Devotionals

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Genesis 1:31
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
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At 4:53PM local time on January 12th, 2010, a massive earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and the surrounding area. As I write this message just a week later, aid groups are struggling to get food and shelter to the survivors, to provide medical care for the wounded, and to account for the over 200,000 who died in the quake. So far, this tragedy is a second-runner-up to the tsunami that devastated Indonesia and other areas around in Indian Ocean in 2004, but with medical aid still struggling to help the wounded, the loss of life will likely exceed even that tragic quake's aftermath.

At times like this, it is hard to see how God could ever have thought His Creation was good, much less "very good." This comes back to the ages-old question of why a benevolent God could allow suffering. For many of us, the loss of life and the struggle to rebuild after a natural tragedy will always be a distant news event. We may know someone from a town devastated by a tornado, a hurricane, or a flood, but we are fortunate that most of us will never face the complete destruction that comes in the aftermath of an earthquake. The counting of the dead will always be a shocking but still impersonal number to us, with few faces we know. And yet we are touched by it in our hearts, and we care, and we give what we can to help, and we pray for those affected by the earthquake.

But we also wonder, how is this "good"? As I have read and heard many times since facing tragedy in my own life, the short answer is this: It isn't good. Contrary to the saying we hear so often at times like these - "This is all part of God's plan" - this sort of tragedy is NOT part of God's plan. God is not in the business of the wholesale slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people. God does not endorse the bombing deaths of civilians, the earthquake deaths of the poor and oppressed, the fiery deaths of those trapped in unsafe homes, the brutal murder of whole families, or the sudden and unexpected suicide of someone's beloved wife or friend. And yet, God allows those things to happen. We don't know why, and until we see Him face-to-face, we will always struggle with the question of why such things happen. But we do know that, at the very beginning, the Creation was indeed very good.

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1 Corinthians 13:8-13
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
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In a time like this, we have to know that faith and hope and love abide through tragedy and prosperity, through storm and sun, and through joy and pain. The love of God which is in Christ Jesus will NEVER be taken from us (Romans 8:38-39), and that is indeed a very good thing.

The fact is, when God created the earth and all that is in it, it WAS very good. He had created a world where water rose from the ground or settled gently in dew to water the plants, where there was no need to till the ground for food. (Genesis 2:5) It was a world where man truly had dominion over all living things, and Adam was able to take the time and effort to name all the creatures. (Genesis 2:19) It was a fruitful world that had been artfully formed for the very last thing that God created: Man. Without humankind, the various parts of Creation were merely "good," but once God had made a man and a woman, He saw that "indeed it was very good."

So what went wrong? We did. More specifically, Adam and Eve went wrong, by ignoring the Lord's clear instruction not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Once they had eaten of the fruit of that tree, all innocence was lost and we had to face judgment for what had been done. This gentle and beautiful world that had made no demands on us, this place that was the embodiment of God's love for His first son and daughter, it was then broken because of what they had done.

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Genesis 3:17-19
17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it':
"Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return."
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Where Adam and Eve once had the run of all the garden, had been given all the bounty of the fruitful trees, the seed-bearing plants, the grasses of the field for their sustenance, now they were cursed to toil and to sweat, to work and to break the ground just so they could eat. Where they might once have lived in harmony with their Creator, they now would become so caught up in the daily struggle of life that they would forget Him. One of their first sons would die at the hand of the other. In a few generations, godlessness and vile wickedness would run rampant over the newborn earth. And just a few more generations later, God would cause the destruction of all the evil inhabitants of the earth, saving only a remnant in the family of Noah. But after that Flood, God made a promise:

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Genesis 8:20-22
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 "While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease."
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God can and will punish the wicked in this life, but the huge scale of destruction once seen in the Flood will never again happen until the last days, when the earth itself passes away and a new earth comes to take its place. (Revelation 21:1) Remember the pain of these recent tragedies? Remember the sorrow and tears caused by loved ones and unnumbered strangers lost to storm and earthquake and fire and war? Remember the wickedness that humankind always seems to bring with them? Remember the great separation we feel from God when these things happen?

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Revelation 21:1-7
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son."
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There is the faith and hope and love of which Paul wrote, here recorded in the words of the beloved apostle John.

God is now here in the midst of our joy and our pain, in the sorrow and in the laughter. His eye is on those who fear Him and love Him. (Psalm 33:18), and as Paul wrote, nothing will ever separate us from His love. We are watched over by such a loving God, and yet our flesh is still weak and we may be tempted to doubt. This broken world may heave and shake, and fierce storms may tear down what men have built, and even the inevitability of physical death may surprise us with its suddenness, but God is still with us. We may face natural disaster or personal tragedy, or even face oppression and persecution for our faith, but God is still with us.

No, these painful things are not good, and God is not in the business of pain and death. He is love and life and salvation. Where now we live in a world ruled by Satan, in the end we shall live in a brand new world ruled only by God and His Son. We who believe on Christ will see that precious New Jerusalem where there is "no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying." We who love Christ shall know eternal life. We who love and fear God will see His salvation and know Him face to face, but Satan and those who reject God will face fire and brimstone and the "second death." (Revelation 21:8)

I know you will join me in reflecting on the hard times in our lives, and in praying for those facing tragedy today and in the future. As believers, it is hard NOT to feel compassion for the suffering in such large-scale tragedies as the earthquake in Haiti. But even when we wonder about the goodness of such things, let us remember that the world was not always this way. Let us recall that in the beginning, the world was whole and unspoiled, holy and fruitful and gentle, and that the first man and first woman were indeed without sin. Now, let us rejoice in the fact that our Savior has cleansed us of our sins, and when the time comes for a new heaven and a new earth, we who repent and believe shall live in that holy place forever, basking in the light and presence of our Holy God. And that indeed is very good.

Precious Lord God, Gracious Father, we join with many voices raised to You for whatever tragedies the world faces today. When we see the scale of destruction caused by this broken world, we may wonder where You are, but in the end we know that, despite the loss of life and livelihood, You will be glorified in the lives of those who seek Your face in this. You will be glorified in the hope and faith and love that abide in the hearts of believers everywhere. And Your presence shall be most tangibly felt through the hands and prayers of the faithful who work to help those in need. Hear our prayers, O Lord, and be with those who help and those who need help, with the wounded and those who bind their wounds. And may Your Word be proclaimed continuously throughout this day and all days to bring the hope of the gospel of peace to all mankind. Amen.

© 2010 Glenn A. Pettit-Noel

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