The last week has been been very emotional and hectic as we learned my mother was in the hospital with congestive heart failure. I learned as she called me from the emergency room very concerned about her dog. At that point she was having trouble breathing and thought maybe she had an issue that would be quickly cleared up.
I went to the E.R. and sat with her as they did a chest X-Ray among a few other things seeking to determine what the problem was. Not too long after the X-Ray a doctor showed up and announced she had congestive heart failure.
It’s New Years Eve and we’re preparing to have company that night and I wake up to learn my mother has a potentially very serious problem. For my mother she has her world turned a bit upside down out of the blue. She’s 72 and very active with volunteer work and walking her dog. Never really been sick and then her world is rocked.
She was in two hospitals over the course of a week and now she’s home resting and recovering with what seems to be a fairly positive outcome compared to what might have been. Her life will change but Lord willing things will improve and she will have many more productive and happy years ahead of her.
Last month my wife’s sister lost her husband to cancer at the age of 59. A few months prior to that, another of my wife’s sisters lost her son to a stroke and he was not yet 50. He was at church leading worship when his stroke took place. He never woke up. This was the second son that had died for my wife’s sister. The other died maybe thirty years ago in a car accident.
My father died just after turning 60 from emphysema. He was sick for over twenty years with the illness. My wife has lived with severe rheumatoid arthritis for over thirty years.
In each case I’m speaking of believers. And along with each of you I wonder why. Why would my 72 year old mother be doing seemingly well while the others died “before their time?”
Of course I turn my thoughts to mental health and ask why when I learn the plight of others. Why does a devout believer suffer with Depression or OCD while others seem to get a free pass? Why do the wicked prosper and live healthy lives when Godly people die young or live a life of pain?
Truth be told, I don’t have a clue. I can look to Scripture and see examples God has left us regarding the tough questions. In Acts 12 we read that James was killed by the sword and Peter saw his life miraculously spared by God.
We know that Peter was also martyred years later but in Acts 12 we see that James is put to death and there’s no real explanation as to the “why” of it.
We are finite beings who serve an infinite God. We are only finite in terms of our days on earth but we will inherit an infinite body and enter into the eternal when we either die or are possibly taken in the rapture.
Our finite minds will never grasp the decisions of God. We will not have every question neatly answered and the loose ends tied up while we are pilgrims on this planet. In Heaven I imagine we won’t be so concerned as God will tell us everything we need to know and the rest will be forgotten. We will be amazed and absolutely blown out of the water when we stand before our God and realize that everything we endured was worth it all. We will no longer weep or be sick. Sin will be done away with and we will dwell in the presence of God for all eternity.
I’m sure we will all ask why as events unfold in our lives. I have made a science of it. But in the midst of it all we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus even though it hardly seems that way so often.
We are God’s gift to one another. We are the Body of Christ and we are all the apple of His eye. May He grant us strength when we have none of our own. May He grant us peace in the midst of the storms of life. And may we never stop seeking Him. God bless each of you and may God meet you in the midst of your circumstances.
1Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Peter 1:4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
1Peter 1:5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1Peter 1:6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
1Peter 1:7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
1Peter 1:9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Filed under: Agoraphobia, Anorexia, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Bulimia, Christianity, Depression, Down Syndrome, Grief, Mental Illness, OCD- Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder, Panic disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Prayer, Schizophrenia, Suicide
Erunner, Please know your writings minister to me, and have helped me greatly.. Your family and mom are in my prayers. Blessings.
I have trouble believing these types of things are the decisions of God. Someone gets lung cancer due to smoking. If they hadn’t smoked, they would still be alive. Millions of children are being left orphaned due to their parents dying of aids. Idon’t think God has anything to do with it. I don’t believe it was their appointed time to die – is God picking on Africans? Doesn’t God realize these kids will have no parents? I don’t think it’s what God ordained – I think the parents just got aids and so died. Why would God want someone to live with excruciating pain – physically or emotionally? I remember my Grandfather being so upset when his wife died of cancer. He kept saying she didn’t deserve all the pain she went through and why did God take her that way. I told him I didn’t think she did either and really didn’t believe God did it to her or allowed it for some purpose. She just got cancer. Sometimes I think Christians believe incorrectly on this matter but that of course is my opinion. We live in an imperfect world and illness is one result of that.
Sue, I tried to share the struggles I have and have had when it comes to suffering and death. There are other questions that go through mine and the minds of others on these very sensitive and difficult questions.
As a Christian I believe God to be perfect and beyond our capability to understand when we go through different seasons of our lives or observe the lives of others. Therefore, anything that He allows to happen I won’t “blame” Him for. I may not understand, as I expressed above, but ultimately I know He is still God and incapable of any mistakes.
If a person decides to drink excessively for years on end and dies young from liver failure I would believe that wasn’t God’s will for that person. There are consequences to our actions. Yet while many do die exactly as I described there are others who may drink even more than those who die “before their time” who live to a ripe old age.
The same with smoking or taking drugs. There are always those who beat the odds and seem to get a free pass although they still pay consequences in this life because of trouble that comes their way.
We do live in an imperfect world as you describe. What we see isn’t what God intended. As Christians we believe the world is as it is because of sin. And because of our sinful nature we see the results every day. It could be gangs, Wall Street greed, wars, and even death itself.
We believe Jesus came to settle the sin issue once and for all when he died on a cross and rose from the dead after three days. He suffered the consequences of our sins as He hung on the cross, separated from God the Father. He was forsaken by God for a time so that we would never be.
Although we all struggle with our trials and those of others we seek to rest in God’s promise that their is an eternity waiting for us when we will all eventually die. You can read through some of the many posts here and see how Christians struggle terribly with their mental illness. We feel God has abandoned us or is punishing us for some unknown reason.
Ultimately we realize our hope is in Him although we don’t understand the “why” of it all. Some of us will see much brighter days while others may have a burden to bare. But God loves us equally and is perfectly aware of our sufferings.
Suffering is a topic that keeps many away from God as they see Him as weak or not terribly interested in us. By His grace we all pray that He would grant us the strength to endure during difficult times. Many who drop by here are doing just that.
This topic could be discussed and has been discussed for centuries and can lead to very deep theological discussions, which quite honestly, I’m not qualified to discuss.
We are here to be a place that offers hope and encouragement to those who suffer with a mental illness to let them know they aren’t God’s rotten apples. We aren’t His mistakes. And as we journey together we realize we don’t have all of the answers but we serve a God who does.
Thank you for reading and making it through such a long response. Believe me, others are much more qualified to answer such difficult questions. I pray nothing but God’s best for you. Allan
Sue,
I agree with your thoughts. I too have a hard time believing that God would (or could) do such evil. It seems out of His character.
EBrother said,”We are here to be a place that offers hope and encouragement to those who suffer with a mental illness to let them know they aren’t God’s rotten apples. We aren’t His mistakes. And as we journey together we realize we don’t have all of the answers but we serve a God who does.”
Amen EBrother…
One thing that has helped me as I’ve gone through my own struggles is to remember that God is God, and is ultimately in control of everything. He has a purpose for allowing all that He has in my life. One thing is for sure, I have a compassion for others who are hurting that I would not otherwise have and my relationship with God is much deeper than it otherwise would have been. These verses comes to my mind:
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, He comforting us in all our trouble, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in every trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ.” 2 Cor. 1:3-5
A good book that addresses this issue is Joni Eareckson Tada’s Glorious Intruder – God’s Presence in Life’s Chaos.
“He has a purpose for allowing all that He has in my life. One thing is for sure, I have a compassion for others who are hurting that I would not otherwise have and my relationship with God is much deeper than it otherwise would have been.”
Dorci, Those are such important words. It doesn’t answer the “why” of it all but we know that God allows things for a reason and it doesn’t change His love for us one iota. Thanks for sharing.