“Sometimes God allows us to go through difficult times, even as a result of the wicked actions of others. Yet whatever we have to endure, no matter how unfair, or unjust, we can be sure that God will use it for good.”
When I read the Psalms, I am somewhat baffled by them. I understand God wanted us to seek justice, but there is so much “bless me because I obey you and punish all the wicked”. Clearly these verses come from a people before the Holy Spirit, before Jesus. Before Jesus, the hope of the Israelites was comfort and security in this life and for their children. I don’t think it was ever supposed to be the end goal, and this wasn’t realized/revealed to man until Jesus. The entire point of suffering (whether we did it to ourselves, or God allows other to do it to us) it to point us to God, so we can grow closer to Him. So our hope is not in the eventual outcome or relief. We don’t live a life of suffering now, so we can be rewarded later. If we suffer now, God is good! If we are secure and comforted now, God is good! His goodness isn’t circumstantial, it is a truth. Though God never temps anyone, He does test many. What is the difference between temptation and testing? A test is brings glory to God (through many ways, but one of them is our growth). Where as a temptation is meant to rob the glory of God. But God is sovereign, nothing happens to us apart from His knowledge. Everything goes through God like a filter, and if He doesn’t want to allow it, it won’t happen. So though it may be true that God will never tempt you, He really has no need to temp you. We live in such a terrible world, He just has to allow the things of this world or Satan to tempt us. If God is sovereign, that is basically saying, the powers of darkness require permission from God for every little temptation they have for you. That is why the Bible says God will not tempt us beyond what we can bear. God loves us, and it growing us. A seasoned weightlifter is not going to put 500 lbs on a bench press, and just let go for a guy who has never been to the gym. He knows you can’t lift it. But he also isn’t going to put more weight on it that he can lift either, as he wants to be able to lift all of it when you can no longer lift any of it. God is our ‘spotter’, He isn’t going to put anything on it that we can’t lift, or that He can’t lift (as it is possible the test is to see if we will trust if He will provide all the lifting). He knows us intimately, and know what we can handle, and what amount of weight will grow us. But if we never lift that weight, we will never grow. That is why God gives the Darkness permission to tempt us, because God doesn’t tempt, but He wants us to grow. One day (in Heaven) there will be no more need to grow, and coincidently/conveniently, there will also be no more temptation. Even the bad things that happen that aren’t a temptation, our sovereign God also allows those things to happen to us, and they are for His good. We can only speculate as to how for now, but we are not meant to know the answers to all things, but we have faith in His love and goodness. Duet 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
Seeking God 