Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - June 3, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Why?

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
—Psalm 25:8

Many people point to the problem of evil and suffering, more than any other, as their reason for not believing in God. It is not merely a problem; it is the problem.

We look at this world in which we are living today and wonder why: If God is good, then why did that happen? Why that earthquake? Why that tsunami? Why that tragedy? Why that illness? Why that loss of life? The questions go on and on.

The implication is that either God is all-powerful, but not all-good, and therefore doesn't stop evil. Or, that He is all-good, but not all-powerful, and therefore can't stop evil. The problem with the question of "If God is good, then why. . . ." is the one who is asking it determines what is good and what isn't. And the very nature of the question suggests that God is not good.

But who am I, or who are you, to say what is good and what is not good? When did we become the moral centers of the universe? God is not good because I think He is good or because you think He is good. He is not good because we took a vote on it, and 98 percent of us believe that He is good. No, God is good because He said He is good. There is no higher authority than God himself. Jesus said, "No one is good but One, that is, God" (Luke 18:19).

So God is good, whether we believe it or not. God and God alone is the final court of arbitration. As the apostle Paul said, "Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4).

The big question is what is good, because sometimes our definition of good and God's definition are not the same.

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