2. The Prayer
From its opening moments, set in the Persian palace fifteen centuries ago, the story of Nehemiah immerses us in a tragic tale. The visitors from Judah finish their report by describing the terrible conditions in Jerusalem:
Why does God let good people suffer, or die, or be killed?
There is a massive and unfortunate premise in this question which implies that God is in “control” and is therefore responsible for suffering. If you follow Judeo-Christian theology, you’ll notice that after Creation, in Genesis 1:26, God made a covenant with Adam. Mankind was given delegated, governmental authority over this entire planet. Unfortunately, by defying one simple edict, eating from one Tree, Adam ceded that authority to God’s sworn enemy, Satan, who is the very personification of evil. Even to this day, the devil is the source of ALL pain and suffering, not God. For a long while, this enemy was remarkably effective, as evil became the predominant motivator of man’s heart. Eventually, a worldwide flood rebooted civilization on a different platform. God made a new covenant with Abraham, a man of extraordinary faith.
In New Testament times, we’ve been offered a quiet, non-political strategy for redeeming this planet from mankind’s fallen state. It’s not overt and dramatic like parting the Red Sea, but by adopting this offer of salvation through Christ, we can be empowered to bring joy and peace and civilized behavior to certain pockets of society. John 1:12 reads, “as many as received Him, He gave them power (Gr: dunamis) to become sons of God.” Jesus paid a massive price to “repurchase” the Creation, sins and all, with His own life. Through the power of His resurrection, He conquered the agony of suffering and death for all of us. But…there’s one small issue. We need to acknowledge the merits, the logic, the love, the implications and the eternal value of this act. We need to accept that this man Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. He then empowers us with the Holy Spirit, an onboard spiritual navigation system, to quietly announce the will of God for our lives.
If we comply, you and I then receive authority and resources from the Kingdom of Heaven and begin to act accordingly. We are to bring the light of the Lord into our respective corner of the planet. This is how we will eventually redeem this world of unnecessary pain and suffering. This is the strategic plan of heaven, I believe.
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