WHY DOES
GOD ALLOW PEOPLE WE PRAYED FOR TO DIE?
"If ye be led of the Spirit, ye
are not under the law."
— Galatians 5:18
MY
TESTIMONY
Back in
2011, I lost my first wife to kidney cancer. She never smoked. She didn’t drink
Alcohol. She
went to bed early. She was the reason I stayed in church when I determined I
had
Enough
church. We were on a low salt, no fried
food diet. At the time, it did not seem
fair
To me that
my prayers for her life was not answered.
I reminded
God of every prayer I could recall regarding healing.
Whatever I
ask the Father in Jesus name will be done for me
The prayers
of the righteous accomplishes much.
I found in
me a new law of the flesh. Not God’s
will but mind be done.
In that
situation I was not led by the Spirit, but by my law of the flesh.
I questioned
my faith. Did I pray long enough? Was I righteous enough? Was there doubt
In my
prayer.
Even though
the doctors outlook was death. I refused to accept any answer from God but
Full
recovery. I maintained my faith until the end came.
When the end
came, I was filled with grief, angry and disappointed. I the preacher
Felt like a complete
failure.
I had to
learn to trust God in the mist of my situation like I had done in all other
Events of my
life
"If ye
be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
— Galatians
5:18
THE
TROUBLE TODAY
In this day
we are experiencing millions of deaths all over the world. Even with several
vacines
That are
effective, we cannot control the virus. It does not seem fair that over 90 % of
the
Hospital icu
beds are filled with people that refuse to take the vaccine.
We have
family members that have the virus. We lost family members as a result of the
virus
We are at
risk every day when we leave the house
of being in the presence of someone with
The virus.
How do
you deal with death in the family?
Look what happen to Moses after leading the
Israelites out of Slavery.
God called
Moses to the mountain to receive His law.
While He was
up on the mountain, the people went into an uproar
They forced
Aaron to build a golden calf to worship.
God heard
the noise in the camp and knew their sin
He sent
Moses down the mountain to convict Israel of their sin.
He sent down
to bring order into the camp. He was sent down to give Israel
A chance of
redemption.
Moses said
to the nation, who is on the Lord’s side come to me.
Most came to
Moses. But many stayed and died in the fire.
He came down
with the law.
The law
condemns, Grace redeems
The Law
enslaves. Grace frees
The law
denies faith
Grace promotes
faith
The law is
death
Grace is
living water
The Law
brings struggles
Grace brings
Peace.
Why did
we need the Law?
"If ye
be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
- Galatians
5:18
Romans
5:20-21
The law was added so that the trespass might
increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that,
just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness
to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We cannot rely
on our own reasoning. We must trust God.
God has a
plan for our lives. His plan includes living on this earth and dying.
Death is not
the end, but the beginning of the final chapter which is eternal life with
Jesus.
This brings
me to the question:
WHY DOES
GOD ALLOW PEOPLE WE HAVE PRAYED FOR TO DIE?
In my
ordeal, the first thing I discovered was that I was praying the right prayers
With the
wrong interpretation.
God has a permissive
will and a divine will. He allows things to happen in our lives
But He has
determined the outcome.
Ephesians
1:11-12
In him we
were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who
works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
God worked
out all the details of your life before you were born.
It seems odd
to say a prayer, considering God has determined the end from the beginning.
Prayer works
when it is according to His will.
John
16:23-24
I tell you
the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now
you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your
joy will be complete.
Jesus can only
bless you with that which is the will of the Father
1 John
5:14-15
14 This is
the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us —
whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.
The reality
check for our prayers is this, are we
asking according to the will of the Father.
One reason
we don’t ask according to God’s will is that it may be different from our
prayers.
If we could
change God’s will, we would change future outcomes that would be to our benefit.
If we could
pray everybody well nobody would get to heaven. I am foolish enough to believe
That God
gave me my first wife to teach me to be a man, a father and a husband. He got
me
Prepared for
my second wife.
I came
across an article by Amanda Hovseth that I would like to share with you.
It a
discussion of scriptures concerning God’s plan for us.
Why Does God Let People Die?
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Over six years ago I lost my dad to lung cancer which had
traveled to his brain. He was a healthy forty-nine year old man, he never
smoked, and he worked out twice a day. Then one afternoon, seconds after
hanging up the phone with me, he had a seizure, and that started our year long
journey of slowly losing him.
It seemed unjust--he took good care of his body, why would
cancer take root in him? And he was more than just physically healthy, he was
spiritually healthy. I have never met anyone who burned so passionately for
God. My father was tireless and relentless-studying the Bible every chance he
got. He loved apologetics and kept up to date with all the new scientific,
historic, and even emotional evidence for God. And he NEVER missed an
opportunity to talk to someone about God’s truth. Quite frankly being around
him could be exhausting--the man literally only slept three hours a night. But
the point is, when my dad passed away, my world became impossibly quiet and
empty. Who would be there to fight the battles he never shied away from? Who
would be there as backup for me when I took on battles of my own? Why would God
see fit to take this type of man--my father--out of the world?
Not only did this question rise up in my own soul--it came
at me from almost everyone I talked to after his death. Everyone around me was
worried I would lose my faith in God because he had let my father die. And many
of them were struggling with their own faith because of this as well.
Fortunately for me, my dad--and his love for apologetics--had already prepared
me to know the answer to this question. And I was incredibly grateful he had,
because as C.S. Lewis said:
“Faith is the art of holding
on to what our reason has once accepted, in spite of our changing moods.”
In times of emotional turmoil we need to hang on to the
truth that keeps us anchored. So, let me share with you the truth that anchored
me:
I’ll ask the question again:
IF GOD IS REAL, WHY DOES HE LET PEOPLE DIE?
Well there is one huge problem with this reasoning--God never promised us that we wouldn’t die. In
fact, He promised exactly the opposite--everyone dies. First we die; and after
that we live forever.
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) And it was appointed unto men once to die; but
after this the judgment.
Everyone dies. God has not broken any promises when He lets
people die. He has simply allowed what He said would happen, to happen. Ever
since Adam and Eve brought death and decay into our world, death has been part
of the bargain.
Some people claim death is proof that God doesn’t exist.
But that is unreasonable, it means their logic would have to go something like
this:
God says everyone dies →
People die → So God doesn’t exist
It’s like saying:
The weatherman says it will
rain → it rained → So the weatherman doesn’t exist
These are illogical conclusions. Death, if anything, is
proof that God is real and is honest with us about what is coming our way. And
God gave us the Bible to help prepare us for that death.
Of course, this leads us to
another question:
WHAT’S UP WITH THE TIMING? WHY WOULD GOD TAKE ONE OF HIS
MOST PROLIFIC “PLAYERS” OUT OF “THE GAME” WHILE HE WAS STILL SO YOUNG?
I know it’s hard to understand why God chooses to extend
some lives while seeming to cut others short. The only answer I have for this
is to say we have to find a way to put things into perspective. To see
things--not from our own grief-riddled opinions--but from the lens of the
reality we exist in. We need to focus on the truths we know:
1) God is all-knowing:
He sees things we cannot see. He knows the big picture. We are finite beings
who can’t even know what the next hour of our life will bring us. But God
existed before time began. He created time
and brought us into being. He knows how each of our lives's threads weave
together to create a marvelous tapestry.
Colossians 1:17 (ESV) He is before all things, and in Him all things
hold together.
Psalm 100:3 (NASB) Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture.
2) God is all-loving: For
reasons I cannot even begin to comprehend--God loves us. He has proven time and
time again that He loves us. He even went so far as to suffer and die on the
cross for us.
“God is Love” Voss Creative
Artworks
Romans 8:35, 37-39 (NLT) Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s
love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are
persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ,
who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s
love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for
today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate
us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed,
nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I know it can be extremely hard to do, but since God knows
things about the world’s timeline that we don’t have any clue about--and since
we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He loves us--we have to trust that God
knows what He is doing and has our best interests at heart, even when life
hurts.
This is when people come
across a pitfall:
DOES BEING SAD ABOUT DEATH MEAN MY FAITH IS WEAK?
No, it is not wrong to cry or mourn. The reality that God
is in control and it will all work out in the long run, doesn’t discount the
pain we feel here and now.
God understands how terrible and painful dealing with death
can be. We get a good example of how God views death from John 11:1-44 when Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead.
Even before Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, He knew He would
raise Lazarus from the dead. He says in John 11:4, “...’This sickness will not end in
death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through
it’” (NIV). Lazarus’ death and resurrection were part of the
plan so that people could know Jesus was God and had power over death.
Jesus even took His time traveling to Lazarus to make sure Lazarus would
be dead when he got there. When Jesus finally arrived He explained the
situation in John 11:25-26. It says, “Jesus told her (Martha), “I am the
resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after
dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you
believe this, Martha?” (NIV).
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“Jesus Wept” by James Tissot
Jesus could have healed Lazarus before he died. But He
chose to let him die. And Jesus knew He would be raising Lazarus from the dead.
Yet, when Jesus stood in front of His friend’s tomb--He still wept. Jesus cried because of the pain
and suffering death was causing. Even though death was not the end, in that
moment Jesus wept.
God does not like to see his people struggle. He does not
like to see His creations decay and die. But death is a direct result of free
will. And free will is necessary if we are going to have any sort of real and
valuable relationship with God. This is because you cannot force someone to
love you; they have to have the ability to choose love all on their own.
All this to say--If Jesus can weep at Lazarus’
tomb, then of course we can mourn our own losses.
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UNFORTUNATELY, GOD DID NOT PROMISE US EASY LIVES.
Throughout the Bible God constantly refers to life as being
hard. However, He did make us some promises:
He promises to be by our
sides and help us through the pain.
Isaiah 41:13 (NIV) For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of
your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Psalm 54:4 (NASB) Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the
sustainer of my soul.
Psalm 118:6 (NASB) The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can
man do to me?
1 Peter 5:10 (NIV) And the God of all grace, who called you to his
eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself
restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
God also promises that death
is not the end--it’s only the beginning. And people who have
accepted Jesus as their Savior can look forward to an amazing afterlife.
John 11:25-26 (NIV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and
the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and
whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (NIV) So will it be with the resurrection of the
dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is
sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
in power; and it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If
there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Revelations 21:4 (NIV) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away.
CHRISTIANS
ARE CALLED TO HAVE AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE.
Losing people to death is the greatest struggle this life
throws at us. Mourning their loss and feeling the pain is healthy and normal.
Even Jesus allowed Himself to weep over death. But
death does not discount the existence of God. It only reinforces our need for
Him. We should lean on God in times of trouble, because He
wants to help us through them. Turning away from Him, and facing the pain
alone, will only make it harder. And in the end, remember, you will see your
loved ones again. I will see my father again. And the time spent without them
in this life will feel like a tiny blip compared to the everlasting life that
is to come on the other side of death.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV) For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our
eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Romans 14:8 (NIV) If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we
die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
Romans 8:18 (NLT) Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to
the glory he will reveal to us later.
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