Is God Better Than I Think He Is?

Is it possible to believe God to be better than He actually is? Someone once posed this question. Immediately I said, "No!" That is the right answer, isn't it? But, what does that mean, really? I guess the answer would also have to entail a description of what is meant by "better." If I want a new car and God doesn't provide it, does it mean that I'm believing God to be better than He actually is? We can imagine all sorts of things we want God to do for us, the ones we love and the world at large. So, on that level, I would have to answer "Yes!" I feel guilty just thinking that, but if I filter God's goodness according to my desires, I can find many examples where my expectations fall very short of reality.

God's goodness supersedes our human understanding and is not limited to or defined by our circumstances. We define good and evil by how we feel about a particular event. We define suffering as evil. Does God? People suffer and travail in this life. Tragedies happen. Everyone dies eventually, whether they live long or short lives. We can't have a clear understanding of God if we only look at our circumstances. God's goodness takes the long view. Suffering, in some way we don't understand, is part of the process God uses to develop our character and to enable us to trust His character. It separates us from the unimportant distractions and pushes us to seek God for relief and understanding. We are never more close to God than when we are suffering, I believe. Paul talked about our sufferings filling up the sufferings of Christ - yet another mystery. Perhaps he meant that God suffers with us in whatever our suffering is.

We can be confident that our suffering is never wasted, no more than was Christ's. The good news is that He will ultimately heal, redeem and reresurect. LIFE is eternal, not suffering.