Brokenness

This blog is inspired by Andy Stanley's lecture on Brokenness.

Why doesn't God stop tragedy? Tsunami's, tornadoes, terrorism, murder...

And we ask ourselves did he cause it or allow it?

If God is all powerful why do these terrible things happen that bring us to our knees in suffering?

Derek Kidner, an old testament scholar and ordained minister in the Church of England, once said: "Human arguments exhaust themselves. We can never know all of the factors involved. We can't know, we won't know and we have to trust Him..."

Everyone will ask these questions at some point in their lives...who is God? 

Why doesn't he/she/it protect us?

We debated this a couple weeks ago in "Starting Point", a class at Northridge Church, and something that really stood out to me is this...I don't want to understand. If our God was on a level that we could understand what would make him so great? If you read Genesis and the story of Abraham you will learn that God's promises don't come "when we want them". God does not operate in "microwave oven" time. God operates according to his plan for our lives. 

We have to trust Him.

I think that is why it is so hard for people to grasp and have faith in His plan...because it doesn't come when they want it to. 

In the words of Tracy Chapman's song, Change

How bad, how good does it need to get?

How many losses, how much regret?

What chain reaction?

What cause and effect?

Listen to the song by clicking on the video below

In other words what needs to happen in our lives for us to believe in God? Why do bad things cause us to turn away from Him...when we need him most? 

Is YOUR plan really greater than His???