Is God really good…

If pain and sickness and brokenness exist, how can God be good? Why must I be going through this experience at all?

I have heard these questions from others regularly since starting this journey. Immediately after the diagnosis, I heard several times what a good person I was and how sad it was that something like this had happened to me. And believe me, I understand these questions. This journey hurts. Brokenness seems to prevail in so many areas of our world. There are days when I wish I didn’t have to be on this road, but no matter how I feel, there is one very clear and concise reason for my circumstance.  One answer to all these questions about all our pain and brokenness in this world.

Sin.

God did not create or design the world to operate this way. In fact, in Genesis chapter one we see God’s creation of the world which DID NOT include sin. It was a perfect creation, no blemishes. Perfectly made for an amazing purpose- To be in relationship with a loving and powerful God. Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good….” This isn’t even the first time God says this in Chapter 1! God calls his creation “good” seven times in Genesis 1 alone.

Another thing we see in Genesis 1, is that God created man and woman in His image. We are made in His image and likeness. Which means, if God is perfect and holy, we were made to be this way as well! Everything God created was good. Since God is completely good, He in fact, has no ability to create evil at all! This is simply not in his character. One thing we learn from the Bible, is that God is always and will forever be faithful and trustworthy. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Because God is holy and just He would never go against those parts of His character to maliciously create evil and pain. Therefore we know everything God creates is good. In Genesis 1 we see His creation (which included man) was completely good- perfect in every way. There was no sin, no evil, no sickness in the world that God created! But unfortunately, we do not live in a Genesis 1 world.

All too quickly we see that mankind messes up God’s perfect creation. By Genesis 3 man has already betrayed the God who created him and chosen sin. And because of this one choice the whole world changed. When sin entered the world everything that is the opposite of God did as well. God is a God of joy, fullness, and life. Sin brings only death, pain, and separation from the God who loves us. These things were not created by God, they instead were chosen by man. And because I live in this world, I live in a world effected and infected by sin. There is not one thing that remains safe or untouched by it.

I wish I lived in a Genesis 1 world. I wish I didn’t have to read any further in my Bible and that creation was as God intended it to be. But I don’t. Genesis 3 changed the course of mankind, drastically altering the path God intended us to walk. God takes no pleasure in my pain- in reality it breaks His heart. God intended us to live in complete and intimate relationship with Him. So much so, that in Genesis 1 Adam and Eve had the ability to WALK with God. Not just pray to Him or read His Words, but actually TALK to the God of the universe face to face. This is what God intended, but because of the choices of man we are forced to live with the reality of sin.

No good thing comes from sin. Only death. Whether that is physical or spiritual, sin has broken our world and with it come consequences.

Now what I AM NOT saying here is that my personal sins have caused my sickness. There are cases where sinful choices do lead to illness, but there are also many, many situations in which sickness is merely a consequence of living in a fallen world- a broken world. What I AM saying is that because sin entered this world, the perfect creation of God has been mutated and distorted by sin. And because of this every single person must live with the consequences of sin. The brokenness sin causes effects each of us in various ways. For me, though I did nothing to cause my illness, the consequences of sin have effected me in a dire manner.

Something important to mention here is that I am not angry at God because of this. This is not His fault. We chose sin, and because of this I must deal with the consequences of sin in this world. And what is truly beautiful is that even though man walked away from God and His perfect purposes, He has loved us enough not to leave us this way! He sent His son Jesus to heal us in the most important way- He has made a way for our hearts to be healed. They were desperately broken and beyond a cure,  but God made a way, a way through the impossible. Jesus Christ died to cover the sins of the world, to pay for them, so that I would not have to. And my spiritual health is ultimately so much more important that my physical health will ever be. Because of God’s great love, I know that my heart is cured. What once was broken is now whole. And though my body is broken because of our sinful world, my heart will never again be slave to sin and death. I have been healed in the only way that really matters. Even if I am never again free of sickness in this world, I know that in heaven, in God’s presence, I will be perfect and whole. Sin no longer having any power over my heart or my body. And that assurance gives me hope even in the midst of this great trial! Today I pray for God to heal my body as well, but no matter the answer to this prayer I can still believe and know that God is good. He always has been and always will be.

So we don’t need to rail against God because of brokenness. My pain and circumstances may change how I see God, but they have no power to change WHO GOD IS. His character remains steadfast and unchanging no matter the consequences of sin I experience in this world. God is good. Period. Brokenness was not ever what He designed for us. Instead, let us rail against our true enemy- against sin and it’s master Satan.

Let us fight against sin in the best way possible, by striving to be more and more like the perfect, holy God we serve! This is how we remove the power of sin in our lives. And while we still must live with the consequences of our sinful world, our hearts will never have to be broken again. When we accept Jesus as our Savior we are made whole once more, and in giving our life to Him we will receive just enough grace for today….