God’s Wisdom in Affliction: Sometimes God allows affliction in our lives. Just ask Job. His ways are not our ways. While we cannot divine God’s mind and purposes, we know that He is good. Therefore, we must have faith in Him no matter what occurs around us. I confess that this is easier said than done in my life.
We see biblical accounts of seeming “catastrophes” which end up being used by God for good. I believe J. R. R. Tolkien picked up on this theme and used the concept in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Eucatastrophe,
…is a neologism coined by Tolkien from Greek ευ- “good” and καταστροφή “sudden turn”…In essence, a eucatastrophe is a massive turn in fortune from a seemingly unconquerable situation to an unforeseen victory, usually brought by grace rather than heroic effort. Such a turn is catastrophic in the sense of its breadth and surprise and positive in that a great evil or misfortune is averted.
One memorable instance of this is where Gandalf has seemingly fallen to his death and become lost to the Company during his battle with the Balrog in the mines of Moria. Yet he returns triumphantly; changed from Gandalf the Grey to Gandalf the White, and finally supersedes his leader Saruman. There are many other examples in TLOTR.
The Bible
In his book, The Excellencies of God, Terry Johnson cites biblical examples of eucatastrophes, although he doesn’t use the term. Think of the selling of Joseph into Egypt, and his imprisonment because of false charges by Potiphar’s wife. God used these events grow Israel into a nation and feed them through famine. And while Israel was being persecuted, He raised up Moses to lead them out of Egypt.
But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Gen 50:19-20
“How does God grow the church?” Johnson asks. “He has it persecuted and scattered so that the people go about proclaiming the gospel…” Moreover, he writes,
How does God sanctify His people? He humbles them, putting them through various trials whereby they are strengthened in faint and equipped for service (Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-9). ~ Page 316
In conclusion, we ought to understand that the wisdom of God infinitely exceeds our own understanding, even during catastrophic times. Let’s put out faith in Him.
Maranatha!
Further reading
Using Lament to Form Hearts of Trust
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