I hope the collective forum doesn't mind me posting this here. I do not want to be a stumbling block to anyone, or cause anyone to become cynical as I have. So if you think this is inappropriate, just say so.<P>I've gone to church my whole life, and been a Christian since I was a pre-teen. I always believed that God was in control, and He listened to our prayers. Now I wonder about both.<P>Too many non-sensical deaths of innocents. Too much suffering. Too much pain. No relief in sight.<P>How do you know He's there when you call? Or more disheartening, how do you know He cares? If He does deliver one person, why not another who suffers just as much?<P>Sometimes, life just stinks, and God isn't going to make it all better.<P>It's tough, losing your security blanket, ya know? <P>

2Cor 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.<P>I guess, for me, this verse sums up and brings to focus the reality of the world. The sin nature brings to light so much yuck. The overall question in John 9 as to whether the man who was born blind was due to his sin or his parent's sin, etc. is pertinent I think in terms of the multiple unexplained tragedies that occur daily. I do not understand them and I do not understand the purpose of them, but I do know the God who is in control and I know He has a purpose for everything and nothing occurs that He will not in some way turn to the good of those who love Him, meaning in my understanding, standing on the promises of the One who is and has been and always will be.<P>Sometimes the here and now events cloud my vision and I find myself looking around me instead of heavenward, but I am reminded of the 2 Co verse and I find myself being encouraged and strengthened. <P>You sound discouraged. Even Jesus felt weary by the daily "events" at times, even He cried with intensity and felt grief and sadness and anger. That He did so, encourages me to also do so, the grieve the losses and hurts in my life. He also encourages me to take that next step, to place my pain and trust in the One whose will prevails. <P>Feeling feelings is very difficult for me so this is not said as some kind of patsy answer to you. I struggle daily to address them in an open and forthright way and to not let them simmer and be buried by denial. It is so much easier to deny them and to bury the pain, to become numb. To experience all the feelings means I have to be responsible for my feelings and sometimes this means I have to make decisions and choices that I would prefer not to make.<P>Don't know if that answers your question or not. Feel free to share here and dig through what you are experiencing.<BR>

It will not be horrible forever...KEEP praying and keep the faith...Isaiah 30:18, and yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. he is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who trust in the lord...Let the scriptures be your guide...there is an answer to every situation in the Bible..You must search for it...Everyone has questions and everyone has doubts...but the Lord wants us to be Happy...he doesnt cause us pain, he may allow bad things to happen for us...but that is to draw us closer to him..trust in him...It is not God who is causing the bad things to happen in your life, you are allowing the devil to get to your spirit...and break you and your relationship with God...God will not give you more than you can handle...believe me...Go to the pregnancy/child forum...everyone in there has had one of the worst tragedies in life to happen to them, but our faith in God has helped us through the stormy weather...Whenever there is a doubt in your mind about God, think of the miracle of childbirth...i dont know what your troubles are, but this one always works for me <BR>A prayer for Help (Psalm 70)<P>Save me O God! Lord Help me now! May those who try to kill me be defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles, be turned back and disgraced. May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.<P>May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful of your salvation always say "How great is God!"<P>I am weak and helpless; come to me quickly O God. YOU aremy savio and my Lord, hurry to my aid!<P>I hope this helps...Believe me, in times of trouble, you will find words of encouragement and help. Talk to your pastor about your doubts and troubles...I will pray for you that you find the answers that you are searching for and the peace and happiness that you desperately need! <P>May the Lord bless you and keep you close, remember, he is always with you...He is just is just waiting for you to ask him for help...Believe that it is done when you pray, and it will be done..(I cant remember the scripture for that one, but it's there somewhere)<P>Aloneandsad (missy)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SueB:<BR><B>2Cor 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.<P>I guess, for me, this verse sums up and brings to focus the reality of the world. The sin nature brings to light so much yuck. The overall question in John 9 as to whether the man who was born blind was due to his sin or his parent's sin, etc. is pertinent I think in terms of the multiple unexplained tragedies that occur daily. I do not understand them and I do not understand the purpose of them, but I do know the God who is in control and I know He has a purpose for everything and nothing occurs that He will not in some way turn to the good of those who love Him, meaning in my understanding, standing on the promises of the One who is and has been and always will be.<P>Sometimes the here and now events cloud my vision and I find myself looking around me instead of heavenward, but I am reminded of the 2 Co verse and I find myself being encouraged and strengthened. <P>You sound discouraged. Even Jesus felt weary by the daily "events" at times, even He cried with intensity and felt grief and sadness and anger. That He did so, encourages me to also do so, the grieve the losses and hurts in my life. He also encourages me to take that next step, to place my pain and trust in the One whose will prevails. <P>Feeling feelings is very difficult for me so this is not said as some kind of patsy answer to you. I struggle daily to address them in an open and forthright way and to not let them simmer and be buried by denial. It is so much easier to deny them and to bury the pain, to become numb. To experience all the feelings means I have to be responsible for my feelings and sometimes this means I have to make decisions and choices that I would prefer not to make.<P>Don't know if that answers your question or not. Feel free to share here and dig through what you are experiencing.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Sue,<P>Thanks for your response.<BR>About the question about whether the man was born blind due to his or his parent's sin. Well, how about 'none of the above'?<P>Bad things happen to people who have done nothing to 'deserve' them. Is it God's doing? Well, is He in control, or isn't He?<P>I was always taught to not blame God for the trials in our lives. OK. So why thank Him for the good things? My wife has serious back pain. A long list of specialists have not been able to help. Without going into detail, suffice to say that sometimes she wonders what 'sin' she must have committed to deserve this. To which I would say "Nothing". S*** (rhymes with 'sit') happens. For no reason. It's not caused by God, and won't be cured by God. If we ever find a cure or effective treatment for my wife, I need only thank the doctors, and thank myself.<P>(End cynical rambling mode) Sorry, it's late. Time for some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzssss... <P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aloneandsad:<BR><B>It will not be horrible forever...KEEP praying and keep the faith...Isaiah 30:18, and yet the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. he is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who trust in the lord...Let the scriptures be your guide...there is an answer to every situation in the Bible..You must search for it...Everyone has questions and everyone has doubts...but the Lord wants us to be Happy...he doesnt cause us pain, he may allow bad things to happen for us...but that is to draw us closer to him..trust in him...It is not God who is causing the bad things to happen in your life, you are allowing the devil to get to your spirit...and break you and your relationship with God...God will not give you more than you can handle...believe me...Go to the pregnancy/child forum...everyone in there has had one of the worst tragedies in life to happen to them, but our faith in God has helped us through the stormy weather...Whenever there is a doubt in your mind about God, think of the miracle of childbirth...i dont know what your troubles are, but this one always works for me <BR>A prayer for Help (Psalm 70)<P>Save me O God! Lord Help me now! May those who try to kill me be defeated and confused. May those who are happy because of my troubles, be turned back and disgraced. May those who make fun of me be dismayed by their defeat.<P>May all who come to you be glad and joyful. May all who are thankful of your salvation always say "How great is God!"<P>I am weak and helpless; come to me quickly O God. YOU aremy savio and my Lord, hurry to my aid!<P>I hope this helps...Believe me, in times of trouble, you will find words of encouragement and help. Talk to your pastor about your doubts and troubles...I will pray for you that you find the answers that you are searching for and the peace and happiness that you desperately need! <P>May the Lord bless you and keep you close, remember, he is always with you...He is just is just waiting for you to ask him for help...Believe that it is done when you pray, and it will be done..(I cant remember the scripture for that one, but it's there somewhere)<P>Aloneandsad (missy)</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Missy,<P>I haven't looked at the pregnancy/child forum yet. But I know everyone is bearing their own pain, usually in silence. I like the term 'private hurt'--everyone has them, and often theirs are greater than yours. The old saying comes to mind: "I was sorry I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."<P>Interestingly enough, an event last summer involving a child (not my own) made me question the idea of a God in control even more.<P>Some children were sledding in a quiet neighborhood close to ours in our little town. The hill ended at the street's edge. 2 little sisters went down the hill, as a neighbor's car came slowly over a slight rise, and couldn't stop because of the snow. 1 girl dead, 1 injured. The family were (and still are) strong Christians.<P>What possible reason can there be for something like that?

Doug,<P>Sorry I didn't read your post sooner. I was not a Christian all my life and at times questioned God existence. I had to be broken before I turned to God. I became a Christian this year. I still became very mad at God when it seemed He didn't here me. It has taken a lot to get me where I am today. I would still be struggling if God had not lead me to a web site that has been such a blessing to me.It has taken some time but today my faith is great. I now know that god does answer prayers. Sometimes we pray for big changes and God is working but we give up before we recieve our blessing.I now pray for small signs of changes and God has been faithful and answered me. God always has a higher plan. It is hard to say about the snow accident you are talking about. Bad things happen to Christian too. His ways are not our ways. I do know that the father of one of the children killed at Columbine(spell?)spoke at our church. I didn't get to go but wished I could have. Many have said his testimonies about all the blessing that have came about for this town after the accident were awesome.Many have turned their live over to Christ since then.As you know they killed many because they were Christians.God allows some things to happen that doesn't make sense to us. Please go to this web site and read the testimonies.This is were my faith really began. I now know God will restore my marriage.It begins with obedience to Him. I thought I knew obedience until I went here. God showed me otherwise. <A HREF="http://www.restorem.org" TARGET=_blank>www.restorem.org</A> <BR>I will be praying for you. Keep the faith.<BR>gentle