Theodicy

“These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.” (Psalm 50:21 ESV)

Psalm 51 is a Psalm of conviction. It affirms God’s sovereignty over humanity's evils and is judgment of the wicked. A Psalm of Asaph means the Psalms are of Asaphic authorship. There were two Asaphs, the most prominent being the son of Berachiah, of the Gershom family. It is this Asaph who led the music service during the reigns of David and Solomon.

In this Psalm, we find the response we should all have to the question, “Why does a supposedly good God allow for suffering?” This is called Theodicy, and you will not have to go too far when speaking with an unbeliever about God before they give you this loaded question.

Having researched and talked to a few pastors and evangelists from other countries, I find this fixation on suffering most prevalent in the U.S. Why this is, I am not sure. Perhaps it is because we have so many blessings in this country that, when something is the opposite, there must be someone to blame.

The place to find the response to such a stacked question is in the Book of Job and in our scripture today. The unbelievers, even some claiming to believe in God only if He is a God of their making, see God as thinking, feeling, and acting as we do. However, God is far above us in all attributes. Yet there is a presupposition of God’s guilt. “If He is as powerful as you say He is, why then the suffering?” We must reframe the question.

In the Book of Job, Job questions God about his suffering. God reframes the question with His questions. (38:11)

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³ Dress for action like a man;    I will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?⁶ On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷ when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, ⁹ when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, ¹⁰ and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, ¹¹ and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

God has power over all things, and it is the fallible human mind that forgets or does not understand this fact. In these verses and those that follow, God points out Job's infantile understanding of creation. God is also showing Job that he cannot understand; he is incapable of understanding. We sometimes try to be the defender of God, attempting to explain what we do not or could not know in God’s defense, and that is when we fall into the trap of Theodicy, “Aha, you have no answer, do you?”

There are no great details in scripture about why God ordains suffering, so we must focus on what we can understand and explain, first, how sin and suffering entered the world through the human disobedience of Adam and Eve. We also know from Job that Satan has his own goals with our suffering. Satan wants to use our suffering to lure us away from God. The lies that Christ has abandoned us, that we are not worthy or deserving of punishment, as Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar tried with Job, furthering Satan’s testing of Job. Satan finds malicious delight in our pain and suffering; there is no delight in this for God, who will only use our situation for His will and our best interests.

Satan uses these tests, this suffering, to try to lead us from Christ. Jesus warned Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31). God allowed the testing of Peter, just as God suggested the testing of Job, both for His glory. This did not make God malevolent or evil. That it did, at least in Peter’s case, temper Him. Three times denied, and three times Christ again placed trust in Peter. (John 21:15-17)

The fear of death is probably the greatest thing that enslaves people, greater than sin and hell. It is in salvation that we are freed from sin, but also the sting of death is removed and replaced by hope. This side of heaven, we cannot know the reasons for suffering. We know that it is simply not evil, or necessary, but a part of God’s greater plan for us and those around us.

Our suffering affects everyone around us, and so does our display of faith and trust. Some days, our suffering feels like a great weight, and we want to lash out at those who “understand what we are going through.” We cannot; we can only trust in the Lord.

As my good friend always says, “just a few more weary days.” Soon, for all of us, we will understand suffering when we stand before the Lord, no more tears, no more pain, and no more suffering, we will bask in and worship the glory of the Lord.

Grace and Peace