God’s attributes are interrelated, complement and interpret one another. His strength is coupled with His love, which makes it wonderful.
The problem is even though we know God loves us and is all-powerful, we do not always have peace and can be anxious. Why?
Because even in knowing these things, we have our own doubts because we see troubling things in our lives or in the world. If God is really like this then why is there so much pain in the world and in my life?
In dealing with these doubts, we can see that they do not detract from God’s love and strength and then we can really rely on Him.
God’s strength is seen in three areas:
His strength over evil and suffering.
His strength over the evil and suffering in our lives.
His strength over evil and suffering and over them in our lives accomplished through Christ Jesus.
God's strength over evil and suffering
This is an age-old question but only a question those who believe in God. Atheists have no answer for evil and suffering in the world. It is just a product of brute and impersonal forces and we have to get over our objections and live with them.
The problem is that this denies our sense of justice and goodness, bringing despair and senselessness in life. We cannot live like this and it does not describe reality.
To understand this issue of evil and suffering, we will look at Job. Job was a blameless man, upright, fearing God and turning away from sin. He was a model believer in every respect.
The scene in the book shifts to heaven and God points out Job to Satan, the accuser and enemy. Satan responds that Job is like this only because God is blessing him.
Take away all this and he will curse God to His face. So God allows Satan to ruin his life and health (Job 1:12, 2:6).
It is important to see that Satan must have God’s permission and it comes with limitations. God is still supreme. Also, Job suffers BECAUSE he is righteous. We see this is how God treats his friends as incredible as this may sound. We love others by helping them avoid problems. God loves by overcoming problems in our lives.
God deals with Job’s doubts of His character by pointing out two things.
Job does not really comprehend the situation and God has a purpose for evil and suffering and is victorious over it. God asks Job many questions, pointing out this lack of knowledge.
Then He uses Behemoth and Leviathan as illustrations of God’s victory. Job realizes God’s purposes cannot be thwarted and that God has a good plan and uses suffering to achieve it.
We too need to realize our limitations and trust God’s goodness, knowledge, control, and purposes for problems in our lives.
The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hand; buy you must spare his life.”
Job 2:6
God's strength over evil and suffering in our lives
God is Triune and it is His nature to give and overflow in generosity. He allows us to use His strength.
So many 1000’s of verses talk about God being our Rock, Refuge, Savior, Redeemer (Is 41:10, Phil 4:13, Eph 6:10-11, Ps 46:1-2) and many other similar pictures of protection and help.
All these point to our needs and how God is able to meet them.
The problem is that we are so independently minded, we don’t use the strength God offers.
So, the loving thing for God to do is to accentuate our problems so we will take our refuge in Him.
Verses like 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 and 12:7-10 point out that in our dying and weaknesses, God’s life and power are shown. We can have a new appreciation for these tough areas in our lives because they actually help us be strong in the Lord. Like a plant in the soil, we need to be drawing our life from the Lord. Being “liberated” from the soil brings death to a plant, just like living apart from the Lord.
What difficulties are you facing now that are driving you to the Lord? They actually are doing much good in your life, even in the pain they cause. Can you have a better perspective on them?
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Phil 4:13
God's strength over evil and suffering and over them in our lives accomplished through Christ Jesus.
By nature we rebel against God and are enslaved to this rebellion. This disposition of Adam and Eve is passed down to us and we confirm this attitude in our own actions.
Religion cannot solve this because it does not deal with the root problem of rebellion and its penalty. Religion gives commands to make ourselves acceptable to God. But either by disobeying or even obeying, which leads to pride and trying to manipulate God, only points out our rebellion all the more.
Christ Jesus came as a man to free us from our rebellion. He took our rebellion upon Himself and died so that we could be made new in Him and be forgiven. He used His strength to become weak on our behalf so we could have victory in Him (Phil 2:5-11).
Now we just need to acknowledge our rebellion and trust Him to make us new and pay our penalty (John 3:16). We receive true, eternal life from Him as a result.
So, we can see how God’s strength is victorious over evil and suffering and that He makes His strength available to us to use and it is all done through Christ.
He loves us and is all-powerful so we can really rest in Him without a doubt in whatever circumstances we are in.
What doubts still bother you about God’s strength?
