The Contentment Dilemma

After creation, He (God) declared that the world was “good.” People were free to choose to love God or turn away from Him. However, such a world is necessarily a place where sin is freely possible—and, indeed, that potentiality for sin was actualized not by God, but by people. The blame, ultimately, lies with us. He did His part perfectly; we’re the ones who messed up.44

Many of our problems come from wanting our own way, and many more come from having it. God sees the complete picture of our lives and is far more capable of knowing what is best for us. His plan for us, in all aspects, is better than our plan for ourselves. C. S. Lewis put it well when he wrote, “When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy.” 45

We might ask God why He allows poverty, injustice, and all manner of suffering. But think about it, could God not even more justifiably ask us that question? A. W. Tozer wrote, “The cause of all our human miseries is a radical moral dislocation, an upset in our relation to God and to each other.” 46

God chose that we must build a personal relationship with Him and rely on Him to help us make correct decisions. Only by God’s help can we reach a condition of good. When we turn our backs on God’s will, He uses suffering to draw us closer to Himself. Consequently, many of our problems result from humanity’s poor decisions. They could be replaced with desirable situations if we humans would admit our mistakes and take steps to correct them.

God deeply loves us, and it grieves Him to watch fol ks go through vast amounts of suffering that traces back to the bad choices they made because they insisted on their own way. These people are plodding through life without the unlimited benefits God freely offers all who heed His instructions.