God is not the one authoring the harm. That is on the broken world, all the broken people (including you and me) in the world with our sharp edges, and the powers of evil that hate God and all that is good and lovely. But God does not leave it there. God insists on finding a way to turn even these horrible things into good.
1 Peter 3, Do Not Fear?
Peter intimated there is a redemptive quality about suffering for the good, for doing good, for goodness’s sake, as unto the Lord, who intimately knows what this suffering is like, and what it entails.
Share this:
Hebrews: Brothers and Sisters
Against the backdrop of God’s ineffable transcendence, God’s omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and absolute sovereignty over the entire universe, the gospel story does not make sense. Yet, it is nonetheless true.
Share this:
James: Temptation
You and I always have the option of asking God for wisdom. Will fulfilling the desire in these circumstances be for good, and God’s glory?
Share this:
1 Peter 4: Have Done With Carousing
God asks no more of believers than was asked of God’s own Son, and our suffering also has purpose, glory, and blessing in it.
Share this:
1 Peter 3: Do Not Fear?
The ink in Peter's quill was metaphorically drawn from his own suffering and sacrifice. He wrote about fear and courage because he was face-to-face with it.
Share this:
Wife of Job
When I first taught the book of Job, I was squarely on one side of this question. But, over the years, learning Hebrew, reading a wider selection of scholarly works, my positioned has been changed, and I share all that research in this twenty minute talk.
