Why Does God Allow COVID-19?

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17 

Seventeen years ago my wife Christine and I went through one of the most difficult times of our lives. Our daughter Kayla had just turned a year old, and we had just found out that Baby #2 was on the way. We were so excited. Our little family of three was going to expand to four! About five weeks into the pregnancy, Christine and I saw the baby’s first ultrasound. The baby was tiny but looked like it was doing great. But when we went back a month later for the second ultrasound, we noticed something odd. The baby didn’t look like he had grown, and he didn’t have a heartbeat. A few minutes later the doctor sat us both down and told us that our little baby hadn’t survived.

Christine and I were devastated. Over the next week we prayed and prayed, but nothing changed. A follow-up ultrasound revealed that the baby had, in fact, died in Christine’s womb. Christine and I wanted to know: How could a loving, all-powerful God allow our precious baby to die? We had followed and served God faithfully for years. We knew that He could have saved our baby if He wanted to. So, why didn’t He?

The question of why God would allow our miscarriage is part of the same broader question as “Why does God allow COVID-19?” That broader question is: “How could a loving God allow pain and suffering?”

First, it’s important to understand that God doesn’t CAUSE all of our pain and suffering. Let’s be honest with each other: Much of our pain and suffering is our own darn fault—caused by our own poor choices and sin. At other times it’s the result of other people’s poor choices and sin. Some pain and suffering is the result of Satan’s attacks. Still other pain and suffering results from natural disasters that are part of the fallout of living in a sin-cursed world.

Well, that’s all well and good, but it still begs the question: If God is both loving and all-powerful, why doesn’t He snap His fingers and stop all the agony?

I’ll give you the honest answer, but I must warn you—you probably won’t like it. In fact, more than a few Christians have walked away from the faith because they felt let down by the answer. You see, the answer is … we don’t know. Why did God allow my wife to have a miscarriage? We don’t know. Why did God allow that horrible tornado to sweep through Mississippi on Easter Sunday? We don’t know. And why does God allow COVID-19 to linger? We don’t know. When it comes to pain and suffering, there are so many things that we just don’t know. But allow me to share with you four things that we DO know.

#1: You are not alone. Of all the promises that God makes in the Bible, guess which one is repeated the most? “I will be with you.” If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, God doesn’t promise that your life will be free of pain and suffering. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Jesus promised us that in this life, we will have trouble and experience suffering. But in the midst of our pain and suffering, we are not alone. He is with us. God tells us in Isaiah 43:2-3,“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned…. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

#2: Jesus knows how you feel. In Hebrews 4:15, we read these words about Jesus: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” Not only was Jesus tempted in every way that we are, he has also suffered in every way that we have suffered. So, you can be certain that when you hurt, he hurts. He knows how you feel.

#3: Your pain has a purpose. I cannot tell you why God allows every bit of pain and suffering in your life. But I can tell you this with certainty: If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your pain always has a purpose. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Personally, I think God gets a bad rap for not stopping all of our pain and suffering. We look at COVID-19 and assume that God is letting all the viruses run rampant. We don’t stop to consider the possibility that this pandemic is a walk in the park compared to the more wretched pandemics that God has kept at bay. Friends, our pain always has a purpose.

#4: Your pain will be over soon. Would you jog 5 miles for $20? Probably not. But my guess is, most of us would do it for a million dollars. Why? The pain and suffering is worth it if the reward is big enough. Well, we’re told in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Did you catch those words, “light and momentary”? I guarantee you: Everything in this life is light and momentary. When you’re a billion years into eternity and you look back at your life here on earth, it’s going to seem like a quick blip on a radar screen. Compared to the length of eternity, your life here on earth is so short. And compared to the absolute joy and thrill of heaven, this life’s trials are tiny.

So, press on, Christian. Persevere! God is good! God is in control, and He knows what He’s doing. Trust Him! You may not understand today, but one day you will.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our online worship service tomorrow at

10 a.m. at Live.GreaterImpact.cc or on our YouTube channel (Impact Christian Church) or on Facebook.

Look Up to God for Wisdom

 “You must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” - James 1:6

In his Bible commentary, Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a secretary who worked for him. Late in life she had a stroke, and her husband went blind. Then one day her husband was rushed to the hospital, where he stayed day after day. She was pretty sure that her husband would die in that hospital. When Wiersbe saw her in church, he let her know that he was praying for her. To his surprise, she asked, “What are you asking God to do?” He replied, “I’m asking God to help you and strengthen you.” She responded by saying, “I appreciate that, but could you pray one more thing? Pray that I’ll have the wisdom not to waste all of this!”

Wow! What an insightful thing to ask for: Wisdom. She understood that if you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, there is always a purpose to your pain. God never wastes trials in a Christian’s life. He works all things together for good. If you’re reading this, you’re probably a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. I hope you are. I hope that you talk to God every day. And I hope that when trials come, you talk to God … a lot! But when you’re going through some sort of trial, and you’re losing sleep, and you can’t hold back the tears … what do you pray for?

Is it all right to ask God to give you help and strength during your trial? Sure! Is it okay to ask God to make your trial go away? Yes! But perhaps the best prayer—the most important prayer that you and I could ever pray during the deepest valleys of life—is this one: “Father God, give me wisdom so that I won’t waste all of this. Help me to understand how You are using this trial for my growth and for Your glory.” You need to pray for wisdom.

James writes in verses 5-6: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt.”

When trials come, spend lots of time talking to God. Take time to pray. And, by all means, make sure that you pray for God’s wisdom so that you won’t waste your trial. Ask God for wisdom. Ask Him, for He is the Source of all wisdom. It’s been said, “Knowledge is the ability to take things apart, while wisdom is the ability to put things together.” When we’re in the middle of a trial and it feels like our lives are in a thousand different pieces, there are plenty of people who can break those 1,000 pieces into 2,000 or even 5,000 pieces. Some people in our lives are very knowledgeable about how to kick us when we’re down. But it takes wisdom to put the pieces back together. And God is the source of that wisdom. No matter how many broken pieces there are in your life right now, God can help you put them back together. He is the source of perfect wisdom. So He specializes in bringing order out of chaos and putting broken people back together again. So, ask God for wisdom.

But remember, when we ask God for wisdom, we need to ask in faith. We must “believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (vs. 6-7). Do you know what the greatest enemy to answered prayer is? Unbelief. If you pray to God for something but don’t really believe He’s going to give it to you, then you’re not going to get it. Do you know what the second-greatest enemy to answered prayer is? Doubt. James calls the man who prays with doubt a “double-minded man.” The one who prays with doubt is indecisive.

Think of Jesus’ disciple, Peter. Peter walked on water … temporarily. And he walked on water temporarily because he kept his eyes on Jesus … temporarily. He was indecisive. He believed, but then he doubted. And when he doubted—when he took his eyes off Jesus—he sank.

It boils down to this: Unbelief says “No!” to the unpleasant trials that God sends our way. Belief says “Yes!” to the trials. And doubt says “Yes!” one minute and “No!” the next. Don’t be a double-minded Christian. Keep your focus on Him.

God doesn’t want you to look DOWN. He wants you to look UP. The stuff of this world will all pass away. The rich man needs to take his eyes off of all his beautiful earthly stuff and look up, because all of his stuff will one day be left behind. And the poor man needs to take his eyes off of the rich man’s stuff and look up, because it will one day disappear. Only the eternal things of God will endure. James gives us the secret to turning our trials into triumphs: Instead of looking down at our problems, we look UP to God, asking Him for wisdom.

So, if you’ll let Him, God will work through your temporary pain for your eternal good and for the eternal good of those around you—all for His glory.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service Sundays at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Turning Trials Into Triumphs

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
- James 1:2

When I was a kid, I loved watching reruns of the hit TV series, “The Six Million Dollar Man.” Do you remember the backstory? After a major accident, the best and brightest minds spent $6,000,000 reconstructing astronaut Steve Austin into the first bionic man. After his state-of-the-art surgery, he could run 60 miles an hour, bend steel with his bare hands and see small objects half a mile away. And the key line in the title sequence goes like this. “Steve Austin will be that man: Better than he was before: better, stronger, faster.”

Had it not been for the trauma of Steve Austin’s accident, he never would have become the world’s first bionic man. And in much the same way, were in not for the trials in life that we face, we would never become more mature in our Christian faith. As much as we hate to admit it, the trials we face have the potential to make us better, stronger and faster.

But honestly, our natural human response to trials is to…FREAK OUT! Whether the trial is a life-threatening illness, a major car accident, the loss of a job, or persecution for our faith, we tend to respond to our trials by temporarily losing our minds. Right?

So, in the Book of James, verse 2 sounds like something straight out of “Fantasy Land”: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Really? Is James serious? Because joy is NOT a natural response to trials. Most people don’t shout, “Praise the Lord!” when they receive a utility shut-off notice in the dead of winter. And most Christians don’t say, “Thank you Jesus!” when the doctor says, “It’s cancer.” So, as followers of Christ, we must make a conscious decision to do what’s unnatural: to choose joy when trials come. It takes effort. It takes discipline. And it takes faith.

But what’s the point of choosing joy when trials come? James gives the answer in verse 3: “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” James is basically saying, “Christian brothers and sisters, you know that trials teach you patience and increase your endurance to make you stronger. And these are all very good things. You know this—you just don’t like to admit it. You prefer to avoid trials at all costs and cross your fingers, hoping that you’ll get better and stronger without them. Well, it just doesn’t work that way. If you want to mature in your faith—if you want to grow up and become more and more like Jesus--there’s no way around it: You have to experience trials.”

James continues in verse 4: “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you are a work in progress. God is slowly and methodically transforming your impatience into Jesus’ patience. He is slowly and methodically transforming your tendency to give up into Jesus’ tendency to press on. And He is slowly and methodically transforming your lousy attitude into Jesus’ attitude of counting it all joy.

Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a Christian man who realized that he was far too impatient. So, he prayed, “Lord, help me to grow in patience. I want to have more self-control in this area of my life.” Well, that morning he missed his train to work and spent the next 50 minutes pacing the platform and complaining about his situation. As the next train arrived, the man realized how foolish he had been. He said to himself, “The Lord gave me nearly an hour to grow in my patience, and all I did was practice my impatience.” Let’s be honest: When trials mess up our plans and schedules, how many of us spend far too much time practicing our impatience?

So, what is the purpose of learning patience and perseverance during our trials? The purpose—spelled out in verse 4—is to help us become mature and complete. Never forget that God is more interested in your character than He is in your comfort. God doesn’t want any of us to stay spiritual babies drinking spiritual milk. He wants us to grow up! He wants us to mature in our faith. And trials help us do that unlike anything else can. So, why should we respond to trials with joy? Not because trials are fun. Not because trials give us an excuse to have a pity party and get sympathy. We should rejoice when trials come for one reason according to James: Because they are tools in God’s hands to make us mature and complete—like Jesus.

This growth process brings with it some priceless blessings. It brings more peace to our lives; it positively influences those around us, and it pleases God. If trials pave the way for all these many blessings, you’d better believe we should rejoice. The trials may stink while we’re in them, but remember that God never wastes a trial in a Christian’s life. He will use it for your good, for the good of those around you, and for His glory. He REALLY is making you better, stronger, and faster. So, no matter how much it hurts … Rejoice. No matter how long it lasts … Rejoice. No matter how unfair and pointless it seems … Rejoice.

If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, your trial is in the hands of a loving God. He’s got this! And since He’s got this, you’ve got this too. So, rejoice!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our worship service tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Deal with a Living Nightmare

“After [Paul and Silas] had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer…put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

– Acts 16:22-24

Can you remember a time in your life when a celebration suddenly turned into a nightmare? May 2015 was one of those times for my wife and me. The month started off well with a Mother’s Day celebration. And we were looking forward to my wife’s birthday and our seventeenth wedding anniversary at the end of the month. But just four days after Mother’s Day, my wife and I found ourselves sitting in the Loma Linda Medical Center ER with our five-year-old daughter hooked up to an IV.

Our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and effective immediately, we would have to prick her fingers to test her blood sugar at least seven times a day and give her shots of insulin at least four times a day. If her blood sugar dropped too low, she could pass out and suffer life-threatening injuries. If her blood sugar elevated too high, her organs could be permanently damaged. It seemed as if we were in a bad dream from which we couldn’t wake up.

As our happy little family’s life was suddenly turned upside down, we found ourselves asking God the question, “Why?” My wife and I had dedicated our lives to serving Christ and following his will, so this gut-wrenching curve ball didn’t make sense. We knew in our heart of hearts that God must have a clear purpose for our daughter’s disease, but we wanted to know: “Why is this happening to us?”

In Acts 16, the Apostle Paul set out on his second missionary journey with his sidekick, Silas. After they visited many of the churches he had previously planted, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, instructing him to preach the gospel message in Europe, not in northern Asia as he had originally planned. So, the two missionaries obeyed God’s command. They traveled west into Europe, and the first city where they preached was the Greek city of Philippi.

Very quickly their ministry efforts produced much fruit. An influential Jewish woman named Lydia, along with her entire family, chose to follow Jesus Christ. And on one occasion Paul was empowered by God to cast a demon out of a poor little slave girl. On the heels of such life-changing ministry and the clear demonstration of God’s power, Paul and Silas must have thought that they were on the verge of witnessing a great spiritual revival in the city.

But their celebration quickly turned into a nightmare. In the matter of a few hours, Paul and Silas were dragged into court, stripped, beaten to a bloody pulp, thrown into prison, and placed in foot stocks. And if I had been in Paul’s shoes I would have been asking, “Why, God? You told us to come to Northern Greece, so we came. And look where it’s gotten us. We are shackled in a jail cell with our backs bruised and bleeding. And who knows what they’re going to do to us tomorrow? We don’t understand! Why, God? Why?”

Sometimes when we obey God, things seem to go terribly wrong. Oftentimes, persecution and heartache and pain increase when we’re in the center of God’s will. But as Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Honestly, Jesus’ command in these verses seems idealistic. Come on, Jesus, do you really expect Christians to “rejoice and be glad” when we’re being beaten up for our faith in Christ?

Surprisingly, yes. That’s exactly what He expects. And that’s exactly what Paul and Silas did as they sat in agony on the cold prison floor in Philippi. In Acts 16:25 we read these amazing words: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” What a remarkable response to such unjust, excruciating persecution! Bruised, bleeding and with their feet confined in stocks, Paul and Silas spent their time praying and singing to God. And in response, God sent a fierce earthquake that flung open the prison doors, unlocked everyone’s chains and, more importantly, put the fear of God into both the prisoners and the prison guard.

The prison guard fell on his knees before Paul and Silas and asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” You see, revival had come to that prison, and before the end of the night, the jailer and his entire family had accepted Christ and proven that decision by being baptized. If Paul and Silas had been wondering a few hours earlier, “Why is this happening to us?” by the end of the night God had answered clearly, “This is why I brought you to Europe. This is why I allowed you to be arrested, beaten and thrown into this Philippian prison. This is why. This is why.”

When the inevitable times of persecution for Christ come, you and I have some important questions to answer. Will we gripe and complain and shake our fists at God, or will we patiently praise God anyway? Will we simply trust our own five senses, throwing God’s commands to the wind, or will we trust God and continue obeying His will? My friend, when you are in the midst of the pain, you may not understand what God is up to, but one day you will. So, rejoice in Him. Trust Him. And obey His commands. Weeping may remain for a night, but joy will certainly come in the morning. In God’s plan, pain always has a purpose.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for our first worship service of 2019 Sunday at 10 am.

Joy in Suffering

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds.” – James 1:2a

Let’s be honest. Have you ever read one of God’s commands in Scripture and found yourself saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me! God, what were you thinking?”

Here’s an example. In James 1:2-4, the Bible tells us: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

There’s no way around it. That sounds like crazy talk. Are you kidding me, God? When I get a pink slip from my boss, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my doctor says, “The cancer is back,” I’m supposed to consider it pure joy? When my car breaks down on the side of the road, or my marriage is on the rocks or my dog bites me in the leg, I’m supposed to consider it pure joy?

Yes, you are. But how is that possible? I’m so glad you asked. Today I’d like to share with you two ways that you and I can experience joy in the midst of the trials and suffering of this life.

The first thing you and I must do if we are going to experience lasting joy in this life is this: Remain in Christ’s presence. In John 15, Christ told his disciples,“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love…. I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

I don’t know about you, but complete joy sounds really good to me. I don’t want just a sliver of joy. I don’t want a polluted mixture of joy and something else. After all, who wants a mixture of joy and lousiness? But the fact is, one of the reasons so many Christians struggle with sadness and depression is because they live their daily lives apart from Christ. Sure, we believe in him. Yes, we worship him on Sunday mornings. But we don’t remain in his love throughout the week. We can’t just open our Bibles for 30 to 40 minutes on a Sunday morning and call it quits till next week.

To remain in Christ’s love, we need to remain in his teaching and remain in prayer. But interestingly, Jesus doesn’t mention either of these two depression-busters in this John 15 passage. He simply says that if we desire to remain in his love, we must obey his commands—especially his command to love each other. So if you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, ask yourself: "Have I disconnected myself from Christ’s joy by failing to obey his command to love others?” You see, when we get depressed, too often it’s because we’re too caught up in our own little world. Are you bummed out because you’re living paycheck to paycheck? Well, join the club. Take the little bit you do have and be a blessing to someone who has even less. Your health isn’t great? Well, I guarantee there are plenty of others whose health is even worse. Be a blessing to them—show them Christ’s love. There is great joy in the presence of the Lord. Remain in his love, and you’ll discover that peace and joy aren’t nearly as elusive as they used to be.

God’s second piece of advice for bringing more joy into your life may surprise you: Spend more time in heaven. What does that mean? No, I’m not trying to send you off to push up daisies before your time. Instead, live out Colossians 3:1-4: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Isn’t that good? You’ve probably heard people say, “Get your head out of the clouds!” But God’s word says, “No! Put your head in the clouds! What you need is to get your head out of the dirt! You’re not an ostrich! You’re not a prairie dog! You’re not a gopher! Your heart needs to rise above the dirt of this world and beat for heavenly things. And your mind needs to rise above the dirt of this world and think about heavenly things.”

Paul says it there in Colossians 3:1: “You have been raised with Christ.” On that first Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and the light of dawn came rushing into that tomb. And when you became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, his light came rushing into your sorry tomb as well. If you’re a Christian, you’re not hopelessly surrounded by dirt anymore. You’re not a prisoner of complete darkness anymore. Your body has already been set free from the grave. Your heart and your mind have already been released from the prison of this world.

So, get up out of the dirt and soar into the clouds. Set your heart and mind on things above. If you do, no matter what trials this dirty old world sends your way, you’ll be able to count it all joy.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

From the Pit to the Palace

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” – Genesis 50:20

Years ago a story was shared in Reader’s Digest about a man who woke up one morning and discovered a pool of water in the center of his waterbed. Hoping to more easily locate the hole, he dragged the mattress out to his yard, attached a hose, and filled it completely. Unfortunately, the added weight made the mattress slide down a hill and into a bush that punctured it beyond repair. In frustration the man scrapped the water bed frame and purchased a new traditional mattress. Unfortunately, the next morning he awakened to discover a pool of water in the center of his new bed. You see, the upstairs bathroom had a leaky drain.

Have you ever had a leaky drain kind of day? Joseph did—every day for about 13 years. In Genesis 37, we are introduced to Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph. Not only had he been born to Jacob later in life, he was one of only two sons born to the love of Jacob’s life: Rachel. Unfortunately for Joseph, he wore his father’s favoritism on his sleeve…literally. Jacob gave his son a one-of-a-kind colorful robe that not-so-subtly screamed, “Favorite son! Favorite son! Favorite son!” As a result, Joseph’s ten brothers were jealous of him and hated him.

In anger, they tossed Joseph into a pit and then sold him as a slave to some traders heading for Egypt. And on the heels of that unconscionable act of treachery, Joseph spent the next 13 years of his life as a slave and prisoner in Pyramid Central. Sadly, those thirteen years ushered in two other doses of treachery that added insult to injury.

For starters, after having worked his way up to chief of staff in his master’s home, his master’s wife slandered his good name by accusing him of attempted rape. Piping mad, Joseph’s master threw him into the king’s dungeon, where Joseph would experience a third act of treachery. After several years in prison, one of Joseph’s friends betrayed him by failing to do for Joseph what he had promised to do: mention his plight to the king and petition for his release.

For 13 years Joseph suffered the agony of rejection, betrayal, slander and broken promises. All hope for Joseph would have been lost had it not been for one not-so-small reality: “The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered.” In a matter of moments, Joseph was promoted to the second highest position in Egypt. By God’s mercy and grace Joseph ascended from the pit to the palace. And within that position he was used by God to save thousands of people—including his own brothers—from starvation during a seven-year famine. The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 is an inspirational rags-to-riches story. And honestly, Joseph would have never made it to the palace had it not been for the pit.

This leaves us with a marvelous lesson from God’s Word: Oftentimes, God uses those who have suffered to rescue others who are suffering. It’s no coincidence that God used a man who had suffered for 13 long years to rescue a nation that would suffer for 7 years. It’s no coincidence that God used Jesus—a man of sorrows, acquainted with suffering—to deliver us from our own sin-cursed suffering. And it won’t be a coincidence when God places individuals in your path who are suffering in some of the same ways you have suffered.

If you’ve suffered through the horror of physical abuse, God will likely call on you to help others who have suffered in the same way. If you’ve suffered through an addiction to drugs or alcohol, God will likely use you to help others who are struggling with addiction. If you’ve suffered through betrayal and divorce, God will likely use you to minister to other betrayed spouses. And if you’re a cancer survivor, guess who God will likely call you to strengthen and encourage?

The fact that you’re a survivor, having persevered through your suffering, you have a wonderful gift: instant credibility. Your story is believable and relatable to those who are suffering in the same way that you yourself have suffered. Yes, that is an incredible gift from God, and you dare not waste it. The Lord wants you to use your post-pit credibility to encourage and pray for those who are suffering and point them to the only One in the universe who can promote them from the pit to the palace: Jesus Christ. Don’t miss your golden, God-given opportunity as a pit survivor to lead others to the hope and salvation that only Christ can bring.

Friend, at some time or another, each of us has been treated badly. Through no fault of our own, some of us have suffered abuse, been hit by a drunk driver or have been falsely accused of a crime we didn’t commit. Motivated by hatred and jealousy, certain people conspire to toss us into a pit and keep us there. But that’s not the end of the story. Our great God is able to use our deepest, darkest pit to help shape us into powerful instruments of peace, strength and healing in His hands. God does some of His most important character-shaping while we’re in the pit. But when our season in the pit has reached its end, God can promote us to the palace. He did for it for Joseph. Perhaps He will do the same for you.   

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sunday at 10 am.

The Problem of Suffering

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

– Job 1:21

I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone ask, “If God is all-powerful and He is just, then why do good people suffer?” Over the centuries atheists and agnostics have asked this question. Most Jews and Christians have—at some point or another—asked it as well. And honestly, most answers to this question have been dead wrong.

Many skeptics have used the problem of suffering as an opportunity to cast aspersions on God’s character: “Perhaps good people suffer because God is not as powerful or as just as we once thought Him to be. Maybe God wants to squelch suffering, but He’s powerless to do so. Or perhaps He’s powerful enough to do so, but He chooses not to because He doesn’t care.” When faced with this question of human suffering, skeptics have responded by saying, “Good people suffer because God is NOT all-powerful, and He is NOT just.” To the average agnostic, it’s as simple as that.

Yet to the Jews in both Old and New Testament times, this answer was completely unacceptable. It flew in the face of everything they believed about God. You see, they believed with all their hearts that Yahweh is the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth. And they believed the Old Testament Scriptures that testify to God’s goodness and justice time after time. Therefore, the Jews came to the conclusion that every person’s suffering is a direct consequence of his/her guilt before our holy God. In other words, if I sin a lot, I will suffer a lot. But if I sin a little, I will only suffer a little. To most Jews, it was as simple as that.

Do you recall what Jesus’ disciples asked him in John 9:2 when they saw a man who had been blind since birth? They asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” It seemed so obvious to the disciples: The ONLY reason this man was blind was because someone had sinned. Otherwise, our all-powerful, all-just God wouldn’t have allowed him to be born blind. So, when faced with the question of why good people suffer, the Jews’ typical response would have gone something like this: “God IS all powerful. And God IS perfectly good and just. Therefore, good people don’t suffer.”

Well, the truth is: The answers offered by both the skeptics and the Israelites were wrong. And to them and to all others who hold false views of God’s character and/or human suffering, God gave the Book of Job.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the story: Job was a man who lived to the East of Israel around the same time as Abraham. We are told in chapter 1 that he was “blameless and upright” and “he feared God and shunned evil.” You might call Job “God’s pride and joy.” Job was a very dedicated follower of God, and he was also the richest man in his neck of the woods. But with God’s permission, Satan unleashed his fury on Job—stripping him of all his wealth and even murdering his ten children in one fell swoop. By the time we reach the end of chapter 1, Job is a broken man, lying on the ground grief-stricken and baffled by his misfortune. Yet in the midst of his unimaginable suffering, he cries out to God saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Over the next thirty-six chapters, Job struggles to find meaning behind his suffering. He begs God to answer the “why” question. Yet surprisingly, God never gives Job a satisfactory answer. The LORD never reveals to Job that he was the apple of His eye. The LORD never informs Job that Satan was the instigator and perpetuator of his intense suffering. And He never reveals to Job that his very faithfulness to God in the midst of his suffering both shamed Satan and brought much glory to the LORD.

So, the Book of Job does not give Job or us a satisfactory answer to the question of why good people suffer. [This “why” question is answered later in Scripture: in Luke 18:19, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Hebrews 12:4-13 and John 9:3.] But the book does answer two similar and equally important questions about suffering. To the question: “Is there such a thing as innocent suffering?”, the Book of Job answers with a resounding “Yes!” The Book of Job clearly demonstrates that God IS all-powerful and just. But even still, sometimes—through no fault of their own—the innocent suffer.

And to the second question: “How should I respond to my suffering?”, Job gives us a marvelous answer: “The Lord gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be praised.” In other words, when suffering rushes in—even through no fault of our own—we as Christ’s followers are called to ride out the storm in humble worship and praise. Like Job, we may never know why we suffer, but we can and should trust, obey and worship our great God in the midst of our pain. Ultimately, He will see us through.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship tomorrow at 10 a.m.