Years ago a fierce storm on campus blew a tree limb onto my friend's car. When he filed an insurance claim the company said, "Such things are not covered. We consider it 'an act of God.' As a theology student, he replied wryly, "Well, we know more about such things than you."

I wish somebody really could explain God's actions.

Early last week we heard of a friend who is not going to church now because she lost her baby and is angry with God. I confess that by the end of the week I found myself also wanting to rail against God. It hit me hardest while watching desperate parents in the mountain villages in Pakistan dig through the rubble of collapsed schoolhouses for the mangled bodies of the children they had kissed goodbye only hours before. I cried out to God:

How much suffering can this world take?

Why, Lord, do you let such things happen? Is all the famine and disease we have not enough? Do we have to suffer in less than one year twelve huge hurricanes, sixteen earthquakes, nine tropical storms and three typhoons? Why are you doing this?

Life seems so cruel and unfair. Why are some of us allowed to sip coffee safely in our homes while thousands are suddenly homeless and stranded, often desperate for shade and water? Why are some of us allowed to enjoy our grown children while others see their entire family suddenly snatched from them, without warning, through no fault of their own?

You knew these disasters were coming. You could have stopped them. We know you are not uncaring or indifferent, but it is hard to understand you. What are you doing? Are you punishing us? Are you trying to tell us something?

Are these signs of the end times? We know you discipline those you love, but that does not explain all this. We know you created this world and give us free will, but who among us has the power to make these things happen, must less choose them? Are you simply letting the earth fall apart on its own?

It is okay to admit that you are mad at God, you know. That is not the same as defying or turning away from him. Many great, godly people have been angry with God. Job, Elijah and Jeremiah come to mind. God is big enough to take our anger and frustration, and being honest about it is a much better approach than the ones many Christians take.

Gary and Jennifer Williams
Florence Bible School
Italy