My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Why art Thou so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet Thou art holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:1-3
A new unit is coming in the next couple of weeks—on encouragement! Meanwhile, this week I’m writing on random topics, including today’s which is a question submitted by a Prayer Team Member. If you have a question you’d like me to write on, please feel free to email it to me at frstav@gmail.com
In response to the recent reflection on the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, someone asked me this question: Why doesn’t Jesus perform this miracle (multiplying food) for the millions of people, especially children, that die of starvation every year?
This is a question that many of us, I’m sure have pondered on. I know that I have.
Every Prayer Team reflection opens up with some verses of Scripture. Today’s come from Psalm 22. Psalm 22, among other things, prefigures the Crucifixion of Christ. It begins with the well-known words that Christ spoke from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1) As we ponder on the question asked about why God doesn’t multiply food and stamp out salvation, we also have to wonder why God allowed His Son to die on the cross. And even if we cannot answer this question, we have to know that God knows our pain, as He saw the entire humanity reject both Him and Christ, and crucify God’s Son.
Let’s talk, however, in practical terms. Why do bad things happen? Bad things happen for one of four reasons. Bad things are caused by 1) our bad decisions—if you drive too fast and hit something, that is a result of a bad decision you made. 2) Bad decisions made by others—if someone else drives too fast and hits you, the blame lies with the careless driver. 3) “Natural” disasters—these are not, in fact, “natural” disasters. The nature was created perfect. These disasters are the result of a fallen nature, where disasters like hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes occur. God did not make the earth “fallen.” In its “natural” state, the world was perfect. 4) We are equal sharers of an imperfect nature—the imperfect nature includes impure water and imperfect gene pools, as well as impure air. We are all exposed to these things no matter whether we are smart or educated, or rich or poor, or tall or short or fat or thin. We are all exposed to these imperfections of nature and so there is a consequence for each of us.
Poverty and starvation, depending on the circumstance, can fit under all four headings. If a person refuses to work, or ends up in prison and comes out penniless, poverty can be the result. Similarly, if someone is the victim of a broken home, or a parent who can’t find work or who is disabled, the resultant poverty can be attributed to a human source. There are many places in the world stricken with severe drought, where there is not enough water to drink or to grow things. Starvation results and its due to the fallen nature. And some people are a victim to circumstance, which is basically what option number four is—they are born into poverty because of who they are or where they live.
So, we have the cause of every disaster—and as a Christian man who has wrestled with these questions, I’m satisfied that these are the answers. The world is fallen. Everyone in the world lives in a fallen nature. We all share the nature equally, in that we share the air and the water and the same polluted resources. Everyone partakes in the fallen nature in a different way. The hardships that befall us are not equal, they are unique to each person’s circumstance.
There is one question for which there is no answer, at least not one I can think of. Before I get to the question, let me set the scene, so to speak. A miracle is when God suspends the laws of nature and allows for something extraordinary to happen. For instance, if I swing my fist at someone to hit them and God stops my fist so that I don’t hit them, it is a miracle—God has stopped the laws of nature and physics so that a physical injury has been avoided. Many of us have received small miracles from God—just about anyone who has driven for many years has had at least one “close call” to a traffic accident. We’ve each had a moment when we were sure we were going to get hit, only we didn’t. If every “sure” accident happened, there would actually be a lot less people in the world today.
If every time I go to do something bad, or if every time something bad is about to happen to me, God intervenes and stops it, that would go against free will and would make us like puppets on a string. If I go to do something bad and God always stops me, He has effectively taken away my free will. He has prohibited me from doing that bad. In others words, He would be treating me like a robot. If every time someone goes to do something bad to me, if God stops them, He has taken away someone else’s free will. If God changes the course of “nature” every time something bad or unforeseen happens, He will have taken away the ability to “nature to run its course” because God would have chosen the course on behalf of nature. And if God makes miracles happen for some all of the time and for others not at all, then we are unequal sharers of imperfect nature.
Sometimes a miracle happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it rains too much and crops are ruined. Sometimes it doesn’t rain enough and crops are ruined. And sometimes it rains just right. If God stops the flood and also the drought, He is manipulating the fallen nature, and He won’t do that all the time.
The question for which there is no answer then, is “Why does God make a miracle sometimes and other times He does not?” Why won’t He send down just enough rain on the crops in poor countries so people have something to eat? But even more personal, why on certain days does someone’s car get spared an accident (a miracle) and on other days, the car gets wrecked or saved? Why does one person’s child overcome cancer while another succumbs to it? Why is a cure miraculously found for certain illnesses and not for others? These are the questions for which there are no answers.
Faith is not about having all the answers, but still showing up despite that fact. Faith is not always expecting a miracle, but being grateful when one does happen and being patient and still showing up when one does not. If we had all the answers, we would have to wonder what role does God play in everything? And I’ll admit to you, there are definitely some things I want to ask God when I meet Him, like why did He allow children to die from starvation or disease, like why does He step in and intervene on certain occasions and not on others? I have these questions for sure. I also have faith, which is keeping going despite not having all of the answers.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to Thee! Do not hide Thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline Thy ear to me; answer me speedily when I call! Psalm 102:1-2
Whether life is good or bad, whether you’ve just had a miracle or feel like God is totally absent, keep showing up! That’s what faith is! Keep the faith, no matter what!
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission. From the Online Chapel of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
