Why does God allow problems to come?
In my work as a counsellor, I encounter a lot of people asking the question: If God is with me, then why are my problems still haunting me?
When one is stressed out and pressed down from life, our thoughts and perceptions warp to paranoid levels where we feel that everyone is against us. Everyone is slowing us down, our spouse, our friends, our colleagues, everyone seems to be burdening us. At these levels of stress, it is not even too hard to think that even God could be against us.
So is God against me? Why is He allowing all these problems to tower over me?
This question reminds me of the story of Exodus 14.
The Israelites, after leaving Egypt as slaves, were pursued by the Egyptian army when they were camping beside the Red Sea. We all know what happened next when God parted the sea, to allow the Israelites to pass, then drowned the pursuing Egyptian army.
This a very relevant story for stressed out people like you and me because the Israelites, at that time, were in a state of extreme stress and fear. And like you and me, they were voicing out to Moses (who represented God) what we stressed out people say in our hearts:
“Did you bring us out here to die?” -Exodus 14:11
Sounds very familiar doesn’t it? What do you say in your heart when you are all pressed down from the stress of life?
We can learn a lot from what happened next in the story. Let’s continue on with the story of the Israelites:
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Exodus 14:13-14
First thing that will definitely stand out here is verse 14: The Lord shall fight for you and all we have to do is hold our peace. So in the face of overwhelming stress and problems, let’s face it, the vast sea and the Egyptian army of our lives are too big for us. There is nothing we can do to get out from them and there is nothing we can do to defeat them. There really is nothing we can do and it will do good for us to realize that, because it is during these times of overwhelming helplessness and worries that we turn to The Almighty God.
You still haven’t answered my question. Why would God allow these troubles to haunt me?
My friend I will show you a portion of Exodus 14:13 again:
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord
Now, is your question answered? The Lord will show us our problems so that HE CAN CRUSH THEM IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. If the Israelites escaped Egypt without seeing them defeated, the Israelites will always be living in fear and uncertainty over the Egyptians. But because the Israelites saw their enemies crushed before their eyes, they can rest be assured that God is true to His word that He really will protect us from all evil to the point the He really will crush our enemies before our very eyes!
The Lord promised the same thing to His Son, Jesus Christ:
Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.
-Matthew 22:44, Psalm 110:1
The same promise was manifested on David in His all famous Psalm 23:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. -Psalm 23:5
God will surely defeat our enemies!
So if you are feeling stressed and pressed down right now, Fear Not! Stand Still! and See The Salvation of The Lord! The Lord is bringing these problems to you so you can see Him crushing them before your eyes so that we can finally be at peace! The problem that you see now, you shall see them again no more – forever (Exodus 14:13)
God knows we are very visual people. He knows that we won’t simply believe that He has overcome our sins until we see them crushed before our very eyes. This is why the ultimate victory of His love has to come down as a Man and be crucified as a man – so that we can see. So every time you behold the cross, you can rest and be assured that all your sins have been forgiven, all your debts have been paid for, and all your problems have been crushed.
See The Salvation of The LORD!
Praise be the name of Jesus Christ.
* Image taken from Google Images