Struggling with God

Q: Does the Creator sometimes punish people who openly challenge him? For example, before the Titanic sank, some people boasted and said `not even God can sink the Titanic.'

A: No, I don't believe He does. A few years ago after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States, there were many people who attributed the damage caused by the Hurricane to the wrath of God. There were Christians who said that New Orleans was targeted by God because of an event called "Southern Decadence," a mostly homosexual event, that was scheduled to take place during the week the storm hit. Similarly, there were others who said the storm was God's wrath against the United States for our involvement in world affairs. The list is endless. And on a lesser scale you have Christians who believe that God punishes us for every little infraction from missing church services, to not participating in enough church activities, to not inviting people to church and for any other apparent transgression we do throughout our daily lives. We can get to the point where we believe every negative event in our lives is the result of God punishing us. Honestly, there are many reasons as to why we may suffer at times, but from what Scripture tells us, it doesn't seem to be consistent with the character of God for Him to be the cause of our suffering. Our suffering is the result of sin being in this world.

The name Israel means to "struggle with God." In the book of Genesis we read, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome (Genesis 32:28)." All throughout the Old Testament we find story after story of man's failure. Yet, God still looked upon Israel as the "apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8)" and as a nation He "has chosen... out of all the people on the face of the earth (Deuteronomy 7:6)." God, in the midst of Israel's struggles and outright disobedience, remained faithful to them. However, we no doubt see God's wrath on mankind. Nowhere in scripture is that more evident than during the Global Flood in Genesis 7. Just prior to the Flood, "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain (Genesis 6:6)." And in order to rectify the situation God said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them (Genesis 6:7)." The result was 40 days and 40 nights of rain and flooding which destroyed every living thing on the face of the earth except for Noah, his family and the animals safe in the Ark.

In the New Testament we have an incident in Acts 5 where a husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, lie to God and fall dead on the spot after being discovered. There has been much debate surrounding whether or not God killed them or if they died from the shock of being discovered. There is not enough evidence to know for sure, but if it was God who killed them, it is definitely an isolated incident. With all that said, it would appear there is overwhelming evidence to support a God who punishes people who challenge Him or put Him to the test. However, in His love for us, God placed the punishment we deserved on Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3: 16-17)." In arguably the most famous passage in all of scripture, and perhaps all of written literature, we see how much God does not want mankind to suffer. He has made a way for us to escape His wrath by coming to faith in Jesus Christ. For those in Christ we have the promise that there is "no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)" and that "God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:9)." This is a promise available to all mankind because God isn't wanting "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)."

"For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives." (Hebrews 12:6)." Christians often mistake the discipline of God for punishment. But they are forgetting that our sins have already been judged by God. The verdict was guilty, the penalty was death and Jesus died to take all our sins away from the eyes of God. There is no penalty left for us to suffer. The discipline of God is not punishment for a wrong done, but preparation for a task ahead. Furthermore, we must remember that God "sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45)." This occurs because, as we read in the book of Romans, "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Romans 8:22)." Therefore, while He isn't punishing anybody for their sins, we still live in a sin cursed world and have indwelling sin in each one of us. Because of this fact, we may be subjected to things like natural disasters which befall us through no fault of our own. Or we may suffer the consequences of our own poor choices or those of others. God, most likely, didn't sink the Titanic because of apparent boasts by people about its supposed durability. The ship sunk, and those people perished, because man's pride and arrogance blinded those in charge of the vessel from making wise decisions prior to, and during, its maiden voyage. While I don't believe God punishes us for our apparent challenges of Him, we are still subject to the suffering which is part of life in this world. But, remember that, in the midst of our suffering, He is right there with a Christian seeing us through it, and patiently waiting for an unbeliever to turn to Him for salvation in Christ.