Loving? All Powerful?

Today I’d like to address a question that, when unanswered, traps people in confusion, chaos and pain possibly more than any other unanswered question in their lives. It’s a question on many lips right now and it is this…

If God is loving and all powerful, why is there so much suffering in this world?

Yes, it’s a heavy topic and one I’d never broach without the stirring of the Spirit or without His help.

Holy Spirit, have your way.

This isn’t a new idea – this questioning of God’s love and power. It’s an ancient question; as old as man. There really is nothing new under the sun. Man has wrestled with this question and all the questions that flow from it as long as man has existed.

Just a quick disclaimer here: Yes, I will use the Bible to answer this question as well as answer some of its spin-off questions. There’s a reason why the Bible hasn’t lost its momentum, why it’s still the best-seller and why the MANY who have tried to wipe its influence off the face of the earth have been unsuccessful:

the Bible IS the Word of God.

You can’t exhaust the depth of the Bible because you can’t exhaust the depth of God Himself. The questions that have consumed you for years find their answer in the gift of God’s precious Word.

You don’t have to read too far past the front cover to find, in the creation story itself, that God is the Creator (and has revealed Himself so) but His prized creation (specifically, us) have been given authority over the other created things of this earth.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

The “us” God references here (“let us make man in our image…”) is the Holy Trinity. Jesus and Holy Spirit were with God, the Father, from the very beginning. Our God has always been a triune God and because God could (and can) see the end from the beginning, Jesus was always a part of God’s salvation plan for His people.

But then there’s this other HUGE truth in Genesis 1:26 that begins to unravel the mystery of our very big initial question about God’s sovereignty (which, as you know, is just a fancy word for “power” or “control”).

Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens…

Authority has already been mentioned. Authority has been given. To man.

Man (a term that refers to both men and women) was made in God’s holy image. That’s another extremely important truth from Genesis 1:26 which is backed up repeatedly throughout the Word of God. We aren’t God. But we’re made in His likeness. Wow.

And for us to be made in His likeness, we’re made with some astoundingly beautiful and precious qualities (because everything God is and does is astounding).

God gave us our own abilities and attributes that reflect His own:

We can make decisions. We can love. We can feel. We can create.

If God wouldn’t have given us our own abilities, reasoning and choice, God wouldn’t have created beautiful, complex, intricately-detailed humans. Rather, He would have created machines; complex, sure, but missing all the components that make us capable of relationship and love.

We were created to be loved. We were created to enter into a joy-filled relationship with the Creator Himself.

So God created man. And God gave him choice. And God gave him authority over the things of the earth.

This question of authority, btw, isn’t just addressed here.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19)

This portion of Scripture regarding authority is especially startling. Did you catch it? Over all the power of the enemy?

HUH?

The enemy himself (Satan/Lucifer) was a beautiful, luminous angel of God who held a highly celebrated position in Heaven until his pride overtook him and he decided he wanted the authority and power of God. The Bible says he “fell” which, interestingly enough, is in keeping with a truth that has caused many, many others to spiral down: pride comes before a fall. (See Isaiah 14:12 and Proverbs 16:18).

So, even though we have this thoroughly evil enemy running rampant in this world (because he was cast down), we have to remember a couple very important things…

1. We’ve been given authority, as God’s children, over the things of this world.
2. We’ve been given authority, through Jesus, over the enemy himself.

As Barry Bennett (a powerful teacher of the Bible) puts it, God sovereignly gave us the control.

God didn’t have to do that. And that’s what still makes God God. That’s what still gives Him ultimate authority. He Himself obeys His own mandates because He is just and true and doesn’t lie. If God gave you authority for as long as you live on this earth, He won’t retract it. His very character prevents Him from doing so.

So if you’ve been seeing some of God’s people rising up lately to rebuke the Coronavirus in Jesus’ holy name, that’s why. Those who know they’ve been given this power are wielding it.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28: 18-20)

Those were the words of Jesus Himself.

Initially, man was given authority over the things of this earth. But through Jesus, man was given authority over the enemy, as well.

You walk in no authority over the enemy until you make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Why? Because HE was the one who stepped in to defeat the work of the enemy on the Cross.

Jesus may have redeemed us but we still have a choice in the matter. We have to receive the work He accomplished for us (through the spilling of His precious blood) or we have no power over sin. If we’re held accountable for our sins, we’re separated from God. And we ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). No matter how good you think you are, your goodness can’t compare to the goodness of God. Like it or not, when man rebelled and sin entered the world, man’s very nature (without God) became sinful. We have a propensity for sin. Our motives and choices often reflect that – especially before we have the gift of the Spirit inside us (again, through Jesus) to help us be more like God. No one has to be taught how to sin. From a very early age, it’s innate. Adam and Eve walked in pure paradise before sin entered this world…through their choice to sin. Man has been following suit ever since and his sins separate him from God and from the paradise God originally designed and always wanted His children to enjoy

But if we choose the redemption (essentially, the “buy-back”) of Christ, we are no longer separated from God and (though we won’t walk in complete perfection while we continue to live on this fallen earth) we will walk in greater and greater authority to overcome sin by ridding ourselves of the choices that prevent us from enjoying the beauty of a life lived in sync with a very good and very loving Father. Remember, we were made (initially) in His likeness and so we can reflect that all the more as we get sin out of the way and are drawn toward His beauty once again.

God is the epitome of good. He is the epitome of love.

And He gives you, through His Son, the ability to walk in salvation BEFORE you get to heaven. Salvation is to be saved from this sinful nature that has kept you from walking in the delight of His goodness. He gives YOU (US!) the ability to begin this life-filling walk of salvation now. And part of the package is your ability take authority over the work of the devil in your life and even, through your loving intercession, in the lives of those around you.

There are loving people on this earth who choose to do very good things every day. But without Jesus, they are still heavily struggling with this sin nature that keeps them bound to the things of the enemy. Things like: fear, addictions, pain, etc. Can you imagine what they could be if they allowed God to begin the process of making them whole? And yes, the cleansing part of the earthly portion of salvation is a process (because we, as individuals, have a lot to learn and apply from the Word regarding this earthly walk and because, while here on earth, the enemy will keep trying to distract us with lies to encourage us to hold onto a sinful nature) but even so, it’s a process that ushers in new levels of peace, strength and joy from the get-go; from the very moment you give Jesus your heart.

You can do that today – if you haven’t already. God didn’t make it difficult. You just open your mouth and sincerely confess with your voice that you need Him. And then verbally invite Jesus to come in and make His residence in your heart and ask Him to be the Lord of your life.

It’s that simple.

But the impact will astound you.

So, yes, I’ll say it again: our God is thoroughly good and thoroughly love. We can’t entirely fathom the ways He loves us or has always loved us. Our hearts couldn’t take it this side of Heaven – they would probably burst if we tried to fully contain such knowledge. But we can start a journey with Him here that will daily transform our lives and countless lives around us. And then, one day in Heaven, we will see Him as He is and actually experience the awe and delight of walking with Him eternally in paradise. Your “ticket” to Heaven was granted the moment you made Jesus yours.

But for now, we use our authority to begin to trample the works of the enemy whose time is almost up for we are getting closer and closer to the day when God will step in and use HIS authority to banish the enemy for good!

My friends, if that’s not power and that’s not love, what is?

Hold fast, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to what you know is true: one day, all this pain will be no more. And until then, we have our loving God and each other to make our way through.

Thanks be to God.