Genesis

1 - Can I bypass the question posted on the blog and ask my own? I struggle with the words "Thy will be done". For years I just repeated the words and never thought of it. But oftentimes when something bad happens, an unexpected death and cancer. Even when Hurricane Katrina hit or the Tsunami, people claim that it's "God's Will."

I have a hard time believing that God wants us to suffer and die. We were created to live forever in the Garden of Eden. But sin crept in.

God's will. Is it just another way to say Trust God with whatever happens? How do you explain to your teenage son that it was God's will that their friend was killed in a car accident? I don't believe it was God's will she died.

So what is Thy will be done?


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2 - tough question. why does a loving god allow such bad things to happen?

my main thought is this:

we are heaven bound creatures who spend time on earth before moving on to our final destination. i believe that through suffering in this life, we can focus on and look forward to the next.

for further consideration:

this world is physical and some things in this life just happen because of our own existence. we bump into things, get paper cuts, break bones, etc....maybe instead of pointing the finger at God, we should look at the one who lives and breathes evil. we should acknowledge that the devil is very much alive and active in this world and is constantly going after people. why should a loving God always take the blame?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4 (Comment this)

3 - So do you think that spiritual maturity allows a person to surrender more completely to God's will particularly during the trials and tests of life?

Is there anything else besides good and evil? Is something always good or something evil?
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4 - I think spritual maturity allows you to lean on God during the difficult times. I don't think it's always God's will that we have difficult times. So that's where I struggle with the "God's will" part of things.

Was it God's will that Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S.? Some people say it was His will. It was supposed to be a wake-up call for us. Other people say that it just happened, and now we are called as Christians to step up and help the victims.

If someone is struck with cancer, is that God's will? Or is it because it is a fallen world and cancer and death happen. And during our trials we are to lean on God and give Him glory in everything.

God can do whatever he darn well pleases. He needs nothing from me. If God wants something, He can do it. So what exactly is meant by the phrase "if it's God's will?"

It's easy when things go right in our lives to say it is God's will. But if something goes wrong, is that God's will?

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5 - God has promised that we will suffer if we follow him. This is why it says we must take up our cross and follow him, and that if the world hated him, it will really hate us. Yet not everything that happens in this world has moral weight. Remember that Christ debunked the idea that a tower fell and crushed a group of men because they were any worse sinners than others who remained living. It was just tragic.

The world we live in is broken. And as the person above stated, the enemy of God wants to cause harm to both believers and non believers alike.

Yet in the midst of that we know what the will of God is. He wants that none of us should perish but that we should be redeemed by the blood of Christ. So those things that happen can be used to further God's will (if they lead anyone closer to Him) or they can be used to deceive us and draw us away (as the enemy would have it). To some extent it is our choice to respond to suffering with faith, or discouragement.

I do agree with the first person who had some misgivings with how we use "God's will" God's will is going to be accomplished in this world. I believe he can accomplish it through tragedy even if he is not the cause of that tragedy. It is the same with the way that Christians toss around the word "hope" We say "I hope it doesn't rain today," but that is the world's kind of hope. Our hope is in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ in the last day. It is guaranteed as sure as the sun rising tomorrow morning. (Comment this)