God is good.

Reading this excerpt on how God may potentially use pain was the most challenging I’ve read throughout this interim course. In this excerpt, one of the points Lewis discusses is how God uses pain to draw the attention of His children. Furthermore, Lewis writes that pain is one of the most effective ways through which God communicates to humans. He illustrates his point when he writes:

“But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. Pain is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Lewis writes that because we have so many distractions in our lives which do not allow us to focus on God, God needs to find alternative ways to draw our attention for He greatly wants to bless us with the many blessings which He has in store for us. Lewis borrows the words of St. Augustine to illustrate this point:

“God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full-there’s nowhere for Him to put it. St. Augustine.”

Moreover,  Lewis raises a very important that God risks losing an individual to rebellion when He uses pain to draw in unbelieving individuals, however without God’s advances, the potential of salvation for the unbeliever disappears. Lewis writes:

“No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment.”

Another point which Lewis makes is that God must even at times inflict pain on those that are undeserving, who actually live quite deservedly comfortable lives. He writes that even with their worldly comforts, in order to save these individuals from eternal damnation, God bestows upon them situations which will encourage them to draw nearer to God than ever before. Lewis writes:

“God , who made these deserving people, may really be right when He thinks that their modest prosperity and the happiness of their children are not enough to make them blessed: that all this must fall from them in the end, and that if they have not learned to know Him they will be wretched. And therefore He troubles them, warning them in advance of an insufficiency that one day they will have to discover. The life to themselves and their families stands between them and the recognition of their need.”

I found this article to be very interesting for it challenges the way we understand and relate to God. God loves us and is for us, however there are times when we may become too content and forget the Lord. As a result, He may use certain painful situations in our lives which encourage us to draw nearer to Him. However, many people accuse God of taking away loved ones in accidents and diseases, as well as for not taking care of the hungry and for the depravity of man. This becomes a very touchy issue, for some situations look as if they are wonderfully God’s providence in having us draw nearer to Him as well as challenging situations where it seems as if God is the culprit for our sufferings. In my opinion, I believe that many bad things in the world such as world hunger, disease, and accidents are issues which humans are responsible for which God is able to redeem. However, where accidents have occurred or the sudden death of a child, I do not yet have an answer, yet I still trust God to know what He’s doing even though I do not understand His will throughout those tough moments.

I’ve always been touched by the faith of Abraham’s obedience to God’s will regarding the sacrifice of his only son born to him so late in life. I imagine the anguish and heartbreak Abraham endured while preparing to fulfill God’s will. I often ask myself how I would have responded in that situation, as I am right now I probably would have run away from God. Yet Abraham clung to God through this extreme trial and witnessed the incredible love and glory of God. Job also suffered yet persevered even after his world had fallen apart. These various examples of how regular men clung onto God was very inspirational, albeit challenging as well. I can now only pray that in the future I will also humbly cling to God and be sure to never forget the love of our Savior. God is our personal redemption and I was reminded of the reality of this incredible fact whilst reading this article. You should too.