This is one of the most frequently asked questions by believers and unbelievers alike. Here we are trucking along, doing our best to do the right thing, trying to live by God’s word, when BOOM! Life happens.
Life is hard (extremely hard), and though if we’re honest, here in the United States we are pretty spoiled. We have so many more rights and freedoms that others don’t have, but that doesn’t mean life is easy. We worry about the state of our country. Death visits our door. Illness creeps in. Injuries happen. We worry about our kids, what they are being taught by the world, what choices they make. We definitely have pain. So, why does God allow this? 1 Peter Chp. 1 answers that question.
1 Peter 1:4
First of all, where is your inheritance? According to Peter, your inheritance is “kept in Heaven for you” and can “never spoil”. Your reward is not here in this world.
1 Peter 1:6
“…though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” ALL KINDS OF TRIALS. Have you suffered all kinds of grief? Well, I can tell you that I’m a lucky girl who has had tons of blessings bestowed on my life, but I have also suffered all kinds of grief and trials—stuff that would knock me on my hind end had I not leaned on God to help me through. Even now I suffer through trials that I would rather not be dealing with, but such is life. So, back to the question, Why God? Why?
1 Peter 1:7
“These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold…may be proved genuine…” How is gold made pure? By fire, right? So too is your faith. After all, how could we ever prove to ourselves and to the world that our faith is genuine if it hasn’t been refined like gold? Why do we even need to prove our faith? So that it “may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” How else can souls be won over to Christ?
1 Peter 1:8-9
Even through trials, “…you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Let’s admit it, when we first started our walk with Jesus, many of us probably did it in order to be saved. We want to go to Heaven, right? Peter has no problem pointing this out. “The goal of your faith [is] the salvation of your souls.” Scriptures also tell us that “Fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). We don’t want to go to Hell. Fear may sometimes be what gets us in the door, but that’s not what keeps us here.
As we mature in our Christianity, we develop a relationship with God. We lean on Him and He helps us with “peace…which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). That peace is real. So, though Christians aren’t excluded from the pain of this world, we are held up and comforted by God. Even Jesus, who was sinless and perfect, had to endure the crucifixion. So, next time you ask God why, remember what Peter said, “…so that your faith may be proved genuine.”
Walker Lane 