In light of tragedies that we see often see, I found the following thoughts from the Lutheran Witness June/July 2020 edition helpful. I pray it blesses you. Used with permission. Pastor
Does God will and even cause suffering? Or does He merely “allow” it to happen? Let’s begin with the suffering and cross of Jesus. For the answers to our questions about suffering, so far as we can understand them, begin and end with Jesus.
Did God know from eternity that the Second Person of the Trinity would assume flesh, be born, live, suffer and die for the sins of the world? Certainly so. Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
So too, the lambs of Passover prefigured Christ. Did God will that those original Passover lambs be sacrificed and their blood mark the doors of the Hebrew people enslaved in Egypt? Quite certainly. He explicitly commanded it be done.
When John the Baptizer pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” was he indicating that Jesus’ death would only come about by the will of evil men (Judas, Pilate, religious leaders, others)? No.
A further answer comes most clearly in Gethsemane. “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” There it is. God the Father wills the suffering of God the Son. Furthermore, Jesus says, “No one takes [My life] from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.”
So, there we have it. God the Father and God the Son willed that the Son should suffer and die. God willed death. God willed suffering.
At first, this is disturbing! Isn’t death a result of sin? Isn’t suffering a result of sin? So, is God the cause of sin? No. God is not the cause and source of sin and death. Yet, God makes use of the curse of sin – suffering and death – for His good purposes. And this is most clearly seen in the cross of Christ.
So when suffering and affliction come, what do we hold to? Our Lutheran Confessions say the following, “This doctrine [eternal election] provides glorious consolation under the cross and amid temptations. In other words, God in His counsel, before the time of the world, determined and decreed that He would assist us in all distresses [anxieties and perplexities]. He determined to grant patience [under the cross], give consolation, nourish and encourage hope, and produce an outcome for us that would contribute to our salvation. Also, Paul teaches this in a very consoling way. He explains that God in His purpose has ordained before the time of the world by what crosses and sufferings He would conform every one of His elect to the image of His Son. His cross shall and must work together for good for everyone, because they are called according to God’s purpose.
So, this means that we cannot fully fathom what God is up to in times of crisis. BUT we DO know what God did in the cross of Christ. We DO know that He knows what He is doing. We DO know that He works His greatest blessings through crosses. And so, we plunge all our questions into the wounds of Jesus on Calvary. And we trust that through crosses [sufferings and afflictions], the Father is conforming His people into “the image of His Son. His cross shall and must work together for good for everyone.”