In Hebrews 11:6, God reveals to us a profound, universal truth. Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he…rewards those who seek him. Here, God reveals that the prerequisite for drawing near to Him is an assumption about his nature—that the time, risk, and energy spent seeking to have a relationship with him is a worthwhile investment—that it is beneficial to seek God, that his goodness causes him to enrich those who seek him. If this principle is true—that confidence in God’s benevolent character is a requirement for drawing near to him—no wonder Satan planted doubts in Eve’s heart about God’s goodness. No wonder the difficult circumstances of life so easily bring not just a complaining attitude, but subtle doubts about whether God really is as good as we had believed. This episode seeks to build biblical certainty into our hearts that God always rewards those who seek him. It is his nature to do so, and his nature never changes.
Several years ago, my friend, Rick, recounted a story to me that opened Rick’s eyes to his distrust of God. He was at a waterpark with his six-year-old son, Michael. And Rick was seething mad. They had climbed all the way to the top of the huge water slide. But at the top step, Michael looked down the slide and stopped dead in his tracks. Rick saw his fear and responded, “Michael, trust me, it will be okay. It’s safe. You won’t get hurt. I’ll be right behind you. Sit between my legs, we’ll go together. Come on. You can do it.” But Michael wouldn’t budge. “Michael, trust me I’m your father. I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.” But Michael refused to go down that slide. The two of them had to climb around what seemed like half the waterpark crowd as they went all the way back down to the bottom of the ladder. Later, Rick told me, “I was so angry that Michael refused to trust me as his father. But then I realized that I am exactly the same way in refusing to trust God.”
As we continue our series, A Closer Walk With Jesus, it is worth observing that meaningful relationships require trust. No psychologically healthy human will pursue friendship with one who is untrustworthy, one who they suspect will betray them, one whose intent, they believe, is to harm them. In the book of Hebrews, God tells us this principle is equally true of relationships with him. Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he…rewards those who seek him. This verse has always made sense to me because it was on a Young Life weekend while a junior in high school that I was challenged with Jesus’ claim from John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Young Life showed me that abundant life by coming into my world to show love for ME, pointing to who Jesus was, and by designing the best kind of good, old-fashioned fun weekend a teenager could have. That weekend I told Jesus I was all in with him. Honestly, I chose to follow Jesus out of enlightened self-interest. I wanted abundant life in Christ. The same motivation prevailed in succeeding years as I struggled through dating relationships that failed (in more ways than one) and couldn’t find the right girl for me. I claimed Psalm 34:10, “Even young lions, (the mightiest of beasts) sometimes suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord will not be in want of any good thing.” Jeremiah 29:11 also gave me strength to trust God to lead me to a mate. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Although my whole life is evidence of the truth that God rewards those who seek him, I still notice this reality: Whenever I go through difficulty, pain, or frustration, doubts about God’s goodness creep into the corners of my mind, whether from Satan, my sinful nature, or past shaping experiences of betrayal. I suspect that you fight the same battle. So, let’s attack these doubts, by considering 1) the goodness of God’s nature, 2) the goodness of his moral law written on our conscience, and 3) how human suffering is NOT inconsistent with God’s goodness.
God’s Goodness
Theologians define God’s goodness towards his creatures this way: It is that perfection of God which prompts Him to deal bountifully and kindly with all his creatures (L Berkov, Systematic Theology). This attribute of God means that the intention of God’s heart is always towards what will benefit those who seek him. For example, he tells his covenant people, Israel, that after seventy years, he will fulfill his good plan for them giving them a future and a hope, returning them from exile in Babylon. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile (Jer 29:13-14). Notice that this restoration of their fortunes is based upon their decision to seek God with all their heart. I believe this Jeremiah text along with the Hebrews 11:6 text we’re studying Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he…rewards those who seek him teach that there is something that is automatic about God’s nature. HE REWARDS THOSE WHO SEEK HIM. In fact, literally the text says, God becomes a rewarder to those who seek him—implying a strong law of cause and effect. Translators stay away from the expression, BECOMES a rewarder because God doesn’t become anything; he is immutable. Nevertheless, the language stresses that God reacts to those who seek him in a very specific way—he rewards them. The word for, reward is MISTHOS, which means, primarily wages, then, generally, reward. So, God pays us the wages due for seeking him.
On the surface, this text seems to contradict the biblical teaching that we cannot earn salvation—that we are saved NOT BY WORKS, but by grace alone through faith alone as taught in Eph 2:8-9. But careful thought shows no contradiction. Romans 3:10-11 tells us there is no one who seeks after God in his own strength, no, not even one. Only by God’s grace does anyone seek God. But when God’s grace does empower him to do so, he may be certain that God will reward that seeking. This Greek term for reward, or paycheck, (MISTHOS) refers to benefits linked to behavior—reaping what you have sown. It is parallel to Gal 6:7-8, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Eternal life is not just something that begins when you die; it begins right now. God’s goodness guarantees that he is the rewarder of those who seek him, both NOW and IN ETERNITY. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life” (Lk 18:29-31). This promise has of course been perverted into the “health and wealth” gospel—God’s reward for you is money! Anyone with any spiritual depth, however, realizes that the riches promised to those who seek God go far deeper than a superficial fat wallet. And Matthew’s version of this promise includes Jesus saying, “with persecutions,” as if to remind us that abundant life is not life without pain. As Jesus combatted Satan with Scripture, here are additional biblical truths upon which to build confidence in God’s unwavering goodness:
- Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!…. For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things (Ps 107:1,9).
- Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! (Ps 34:8).
- And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone (Mark 10:18).
The Goodness of God’s Moral Law
Scripture teaches that fallen human nature is enslaved to a hidden force—the demand for autonomy—the right to do what I want, when I want, and how I want to do it. For this reason, our innate, hidden attitude towards God’s moral law, is to hate it—to view it as an enslaving body of rules that restrict our freedom. This hatred may not come to light until God hems us in and puts us in a corner where we have to love someone we don’t want to, we have to forgive one we want to withdraw from, or we have to say “no” to an appetite that intensely demands to be satisfied. Lurking even in the heart of God’s covenant people is a hatred for restrictions—we want the open road. We claim the ultimate right to choose.
It is striking to me that mighty King David, a man’s man if there ever was one, countered his independent nature by growing to love the moral law of God that constrained him, restricting his freedom. He was never afraid to draw near to God because God’s Word might convict him of some sin he didn’t want to give up. To the contrary, he had grown to love the Law of the Lord because he knew it was the path of life. Though his sinful nature fought restraint as much as anyone’s, he wrote, Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me (Ps 119:97-98). To David, God’s Law was a treasure, a gift of love from God. He wrote:
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; IN KEEPING THEM THERE IS GREAT REWARD.
It is hard to imagine a biblical figure who walked with God more closely than David did, nor any writer who expressed his love for the Law of the Lord more profusely! David had internalized the truth that the stinging voice of his conscience—the moral law written on his heart was a blessing. It guided him onto the path of life. David did not live with a fear that drawing near to God meant the pain of having to give up some kind of sin that he enjoyed. It meant being guided away from paths of destruction. Though his heart was darkened about his sexual sin, having wrongly taken multiple wives, before then taking another man’s wife, David never seemed to fear running towards the Lord. If the Lord needed to speak to him about something wrong in his life—such conviction would only put him back on the path of life as it ultimately did when the Lord confronted him through the prophet Nathan. “Your word” said David “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). God’s Word is not given to restrict our happiness but to guide us into it. In keeping it there is great reward. God IS the REWARDER of those who seek Him. That is why he gives us His Word.
How Do We Reconcile God’s Goodness and Sovereignty with Human Suffering?
Christian apologist Lee Strobel writes: We read of horrible evils like the Holocaust, the Killing Fields of Cambodia, the genocide of Rwanda, and the torture chambers of South America—and we can’t help but wonder: Where is God? We watch news coverage of earthquakes and hurricanes in which thousands perish and we wonder: Why didn’t God stop it? …..We may suffer ourselves with persistent pain or aching loss or seemingly hopeless circumstances and wonder: Why doesn’t God help? If he is loving and if he is all powerful, and if he is good, then surely all of this suffering should not exist. (The Case for Faith).
What is worse is that it is often the innocent who are the victims. Agnostic turned Christian, Sheldon Vanauken writes, If only villains got cancers, if only cheaters and crooks got Parkinson’s disease, we should see a sort of celestial justice in the universe. But as it is, a sweet-tempered child lies dying of a brain tumor, a happy wife sees her husband and child killed before her eyes by a drunken driver and…we soundlessly scream at the stars, “Why? Why? A mention of God—of God’s will—doesn’t help a bit. How could a good God, a loving God, do that? How could he ever let that happen?
It is important for us to remember that cries of agonizing pain like these need to be answered NOT with a logical attempt to defend God’s goodness, but with deep compassion, and empathy over the loss. But when it comes to allowing suffering to undermine our own confidence in the goodness of God, we must think clearly. Rabi Harold Kushner is the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People, written following the death of his son, Aaron, from a horrible premature aging disease called progeria. In trying to overcome his grief, Kushner popularized this argument, which you’ve probably heard.
If God is all-powerful he could end suffering in the world.
If God is all good, he would end suffering in the world.
Suffering in the word exists.
Therefore, either God is not all good, or God is not all powerful.
A. This argument, which raises doubts about how the personal God of the Bible can be both good and sovereign, has been adopted by millions. But the fact is that this argument does NOT undermine the biblical view of an all-loving all-powerful God one iota. Kushner’s argument is based on flawed logic. Biblical faith is not. These two logical flaws matter, because Christians grant much more power to this flawed argument than it deserves: 1) First, Kushner makes the assumption that an all-good God would have ended suffering BY NOW. But, what if the good God of the Bible has come into the world HIMSELF to take upon himself all the suffering in the world caused by human sin, in order to set the universe free from all destruction and pain ONE DAY? That is completely logical—and the message of the Bible. 2) Second, in the words of Tim Keller, If you have a God great and transcendent enough to be mad at because he hasn’t stopped evil and suffering in the world, then you have (at the same moment) a God great and transcendent enough to have good reasons for allowing it to continue that you can’t know. Indeed, you can’t have it both ways (Reason for God). The very fact that is postulated—that God is so wise and powerful that he knows HOW to stop all human suffering—means God MUST ALSO BE WISE ENOUGH to have purposes for pain that we don’t have the mental horsepower to comprehend. The coexistence of suffering with an all-powerful, all loving God is not a logical contradiction. So, Kushner’s logic doesn’t work. The first reason suffering doesn’t disprove God’s goodness, then is that if he is great enough to stop all suffering, he is great enough to have a purpose for it that finite humans don’t understand.
B. A second reason that suffering and pain do not disprove the goodness of God is a reality of human life that is well known by dentists, athletic coaches, physical therapists, surgeons, educators, and many others. Often PAIN is a GOOD THING. The coach makes his athletes hurt NOW by running wind-sprints until they are ready to drop, knowing that in the fourth quarter, being in superb shape will bring them the joy of winning close games. We are all familiar with the truth that in many spheres of life NO PAIN means NO GAIN. Biblically understood, undeserved pain RIGHT NOW leads to joy IN ETERNITY. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen (2 Cor 4:16-18).
C. A third reason that suffering in this world does not disprove God’s goodness is that we can’t see the end of the story. Criticizing God for not eliminating suffering right now is like reading half a novel and criticizing the author for not resolving the plot. We can’t see it now but the biblical perspective about our eternal life in Christ is that the depth of our joy in eternity is linked to the depth of our earthly suffering. I was privileged years ago to meet Joni Earickson Toda. She is a year older than I and spoke at a retreat we had for our teenagers when I was a youth pastor. At age 17, Joni dove into the water off a platform in the Chesapeake Bay, not knowing there was a rock formation just below the water. She broke her neck and became a quadriplegic, who famously became known for painting by holding a brush with her teeth. I suspect that none of us who read this article have any ability to understand how much Joni has suffered over the years. But The impact of her life for Christ has been incalculable. How tragic—a healthy young athlete becoming a dependent quadriplegic at age 17. And yet the joy that Joni will know in eternity over all the millions of believers whose faith she has strengthened, and non-believers she has inspired, not to mention the joy of running again and hugging loved ones will be infinitely greater than it would have been because she broke her neck.
Just after the climax of the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, Sam Gamgee discovers that his friend, Gandolf, was not dead (as he thought) but alive. He cries, “I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself! Is everything sad going to come untrue? Tim Keller writes, The answer of Christianity to those questions is—yes. Everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost…This is the ultimate defeat of evil and suffering. It will not only be ended but so radically vanquished that what has happened will only serve to make our future life and joy infinitely greater.
God is SO GOOD and so holy that he even turns the consequences of sin—human brokenness and suffering to his GOOD purposes!
For Further Prayerful Thought:
- Why does is make sense that in order to draw near to God we must believe that he is a rewarder of those who seek him?
- David, among all biblical heroes, had one of the closest walks with the Lord and expressed his love for God’s Law most profusely. Why might these be related?
- If you sensed that someone was generally interested in how God could be loving and still ordain a world with so much suffering, how would you answer?
