Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  Hebrews 4:13

If we are honest, we’ll admit that it can be incredibly hard to reconcile the goodness of God, with the darkness of evil that comes straight from the pit of hell.  Unbeknownst to her, Rayna’s child was sexually abused. She sadly admits, “I lost a lot of faith when it all came out.”

It would be very tidy if you and I got to see God punish evil and resurrect every broken life in the here and now.  Sometimes that does happen.  But Scriptures that address what God says He will do to evildoers who harm the helpless are heartening; “My anger will blaze against you and I will kill you with the sword,” He says. (Exodus 22:22-27)

The Bible book of Deuteronomy tells us, “There is no one like the God of Israel,” He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor.  The eternal God is your refuge and his everlasting arms are under you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!'”

If we rush to platitudes like “God has a plan,” we do a disservice to the suffering.  More helpful is grieving with them and sharing the fact that God is not shaken or undone by our questions or our anger, (Psalm 62:8) and that evil will not be ignored.

I can’t answer Rayna’s question of “why?”  But I can assure her that God longs to comfort her in her anguish and promises perfect justice in His time.  I can listen to her and be Jesus’ love to her in the meantime.

 

Resource reading: Zephaniah 3:19-20