape us.
We need not look too far how God uses hurt to shape us. Our Father has created the most precious gift out of Christ’s brokenness. To allow God to use these hurts to shape something useful in me would have made all these suffering worthwhile. God has and will continue to keep me in His love and give me grace to behave as His beloved child. God will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn and working in me the grace He means me to bestow.
In His good time, He will bring me out again and back to East Timor for “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). When and how, only He knows.
Blessed by His love,
Lydia
This article has been inspired by and some paragraphs are extracted from “Forgive and Love Again” by John Nieder and Thomas M. Thompson (Oregon USA: Harvest House Publishers, 1991)
