I can remember in my Philosophy of Religion class in seminary spent a very long time discussing this issue.? I believe that Dr. Keith Putt knew that we would be facing this issue over and over in our daily lives and ministry.? It seems for a twenty something guy with “the world by the tail” something that might not be applicable at all.? However, it seems that my seminary education got personal very quickly.

One of my great friends is Jenny Crowder Long.? She was Jenny Crowder when I met her as a little 7th grade girl in my youth group.? She was also the youngest daughter of an amazing lady–Martha Crowder.? Martha was my secretary at First Baptist Battlefield, my first ministry position.? Basically, Martha kept me straightened out for the year and a half while I was a youth pastor there in Battlefield.

Right after I took this Philosophy of Religion class, I got a phone call from Jenny saying that her mom had a very aggressive cancer and only had a short time to live.? Why? What do you say? Why would God do this? Eventually, Jesus took Martha home to heaven to be with Him.? That left a huge hole in the lives of those around Martha. The amazing part of this story is what God continues to do to help Jenny use this pain and suffering for His glory.? She is a psychologist and helps people every day to deal with the problems and issues in their lives.

One case in particular where I saw God use Jenny’s pain for His glory was the summer she was my intern in Burleson, TX.? One of my student’s mother was dying of, you guessed it, a very aggressive cancer.? This woman had gone through a battery of therapy to kill the cancer and she had “beat cancer.”? She beat cancer for less than a year.? She eventually was taken home to heaven the spring before Jenny came to be my intern.? God used Martha’s death to help Jenny minister to this young lady in her pain. Does it make the pain of either lady’s death less difficult? Absolutely not! However, God is sovereign over both blessings and suffering (see Job–“he gives and takes away…blessed be the name of the Lord.”)

If you have been living and breathing for very long, you will have to deal with this issue of suffering.? The problem is, especially with guys, we don’t deal with it very well, do we?? We tend to “clam up” and not want to discuss the issues.? We tend to push everything down deep into our hearts.? We often get mad at God and other people who are His representatives.

Our LifeGroup has been wrestling with this issue lately and I have been researching a bit on the topic.? Here is a great series from David Platt on this issue.? Check it out.? Has some great resources as well such as a Small Group curriculum.