It Isn't Fair!
If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Ex. 15:26, NIV.
It’s just not fair! I thought. Why doesn’t God keep His promise? Is He really who He says He is? I was upset with God. It seemed as if my faith were trapped in a dark valley.
My mom, a genuine Christian, had experienced relatively good health for 80 years. Because she loved God, she served Him faithfully. She walked in the “good works” Paul spoke of in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV).
In her 80s my mom began experiencing nausea and extreme vomiting. The physicians diagnosed her with cirrhosis of the liver. I thought cirrhosis was a disease of alcoholism, and my mother didn’t drink—never had! At the most she had probably had one or two tablespoons in medicine when a child.
The doctor read my puzzled look and said, “I know, you’re wondering how can this be? We don’t know either. When this happens, we suspect the individual had a childhood disease that damaged the liver. Do you know if that could be true of your mother?” I then remembered her telling me she had had jaundice as a child.
Angry with God over my mother’s illness, I now questioned His goodness, honesty, and promises. Still, I continued to communicate with Him, sharing my hurt, disappointment, and misgivings. Eventually His Spirit broke through my hurt, and I realized that because my mom had lived as God suggested is best for all of us—refraining from alcoholic beverages—He had kept His promise. I had been privileged to have a mother for 30 to 40 years beyond what I would have had had she drunk liquor. Many alcoholics die in their 40s or 50s. He had withheld the disease from her well beyond that! Because of her health practices and God’s blessings, she lived a full 85 years, glorifying God. Why should I mistrust Him? Instead, I will say, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God” (Ps. 25:1, 2, NIV).
Sometimes our faith is tested. Today praise God for the blessings He promises and provides.
It’s just not fair! I thought. Why doesn’t God keep His promise? Is He really who He says He is? I was upset with God. It seemed as if my faith were trapped in a dark valley.
My mom, a genuine Christian, had experienced relatively good health for 80 years. Because she loved God, she served Him faithfully. She walked in the “good works” Paul spoke of in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV).
In her 80s my mom began experiencing nausea and extreme vomiting. The physicians diagnosed her with cirrhosis of the liver. I thought cirrhosis was a disease of alcoholism, and my mother didn’t drink—never had! At the most she had probably had one or two tablespoons in medicine when a child.
The doctor read my puzzled look and said, “I know, you’re wondering how can this be? We don’t know either. When this happens, we suspect the individual had a childhood disease that damaged the liver. Do you know if that could be true of your mother?” I then remembered her telling me she had had jaundice as a child.
Angry with God over my mother’s illness, I now questioned His goodness, honesty, and promises. Still, I continued to communicate with Him, sharing my hurt, disappointment, and misgivings. Eventually His Spirit broke through my hurt, and I realized that because my mom had lived as God suggested is best for all of us—refraining from alcoholic beverages—He had kept His promise. I had been privileged to have a mother for 30 to 40 years beyond what I would have had had she drunk liquor. Many alcoholics die in their 40s or 50s. He had withheld the disease from her well beyond that! Because of her health practices and God’s blessings, she lived a full 85 years, glorifying God. Why should I mistrust Him? Instead, I will say, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God” (Ps. 25:1, 2, NIV).
Sometimes our faith is tested. Today praise God for the blessings He promises and provides.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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