Unpredictable Patterns

Where is God in the midst of suffering? Where is God in the midst of the chaos we can find ourselves in? Evil exists in this world, so how can a good and loving God allow it to happen?

It's hard to read the creation story in Genesis without the Darwin/evolution debate coming to mind. But it is well worth setting that debate in the background instead of the forefront since the creation story communicates so much more. Often people want to know if the world was created in six twenty-four hour days or not, but this misses the point. As J.P. Moreland observed, an all-powerful God could have created the universe in an immeasurable instant. The question should be, "Why did it take 6 days?" God purposefully uses a process over a given amount of time. It was intentional and done with care. A casual reading of Genesis 1 gives the reader a feeling that a literary pattern is being used each day of creation. God said "Let there be..." and "it was so." God saw that it was good. God separates. God labels. There was evening, there was morning, day... The casual reader will pick up on this pattern. However, a closer study shows that the pattern is not exactly a pattern. Patterns are predictable since they repeat, but in Genesis 1 the repetition of God's activity changes order and varies each day. In other words, it feels like a pattern but it is unpredictable from our perspective. Through this unpredictable pattern, God brings order to the chaos using His words. Each successive day sets foundations and connections for following days. When it is all done, God sees what He has made and says it is "very good." It was perfect. 

Since then, things changed. The story of Adam and Eve shows us that humanity made a choice to disobey God. The ability to choose had to exist in order for us to understand love, for love is only love when it can be chosen or denied. Unfortunately, we denied love and that brought a cosmic change in creation and us. That change brought suffering and death to the world. When faced with suffering and even our own bad choices, we may want to know where God is. Where is God when we suffer due to disease? Where is He in the midst of our chaos? He is right there. Our sin and suffering will not have the last word if we trust what God has done since Adam and Eve. Christ now offers re-creation and likewise utilizes a purposeful process over time. He speaks into our chaos with His Word, brings light, separates, labels, commands and brings order. Anytime I think I have learned a pattern of how God works in my life, He seems to change things up a bit and His patterns are unpredictable. He will not be put in a box. Christ's re-creation process is not always comfortable as he separates me from my bad habits and sins. It is not comfortable when Christ judges things in my life and shows me what needs to change. But there are times of discovery as I see how His activity on previous days have set the foundations and connections for today. He even uses the suffering I experience today to prepare me for tomorrow. It is a process over time and it is not always easy or the path I would have chosen. But my hope is that at the end, when I look back over all that God has done during the days of my life, I believe it will be "very good." For He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose and rest will be found in Christ.