If God is Good, Then Why Do We Suffer?

Hello, hello everyone, and welcome back to Saved Not Soft. What's going on, everybody? Hope you guys have had a blessed week so far. Hey, I'm ready. Today I'm feeling kind of like chill, very vibey, but also very excited because I know God is just gonna speak through this episode. And I am very excited for this episode about talking about why a good God allows suffering because I tackled this topic a few months ago when a girl tagged me on a post saying, basically she was just saying, you know, I would be a sold out Christian if I just knew why God would allow suffering if he's so good. And I kind of tackled that conversation and I wanted to bring that into a podcast episode form today. So there's one room to talk about it and two for us to like really be invited into the presence of God. And experience his goodness and not just our perception of what we think good is, but actually embrace Jesus for who he says he is. So if you do not know me, my name is Emmy Moore. I'm the host of Saved Not Soft. Also, I just feel like saying this. One of my best friends, Imani, she met somebody who had like a Saved Not Soft t-shirt and she was like, oh my gosh, you watch my bestie, Emmy. She's like, oh my gosh, I love her, all this stuff. And she took a video of her and she was like, hey, Emmy, I love Saved Not Soft. And I feel like I realized I don't do this as much, but I guess I do because people who follow me literally be doing this. But it's okay. I don't even know where this came from. But anyways, my name's Emmy Moore. This is the podcast Saved Not Soft. But what is Saved Not Soft? Saved Not Soft is a catered podcast to let you know that you are heard, seen, and loved by God. You are adored by God. God loves you. He has compassion upon you. And it's just, this podcast is supposed to be used as a tool to help you out. It's a tool to help you out. It's a tool to help you navigate the Christian lifestyle. This podcast isn't a replacement for God's word or a replacement for God's presence. Rather, it's just an opportunity for you to experience the presence of God through learning tools in scripture and prayer and fasting and community and et cetera. Amen. So I'm very blessed and happy that you guys are here. And I hope you learned something very new today. That's my prayer for y'all. So let's pray. Let's set the atmosphere and let's allow God to do exactly what we want him to do, which is show up and be good, which he already is. Amen. So let's close our eyes to your heavenly father. Thank you, Jesus, God. Thank you for this day. Thank you for fresh breath in our lungs, God. We don't take our breath for granted. We don't take our lives for granted, God. We are grateful for your presence. We are thankful that you have called us and chosen us, God. We accept you calling us out by name, Father. And God, I just ask that through this episode, Father, that you just help us navigate your sovereignty and your goodness, God. God, I just put to death all expectation of what we think good is in our version of good, in our version of sovereignty, God. God, we open our eyes, our minds, our hearts, our ears, our hands open to receive your goodness for what it truly is and not just a fabricated version manipulated and transcribed by us, God. God, we give you the pen to be the author of our future, of our purpose. We give you the purpose of everything, Jesus. We give you full control, God. God, I release to you the responsibility of this podcast, Father. God, I ask that you navigate through this word and you encourage my brothers and sisters on the other side of the screen and that you meet with them a compassion and a passion and also simultaneously in order. But God, most of all, I ask that your love is the thing that arises and it's the thing that keeps us glued to your spirit. It's the spirit of love, God. Let us receive you. Let us receive you today, God. I love how your word says we're only able to love you because you first loved us, God. So, God, let us embrace and receive the love that you have for us so we can love you better and love our brothers and sisters better, God. God, I ask that you use me as a vessel, Father, that I am just a, I am literally just a vessel of you, Jesus. God, I just ask that you use me to speak your word articulately, that there is no stuttering or no inconveniences, Father, but instead that you just love us. Just use me as a voice to cultivate truth, God. God, I decree and declare that this is your podcast, not mine, your platform, not mine. We're here for nobody else but you, God. We want to receive you. We don't want a self-defining, self-seeking gospel. We want a gospel that's all about Jesus. So, remind us of your goodness and how you love us so, so deeply and let us receive it. So, we thank you and praise you and I seal this prayer in Jesus' my name. Amen. Amen. So, like I said, what really inspired me for this episode was a conversation that I had a few months ago and I feel like one of the questions that a lot of unbelievers have towards Christians that's kind of like an aha, I got you moment is oh, well, if you claim your God is so good, then why is there suffering? Why is there children who have cancer? Why are there good people who are experiencing bad things and I feel like it's a really intriguing and intimidating question when it's prompted but if you're deeply rooted in the faith I would actually be confident to say that this is probably one of the more easier questions for me to answer versus some other things theologically that have been very difficult for me to understand. I think it's so funny that people don't understand the sovereignty and goodness of God and why we suffer but then, other topics are theologically a lot more deeper but I think this is one of those easier ones to tackle but if you do not know Jesus it's going to seem very intimidating and very harsh in a sense for you to understand but when you fully do get the picture as to why God allows suffering and why He's good simultaneously at the same time you get to experience the compassion of God that He has first ordained for us to experience with Him. And so, I think when we talk about why does a good God allow suffering it kind of just shows us this contrast between okay, well God is good in suffering. Obviously those things shouldn't be in the same melting pot and I just want to add language, biblically and theologically as to why God allows suffering that He doesn't permit it and God does not orchestrate suffering but God allows it to happen in order for us to experience the compassion with Him. And I think that's something that a lot of people get confused on well, why does suffering have to happen in order for compassion to be placed with God? Is it there any other way He could have done it? Why do I have to suffer on the behalf of God? All these things and we're going to talk about those things today so buckle in because the Lord is just going to say what He's going to say. So let's just go to Genesis chapter 1 we're going to start there in the beginning anytime I have a question about Scripture or I get really stumped in an area just a little life hack, I usually go to the same two spots. I'll go to the crucifixion and I'll go to the beginning of time because that will usually show us two avenues as to where we could be falling and where we need to be more appreciative. So a lot of the reasons as to why we fall in the same cycles is because of the same things that Adam and Eve fell for in the garden and then the reason as to why we're saved and redeemed, well, that's what Jesus Christ has done. So those are kind of two pivotal stories and I think the entirety of the gospel and this love story we have with God, that's super important and so in Genesis chapter 1 through chapter 3 we're seeing this unraveling of God creating the heavens and the earth the birds in the sky, everything in the water and below it and then he creates male and female and while he created all the universe and said that it was good he created us and said that it was very very good. And so we have to first know that God created male and female and humans in general for the intention for us to be in correct and perfect harmony with God. God's intention to create humanity wasn't for us to do all these things for him or to alter or accelerate his ego, but rather humans were created with God because God wanted to enjoy his relationship that he made with his creation. So the reason as to why we're alive isn't because we're made to make God egotistical or because we're called to do all these things, but humans, me and you, are simply made to be admired and loved by God. And so we see that man and woman were made and then we see that Adam's name in all the animals and everything and then we come to Genesis chapter 3 and we see that there's a snake planted in the Garden of Eden. And so God gave Adam and Eve very simple instruction and he said, look, you can eat from any of these trees, but this one right here, you cannot eat from this one. This is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and you are not allowed to eat from this tree. Whatever you have, everything else you see in this garden, you could touch, you could eat, you could swing from the trees, but this one right here, that's a no because you will surely die. And so we go to chapter 3 and we see that Eve is acting just a little delulu and she goes up to this tree and this is when we have our first, or when she has her first encounter with Satan. As us reading the Bible, this is the first encounter we have reading about Satan and who he is and the attributes of which he holds. And so Satan, who is masked as a serpent, then tells Eve, well, if you eat from this tree, like, you will certainly not die. For God knows that if you eat from it, you will be just like him, knowing and obtaining all knowledge of what he has. God just don't want to share with you. So because Satan is deceptive and because he's crafty and intelligent in deception, he tricks Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge against evil. And then she gave some to her husband who was right there with her. That's a completely different story of Adam being there and allowing her to eat the fruit when he should have stepped up and did something. Okay, but that's a different conversation. And so then after that, this is when sin imparts into the world, right? By the way, all this, you have to understand in order for God to allow suffering. And so sin then imparts into the world. And what does Adam and Eve do? It says that their eyes were then open and they saw themselves and became ashamed. They saw that they were naked. And it's funny because they were naked the whole entire time. But the moment that sin has entered the world, it took their eyes off of God and it finally put their eyes upon themselves. And the condition that they were always in, they were now made aware of because sin had now given them a different lens. And so when sin came into the world, it addressed shame and fear. And because of that, Adam and Eve then hid from God. And he's walking in the cool of day and he's looking for Adam and Eve and he's saying, where are they? And they're hiding behind the bushes, trying to make fig leaves of clothes and garments for themselves. And God is asking where his creation is because he wants to spend time with them. And he sees that they are hiding. And so whenever he does find Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve then tell God that they were afraid of God because of what they had done. So they hid. And so then from that, God declares a consequence, not because he has hatred for them or because of, you know, because he had some sort of malice or wrath towards them, but because God had to release a judgment in response. And so that consequence was given. And then that's when we see God knitting wool for Adam and Eve and even in the midst of their sin. And so whenever sin imparted into the world, that then opened up a whole entire door for people to rebel and come against the things of God. And so the question as to why, why does a God who was good allow suffering also kind of stems from the question of like, why would God allow sin to happen in the first place? Because suffering happens because sin happens, but sin happens because God took a risk by giving us free will so he could experience true compassion with his, with, with his creation. And so when we see Adam and Eve in the garden, first Adam and Eve were created with the intention to be in perfect harmony with God, but yet it didn't happen because they were sinful and they fell into their own desires and they believed the serpent. And so the question is, why did that happen in the first place? Why did God put the snake there? And why did they have the opportunity and the choice to not choose God? And we first have to understand why God created mankind in the first place. And it's because of one thing, one thing only because of compassion, because God wants to, wanted to experience a legitimate relationship with his creation. And in order to experience love, love cannot exist outside of the parameters of freedom. And so what that means, is that when, when, when love comes into play, there also has to be a choice. So love is like a two-step process or it's, it's a two-stepped, uh, two-step definition, I would say. So love requires two things. Love is a feeling, which is compassion and empathy and love and, and excitement. Like love carries an attribute that's, that's, that's embedded, embedded into a feeling. But then the other side of love is also an action, which is accompanied by choice. So this is why you see married couples who have been married for years and years and years and years. You ask them, you know, what has kept you married for so long? Why have you been able to keep your marriage? So, so, so great and tied together and rooting in Christ and all these things. And these couples will say each and every single time you have to choose to love one another because there will be days where you wake up and you don't want to feel like love for that person, but it's an active choice. So love is an action, which is accompanied by choice, right? So in order for us to experience love for God and him for it, for him to experience compassion for us, there has to be choice in the midst of all of this, which means in order for us to have choice, there has to be an opportunity for us to exercise free will. And so the reason as to why free will had to happen and why there is ultimate good and ultimate evil is because whenever you don't have the power to choose, you don't have the power to love. So God gave the power of choice and he limited his power in order for his creation to freely choose God, even if he knew the expense of it because he wanted to experience a relationship. Because if God forced you to love him, would you consider that love? No, because God is forcing you to love him. So love wouldn't truly exist because it's represented by dictatorship. So what the Lord God had made for us, to experience and why suffering had to come into the world is because whenever you don't choose God, when you don't choose love, which he is the definition of, you are choosing the other side, which is ultimately sin. And sin is the absence of God because there's people who indulge in sin and they think that it's good and they're, oh, well, this isn't harming my life and this isn't hurting me, but it is declaring separation from God. And that's what sin is. Sin is separation fully from God. And God is declaring separation from God. And sin is separation fully from God. God doesn't want to create a creation or a species to where he's unrelational because God is good. God is just. God is loving. He is the definition of love. And he wants to experience creation with humans. Like he wants to partner with us. And I think that's really special. And so while the earth was created for us to be in perfect harmony with God, God limited his power. And then through that, because Adam and Eve didn't choose God, they chose sin and therefore it entered into the world. And so the next question would be, well, if Adam and Eve sinned, what does that have to do with me? Why did, why do I have to struggle and be in suffering because of what Adam and Eve did? Like, I don't even know them. They lived like thousands and thousands of years ago. What does that have to do with me? Because the moment that Adam and Eve sinned, after them, their sons, they sinned. And then after them, they sinned. And then this is literally how the human species was created. Through repopulation. Sin became hereditary and it started a widespread and it kept continuously happening. But God had a beginning from the start that he was even going to use sin in the midst to bring people back to the heart of God. Again, God does not permit suffering or let alone does not like it. Nowhere in scripture will I ever say that God likes to see his people perish. If anything, Ezekiel 33, 11 says that God does not take pleasure in punishing the wicked. Get that. He doesn't even take pleasure in punishing the wicked. You know how many people here on this day see pleasure and wicked people getting tormented and killed and mocked and scorned? Like God doesn't even take pleasure in that because God has empathy for everybody. So we have to understand that the judgment of sin is released, not because that's God's, that's God's actual desire, but it's because it's the designated response. Like with sin comes judgment, but God's ultimate desire is mercy, but that only comes through repentance. If you want more backstory on that, you could definitely watch my episode, God, please heal me, where we talk about repentance, restoration, and God ultimately like healing our sufferings and et cetera. And so I, I want to kind of capitalize and expand the idea of like, God uses suffering to draw us near, but God doesn't create suffering. Instead, he just uses it and allows it. And it's not because he wants to watch us suffer, but it's because that's just the condition of our worlds. And that's just the condition of what we're experiencing. Right? And so when I, someone that, a question that somebody asked me on this, on this video, when I was talking about suffering and et cetera, well, if God is so almighty and powerful, then why couldn't he have done it another way? Why couldn't have God made a species or made, made a way to where, you know, sin did come into picture and we were able to choose, but like, why couldn't he make a different system? And it's practically knowing that God couldn't have done it any other way, because if God did it any other way, it would have been contrary to his very nature and character. God allows suffering to happen. He doesn't create it, but he allows it to happen because he allows freedom and choice, right? So if God gives us the ability to choose a AKA choose good, or evil sin is able to be imparted in some way, because it's the repercussions of evil and not choosing him. It's not something that's created by God and suffering isn't at the hand of God. Suffering is at the hand of evil and of disobedience and of sin and free will. So it's like a mixture of all these things that all declare separation from God. And so when, when I say that God couldn't have done it any other way, because it would have been contrary to his very nature. The Bible says God does not lie. According to Titus two, one or one, two, that God is just second Thessalonians one, love. There's characteristics about God to where he couldn't have done it any other way because of the nature of who he is. And where does that come from? We don't know that because God is a spiritual and an internal being. We have very small, finite minds and God is an infinite creature. So for us to even go down that rabbit hole, you're not going to find the answer to that because you don't know because you're not eternal yet. We're eternally together with Christ whenever we pass away from this earth and inherit a new heaven, which is after this. But as of right now, there's just some things that you're not going to know and you're going to have to be comfortable with that. And so I think also with the conversation of, man, why does God allow suffering? We also have to address the truth of the matter of fact that we have to lose somewhat of our understanding. Even if you're a Christian or not, it comes to a point to your life to where you understand. Or you have to realize and understand that you're not going to know everything. Even if you're Albert Einstein, even if you're the smartest person on the entire earth and you've sent all these things to space and you do all the stuff in the sea and I don't care what it is, but nobody, and I mean nobody on all of planet earth actually knows anything completely in all certainty. No one is all knowing like God. God has granted us wisdom. But is there one person here on earth who knows everything a hundred percent certain? Absolutely not. And so that's why the word of God is, is, is so impactful for us Christians because we believe it's a hundred percent truth because it's breathed by God. But do we know all the mysteries of heaven? Of course not. Because the God who has created this world is eternal and we're just so, so little. And so I think loosening your understanding and embracing trust in the Lord and coming to a quicker realization that you don't know it all is actually going to free you from a lot of baggage and pressure to know everything. Like how great is it that I actually don't have to stress out about all the extremities of my life because God has already gotten it figured out and I just have to trust in it. I think that gives a lot of relief. Even in the midst of my trials, God will, will grant me the provision and he already knows what's going to happen. And my job is just to trust it. I think it's being okay with not knowing anything and no one on this earth is fully certain. Like even when we talk about like science, science is a literally accumulated by predictions and hypotheticals. Even these mad scientists and people who have studied like the earth and the stars and the universe for decades aren't even completely certain. That's why. So I, I'm a mentor and I disciple, uh, I work in high school ministry. I've been doing it the past four years. And one of my girls, but she knows who she is. If she's watching this, she is probably one of the smartest people I think I've ever met in my entire life. Every time we sit down and have conversations, she always brings up a question that just stumps me like no other, but not like a stump of like, Oh dang, I don't know. But it's, it's like she, uh, knows so much about science and she, she works in like, well not works, but she's in school cause she's in high school. She's like in all the bio stuff. And she's, she's literally studying something so insane right now. She's studying how antibodies are found in alpacas to cure cancer. It's like, this is the person I'm discipling. Right. And so I will never forget one day when she told me she was like, well, because, because she loves science, so much whenever we come and have conversations about God, we'll kind of mesh these, these scientific and godly conversations together because science is honestly, it's, it's just the discovery of like our universe and the earth and everything that's before us and what we perceive and see. But then also like science backs up God and it's like finding God. And so whenever she comes and I disciple her, like we talk about what she's learning in school and et cetera, I will never, I will never forget when she told me that no one, like not even the greatest scientist is actually ever sure, which is why whenever you see claims, whether if it's like a medicine or whatever it may be, it, it never claims this will do this. This will heal you from this. It's like, this has the ability to do this or hypothetically, or this possibly like there's never certain language, even in science, because I think there's people who stray away from God and they're like, oh, well then I'm going to do this. And I'm like, no, I'm not going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to involve myself into science and all these things that are more certain, but it's like, they don't even know as much, which is why their language in scientific language, language is super like what ifs and hypotheticals and predictions. And some of those things are effective and could be true, but none of it is ever a hundred percent certain. Right. And so I'm not saying that they're not effective. I'm not saying that science is a hoax. I think science is great. I just think that if, if you don't think, um, you know, if, if you think science is going to give you all, all power and all knowing of everything, I'm going to be the first to tell you that you're absolutely wrong because even the smartest of the smartest people who have ever existed here on planet earth, they did not know everything and they were never fully certain of anything. And so a part of you receiving the peace of God is actually loosening and surrendering a part of your understanding to him and noticing that you're not going to know it all and that you're not going to, to have it all figured out. And there's a piece in that when you realize that you're not responsible for that, God's responsible for it. You are just responsible for doing what he has called you to do, to be loved and cared for by him. Right. And so the Bible says in Isaiah 55, eight, it says, my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways. So like the way that God operates is so far out of our understanding that like we can't tangibly reach it. We can as much as we can through scripture and things that he has given onto us on the earth. What he reveals to us in the spirit, but more so like in a, in a realistic sense, even if you were the smartest theologian, you will not understand all the mysteries about God until you see him face to face. And it's, it's more so perspective and seeing that things are always different from a different angle. Right. And so let's go back to the, the overall, this all bleeds into each other, but if God is a good God, then why is there suffering? Because I understand that there's people who are going through really awful circumstances, whether it is you or your family or someone you really love about, they're dealing with a sickness or a disease. And you're like, well, this person has cancer because I sinned that one time. Like you're telling me that this person deserved cancer. And it's like, nope, that's not what I'm arguing at all. I'm actually not arguing that any of us, like, I don't believe like God looks at us and he's like, you deserve cancer. That's not what I'm advocating. My point of what I'm saying is that because sin entered into the world, it fell onto those who were wicked and also those who are good. And that is just the reality of the earth that we live in because God allowed it to happen in order for us to experience a compassion with him so we could freely choose him. And so a lot of people would be like, well, why is God loving then for him to allow that? And the simple answer is just like, he's loving because he wants us to make decisions for ourselves and not be, and not be manipulated by God. He wants authenticity. Even though God does not permit or ordain suffering, God still allows it to happen, but not because it's his will. But I believe God is so gracious and so compassionate that he will even use our sufferings that are deserved or not to teach us something and to draw us closer to him. And there's been a lot of areas in my life where I've been like, I don't know, I don't know, to where I suffered really badly, whether it was abuse or getting taken advantage of or going through some sort of tragedy that impacted my life for the worse and getting caught up in addiction and depression and almost committing my own life whenever I was 17 years old. And I no longer look at those things and I think, wow, God wanted that for me. God wanted me to feel that way about myself and He wanted me to experience that. If anything, I look back on those situations and I see where God empathized with me and I see where He was strong for me in areas where I was weak and where I needed Him, even if I didn't know Him just yet. And how God actually used those circumstances to make me stronger, how God used very rainy days to just give me a rainbow, honestly. And I think there's a lot of people who go through really terrible situations that aren't deserved and they aren't fun and they could hold a lot of weight and trauma. And I've experienced that firsthand. Even things that I have not shared on this podcast were one, the sake of privacy and two, for the sake of just healing and et cetera. As a sister and as a human, I know what it means to suffer. And I'm not acknowledging that suffering is fun. If anything, Paul writes, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, I believe it's verse 9 or 10, he says, that's why for Christ sake I suffer. It's not for the sake of self, it's for the sake of Christ. Because you understand that when God tells you to take joy in your sufferings, it allows God to just move and reverse every single curse in Jesus' mighty name because he has compassion upon you. And so where we know God has compassion for us is one of the stories, like I was talking about earlier, we were talking about the garden in Genesis. And whenever Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they created fig leaves for themselves to hide themselves from God. And God is coming to look for them. He gave the consequence of sin, one, not because he wanted to, but because that is just the judgment of sin and that's what needed to happen. And even in the midst of their sin, and while God could have left them for dirt, he could have started over and been like, know what? I'm done with y'all. Y'all made me too mad. He then decided to provide for them. They made fig leaves for themselves, but instead God knitted for them wool and real clothes made out of animals. And God didn't have to do that because humanity sinned against God. And I think a lot of people don't understand suffering and why people suffer because they're like, oh, well, why do good people suffer? I think my question is, well, what do you consider good? What is good? And what makes you the judge to determine what is good and what's morally good or bad? And do you believe that there's people who don't fall short? Because if you look at every single person, in, in, in everywhere, on every earth, in, in, on every crevice and corner of the earth, everybody is flawed. Everybody has some sort of problem and we are not the judge of what is good and what is not. And I think we have to release that judgment onto God and not become it for ourselves. Because here's the thing. A lot of people will say, um, okay, so we're gonna, we're gonna take two, two different types of people. Just for you to understand like the aspects of good. So right here, we got a little boy who is abused by his parents and who was beaten and mocked and hurt, spat on, bullied at school, all these things. And he had such a kind heart. He was stripped of his innocence. And there was a lot of extremities in his life that he had to endure. So we have this person on this side. And then on this side, we have a man who is abusive, who, who has gone to jail a multitude of times, who has done very harsh things to other people for himself. He's an abuser. He's an alcoholic. He's a drug addict. He, he is a mocker. He's prideful. He's adulterous. So we have these two people, right? We have this little boy who's been abused and beaten. And then we have this man who's an abuser who deserves to go to heaven. Is it, is it this little boy or, or this man? And then who deserves, who deserves to go to hell? You being the judge, who do you think is more good based off of what I told you? And so something I'm going to share just to give you perspective. What if I told you that this man who was an abuser and alcoholic and adulterer, whatever it may be, had the same past as this little boy. He was abused by his parents. He was spat on, mocked, abused, bullied at school, kicked to the ground. What if I told you that this man who was an abuser and alcoholic told you that this man who you would think as evil and atrocious and, and debaucherous and all these things, what if I told, tell you that he was actually produced from an environment just like this little boy? It gives you a bigger perspective of as to why this person is so wicked in the first place because sin was committed on, onto him. And so we can't rely on our own understanding of what good is because we would see the little boy version of this man and show sympathy. But then as he's a man and making all this deliberate decisions, we would condemn him to hell. But that job is only up to God. It is only up to God. And I'm not saying that this person deserves heaven or hell. I'm just giving you perspective for you to understand and discern on your own, because truly you do not know, no matter how good you think someone is, you truly do not know their story. And the only person who is able to accumulate what good is, is God. And honestly, like we can never, we can never, we can never, even be perfectly good. Like God accepts us because of our repentance and because of what Jesus did on the cross. And so we can't be the deciders of what good is because we don't carry out perfect good. Like if I would say, if we were to be perfect human beings who perfectly carried out what it meant to be good, then, you know, maybe, but the truth of the matter is, is that we all mess up and all fall short. So we cannot be the contributors and the deciders of what good is the ultimate good. If we don't even know everything. And so it's like releasing that onto God and understanding that we endure suffering, not because God allows it or not because God permits it, but because he allows it. And even through suffering, God is going to minister to us and suffering is by the works of evil is by the works of Satan. It's separation from God. And it's also just a repercussion of life. Even if you are someone who is toe to toe and just neck and neck with God and you love him, so, so much and you're in his presence each and every single day, you're still going to encounter suffering because Romans eight says that those who want to share the glory of God will also share his sufferings because we are heirs of Christ. And that's here on earth. Like we're enduring a temporary suffering in order to inherit eternal glory with God. And it's because God has to restore everything that the earth has swallowed up because of sin. And that's why we literally have to die because God wants to perfect us and make us whole and, and take us to a land of perfection, not live it, have us live as a stain on a world full of sin. And so I want to talk about maybe, I guess, uh, um, well, I'll talk about this first because even though you, we are sinful and even though there is sin in the world and there is sickness and there is disease, that is no longer your portion whenever you are in Christ. So if you're inflicted by the sins of the world or like, you know, you're in a state of sin, you're in a disease and like all of these things, like you have the opportunity to step out of them by how much belief and faith you exercise in God. So what does John 3 16 says? It says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son for nobody to perish, but for us to have eternal life. So the goal of God is not for us to perish, but for us to have eternal life in him. And because God loved us so much, even though we were the people who committed sin and are bad each and every single day, God loved us so much that he gave us one and only son for nobody to perish, but for us to have eternal life, God still gave even when he didn't have to. And so Jesus was sent by God to pay the debt that we could have never paid. Because here's the thing, like even after Adam and Eve committed sin, God gave humanity time after time after time to come back to him and live in perfection, but they weren't doing it and they weren't being obedient and they weren't doing the things of God. And so he told them to, you know, sacrifice these animals and do all these things. And they were still being disobedient. So what did God do? He sent the ultimate sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, which is Jesus Christ. And through that perfect sacrifice, he redeemed humanity because Jesus literally took on the sins of the whole entire world, like the entirety of the world, just for you to have eternal life with God. Like get that all of sins of mankind, all the way back to Adam and Eve and beyond. Jesus endured that in order for you to have eternal life with God. And so he sent the ultimate sacrifice for you to have an eternal relationship with God. And the only thing you have to do is just accept Jesus Christ as Lord and to pick up your cross and follow him. That's it. It's repentance is getting up and it's following the things of God. And we have to understand that God is so compassionate that while we were dead in sin, he still died for us. Even when you committed the worst sin possible, you could think of the worst thing of your entire head. God will still die for you, even at your lowest, even while you were doing the worst sin possible. And so he sent the worst of the worst. God died. God sent his one and only son just for that. Like Jesus died for that to redeem you through that very thing. And it's embracing that, right? And so we, the more you embrace the cross and you embrace what Jesus has done for mankind, it relieves a lot of pressure because you understand the price has been paid and you no longer have to come into agreement with what sin and what the world has to offer. You're no longer a slave to sin. Instead, you are just an heir now of God when you accept him. And so people are still caught up in sin because they don't accept Jesus and they don't believe that he's good. And I, I really do think like in order for you to see God as good, you just have to release your understanding of what you think good is and allow God to define it for you. And, um, I think that's, it's opening your perspective. It's seeing other sides of like, okay, well, if I think this person is really good, how do I know this is good? Or how it's like, you really don't know at the end of the day, God is the only judge. And it's like, I think a lot of people are like, oh, well, if God is good, then why is there suffering? And then they'll turn to the universe and all these crystals and these false gods and et cetera, and think that they won't carry the same principles. And so it's funny that people will turn to crystals and tarot card readings in the universe, and they'll have the audacity to say, well, if your God is so good, then why is there suffering? But won't prop those same questions towards the things that they're practicing. If crystals are so good, then why is there suffering? If the universe is so good. then why is there still suffering in this world if your false gods are so good then why is there suffering the difference between your practice and between my true authentic relationship with christ is that he actually has an answer and it's not that he permits suffering but god allows suffering to happen because he's given us the freedom to freely choose him and with that evil came into play not because he wanted it to happen but because people didn't choose god and that's that and so i would even just encourage people who don't know the things of god and or or people who have turned to these other things because they don't think god is good prompt those same questions towards the things that you're practicing because the only thing that they're doing is throwing you into delusion and into corruption at the end of it and so i want to talk into another thing which is um a little more mature um , but definitely okay we're going to be talking about very briefly and i won't go super deep into it i think another episode i might go into like a way deeper dive but to talk about generational curses and what that is because sometimes sickness and the disease that you've experienced and suffering that you go through isn't even on the behalf of yourself but it's from sins of those before you so it could have been your mom your your god mom or not your god mom your great grandmother um and that's going to be okay we're going to be talking about very briefly and i won't go super deep into it i think another episode i might go into like a way deeper dive but to talk about generational and your great great grandmother all the way back to adam and eve like sin carries on so even though you're purely innocent and there's a purity of of you or upon your life or even you could say for the sake of children people who are experiencing disparities even when they're not deserved are not at times mostly are not inflicted by themselves but it's inflicted by the people before them so just to give you like super basic terminology just like how okay the bible says on earth as it is in heaven so it shows that before it ever happens on earth it first happens and it is decided on heaven in heaven and so just like how there is like a natural state of sickness and disease there's also spiritual state of sickness and disease just like how if you were to meet someone who has let's just say has cardiac problems if they have like heart problems it's probably most likely in that family bloodline there's there's a lot of people who have heart problems and they have heart problems and they there's there's history of high blood pressure of some sort of heart disease of cancer whatever it may be because it's hereditary right it runs in the family the same thing is spiritual so for an example um well this is also just proven by psychiatrists and psychologists is that anxiety is not a genetic mutation anxiety is taught it's behavior that's taught right so a lot of these things like um for an example if you have dealt with suicidal ideation or you know someone who's dealt with suicidal ideation it's pretty likely that there was people also in that person's family who were dealing with the same problems because everything is spiritual and just like how there is natural sicknesses and diseases there's also a spiritual sickness and disease which is a generational curse so spiritually what that looks like is because i'm the first generation first generational christian in my family a lot of the things that i've been through i've been through i've been through a lot of the things that i've experienced was sins on the behalf of my parents their parents parents and their parents parents all the way down to adam and eve because no one repented and turned towards god because i came from a family who who was enemies towards god and did not accept the gospel and who jesus christ was so because of that a lot of the sins and suffering that i was dealing with were not things that i deserved but they were passed down because people before me did not deal with it and so generational curses are hereditary just like any natural circumstance so whenever we read the ten commandments of god commanding the the people of israel we see in verse five through six he says when he's talking about idolatry and he's given the first command he says you shall not bow down to them or worship them for i your lord am a jealous god punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments beat that so there's such thing as generational blessings and generational curses generational sorry generational blessings comes from the compassion you have towards god so if you're compassionate for god and if you love him it says that showing love to god will go on for thousands and thousands of generations for those who love him and keep his commandments aka faith without works is dead so it's not just oh hey i love god and i care about him but i'm also daily picking up my cross knowing that the destination is death but for those who are in an iniquative lifestyle and have the same problems in their bloodline it was because no one came against the sin that was happening and for my more mature audience what you're going to realize is that a lot of sin that happens is manifested from a spiritual sickness like every physical sin every sickness and disease is inflicted from something spiritually that is off bible i can give you on the top of my head there's a story in second kings about king uzziah who was a king who was being used by the things of god and he was doing all these miraculous things gaining a lot of fame and then he became so prideful his heart literally turned into a full tombstone of pride and from that he then committed an instance to where he went into he went into a temple and burnt incense but he didn't have the authority to do so and leprosy broke out on his forehead so sickness and disease took place because of his disobedience so but you got to understand like that sin was already in his heart before it manifested physically even uh when i think of jacob and esau esau was disobedient towards the things of god he was passive he didn't partner with god he was denying the promise that god wanted to give him and there was a physical manifestation of esau's sin like he's described as red hairy and rough and his sin manifested not even just in himself but also through a nation and so when we see generational curses it's a spiritual deposit that takes place which then manifests physically and so uh i i want to talk more about this because i think people um as much as i can when we go to genesis chapter four about cain and abel it's the first it's crazy because you get to like page six of the bible and it's a freaking murder mystery not a mystery we know who did it but it's like you get to the fourth like page of the bible and you're seeing that damn like homeboy just like killed his brother out of nowhere and it shows us that through this i'm gonna read genesis 4 10 this is after cain committed murder towards his brother and the reason as to why cain committed it in the first place was because there was hatred and malice in his heart and envy and unworthiness and shame and that manifested physically because he failed to deal with it spiritually and so says in verse 10 the lord said what have you done listen your brother's blood cries out from me or excuse me let me start over the lord said what have you done listen your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground so this was after abel died and god says this very interesting statement that abel's blood cries out from the ground to god so even though your great great great grandma who was cheating on all of her husbands passed away that does not mean that that your mom could have been in the same place that your mom could have been in the same place that your mom could have been in the same place that your mom could have been in the boat your grandma or even you like if no one dealt with that sin and if no one was claiming the things of god and renouncing it and denouncing it sending it to the pits of hell and repenting and turning to god then there is an opportunity for that to manifest because it hasn't been spiritually dealt with and so we know that this is referring to generational curses because we go to hebrews 12 24 and it says to jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkle blood that speaks a better word than the blood of the new covenant and it says to jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the of abel any any terminology could have been used in the scripture but it says that the sprinkled blood of jesus speaks a better word than the blood of abel the blood of abel of which cries out and the and and why the the the blood of abel is cried out is because at the end of the day like spirits transfer blood transfers and it's like if you don't deal with sin if you don't deal with what has happened or your anger or or your wrath or your depression or your unworthiness of yourself it's like you're going to pass that on to the next generation why do you think a lot of people who are in sin their parents did the same thing that they're doing and so on and so forth because it's all spiritual just like how there's a natural inheritance there's also a spiritual one and you could come out of the agreement of sin and certain suffering when you choose jesus and not choose the way of the world amen and so this is the last thing i would like to prompt before we close out because we know that god allows suffering because of freedom because in order for us to experience freedom that's the only way we would have been able to experience love and also the the reason as to why we might be dealing with things even though if it was inflicted solely by us it could have been because of our parents our parents parents etc and it and what i want to say is that whether if sin that you're dealing with because i empathize with you children of god i don't want to just like bypass this as if people aren't really struggling people aren't having a hard time because I know people are. And I know there's people who are listening to this and have a hard time seeing God as good or seeing their situation as fruitful. And I just want to encourage you that what has happened to you and what's going on right now is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. It's your responsibility to finally choose good. It is your responsibility to make the decision if you want to choose Christ, if you're going to choose sin and a life apart from God. And I want to prompt this last thing because I know why we suffer. We suffer because we're bad. We suffer because we mess up. We suffer because we're sinful, right? And so I would just like to prompt this question because we always prompt the question. We always prompt the question of if God is so good, then why is there suffering? Why do we have to suffering? I have the answer to that. It's because we're sinful, we're bad, and we mess up. So, okay, that makes sense as to why we suffer is because we mess up and we're sinful and we've been in opposition to God. But here's a question that I would like to form that I feel like we've never asked. If God is so good and so perfect, then why did he choose to suffer? Because God is fully miraculous, God is fully powerful, he's fully compassionate, he's fully good, and he's fully powerful. So if God is all of those things and it claims to be true, then why did he choose to suffer? And I believe that if we change our perspective of what suffering is, we get to see that God suffered for humanity, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. And suffering allows us to be in the compassionate heart of God because we get to empathize what God has done for us on a way extreme, less of a. We get to experience the empathy of what God has endured for us on a less extreme of a level. And so I think I finally understand at this point in my life what suffering means and what Paul means by take joy in suffering. Because when I suffer, I get to experience the heart of God and I get to experience a part of him I've never been able to experience before. And so I'm just going to leave with that encouragement is that if God is so good and so powerful, then why did he choose to suffer? If God suffered for you, why won't you suffer for him? Why won't you suffer for him? Because God is a blameless God who is just right and perfectly good. And yet he didn't have to suffer, but did. And so be invited into the compassion of God and remain there because you just got to let your suffering be for the sake of God and not for yourself. And your suffering allows you to empathize with God in essence. And so I think it's beautiful. And like, man, the crucifixion is just something else because when you learn the extremities of what Jesus endured, which I don't even feel like I could go into it right now because I would just cry. But Jesus, do you want me to? Man, I feel like I'm just going to cry, but it's okay. And before God would ever give us an outlet, for us to empathize with him and to experience that suffering with him, we have to first understand that God empathizes with us in our suffering. Like Hebrews 4, 14, 15 says that for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness for he has been tempted in each and every single way, just as we have yet has not sinned. So God literally sent his one and only son because he wanted to empathize desperately and deeply with you to just understand your weak. So it's like, when you understand that Jesus was sent in order for God to empathize with us, it gives you such more of a heart for God because God didn't have to suffer. He could have left us to suffer, but yet he chose suffering. Like he is a perfect and good and just God. And he chose suffering. And I think sometimes like we're so cocky and confident and egotistical within ourselves that we probably need to repent for to where we look at our suffering and we'll cry out and ask God, why, why did God allow me to suffer? Why did God allow me to do these things? As if he didn't, as if he wasn't put up on a cross and endured our sins on our behalf. And I want to take out this imagery that we have of like cute little Jesus having nails through his hands on a wooden cross. Like when you understand that Jesus, man, I can't say this without crying. So I'm just like going to try my best to push through. But when you understand that, oh my gosh, okay, I could do it. Evie, just talk about the crucifixion, what Jesus has done for us. It's so good. When you understand that your suffering is nothing compared to what Jesus did for us, like he stood and was pinned on that cross, like naked. And sorry. Oh my gosh. He was naked. They whipped him. I'm sorry. They whipped him till blood was gushing out of him and his intestines ringing out and his, and they spat on him and they placed a crown of thorns on his head and bogged him. And they made him carry on top of that a 200 pound cross to a hill on which they would kill him on. And then the people he loved the most abandoned him and left him. Even his own father, left him for a moment. And when Jesus died on that cross, like every time he went to breathe, like he literally had to lift himself up just to get a breath. Every time he breathed, he literally had to like extend his chest up. And while he's doing that, he has like all these opened wounds on the back, on his back, literally like being impaled again by like the splinters of the wood on this cross. And he's like, oh my gosh, I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. And it's like, just trying to get some air. And it's like, you have the audacity to ask why God allows suffering, but you don't look on what he did for you. Like Jesus didn't have to suffer, but yet he did because he wants to live in perfect harmony with you. And we just look at the cross once a year as if it's just some sort of friend with the Easter bunny. Like this isn't, and you know, he's cool. Like I understand that Jesus Christ died for me and like died a very extreme, gruesome death where they like cut him and marked him. And so, yeah, I think once you see the sufferings of Christ, you no longer see the sufferings of self. Instead, you just embrace them because you just get to share a part of God. That's it. And so seeing God as good is all up to you. Because if you're watching this video and you're finding every single reason for God not to be good, you are going to find it. And it's because you're coming in with the intention to see God as not good. But it's like, what would happen if you just died to that for a moment and open your mind of what it actually means for God to be good? And not just your perception, but like what he actually says. And people could go to parts of the Bible where, you know, God could have been like super wrathful and all these things, but it's like these things were never inflicted by God. It was always these people inflicting it upon themselves. I promise y'all, if you were to see all this biblical stuff that was happening in Old Testament times, you're like, oh, like why would God wipe out a nation like of these innocent people? Because these people was not innocent. You want to know what they were doing? They were killing. They were prostituting themselves. They were having sex with animals. They were doing all these things completely debaucherous. And it's like, you think these people are perfectly innocent and God is just punishing people for no reason. It's like, no, like sin punishes itself. Like God doesn't punish. Like what we're seeing, like suffering, like that's the work of evil. That's the work of sin. It's not the hand or the work of God. Like he's the judge of who's good. And we get to, be in right standing with God in righteousness because of Jesus. And that's all through repentance. But it's like, you don't choose what good is. Even if you want to believe it up and down, you do not. You do not. You are not the decider of ultimate good or evil. It's only up to God. It's just a matter of releasing it. Amen. So yeah, I'm a hot mess, but you know, that's the I think it's good to be wrecked in glory by what Christ has done for us because it keeps us in a posture of humility. But suffering isn't fun, but I take joy in it because I know it pleases God and he can use it to teach me something. Amen. So yeah, I'm not really going to do announcements like that because I feel like I should just leave this as it is. The only thing I'm going to say, y'all already know what the announcements are. They're all down below. Just look at the description. That's it. Yeah, I think the biggest application I'm going to give is don't just take Emmy's word for it. Go and discover God for yourself. You can find that all throughout the scriptures. If you want to know who God is, it's really all through here. And take away every preconceived idea that you have about God and let him just teach you who he is. It's like me. I think someone for the first time that you've only seen on the internet and that you've heard about, and then you think you know everything about them just because you've seen them on the internet and because you've heard your friends talking about them and all these things. It's like, nope, you actually don't know them as much as you think you do. And so we have to kill those expectations and we have to kill the expectation of who we think God is and actually allow him to reveal himself and speak for himself instead of us deciding who he is based off of our perception, rumors, and et cetera, but really discovering God. And that can be done through prayer. It can be done through scriptural reading, through community, church. But yeah, my request is for you to stay there and just meditate. And don't take my word, take God's word, because I'm not on Emmy's side. I'm on God's side. Amen. So yeah, anything down below, if you got saved through this podcast, if you pray a request, if you feel led to tithe, whatever, all links are down below. But until then, I love you guys. I will see you next week. And be blessed because God truly does have compassion for you. It's just a matter of choosing him because he chose you and he loves you. Just choose him back. Amen. Okay. Love you guys. Bye.