When Trouble Comes

Recently, I've been wondering a lot about the question of having trouble. I've heard a lot of things about problems. Some people say: "It's just God's way of testing us." Other people question, if God is good, then why do bad things happen to us? I wonder about this. All the time.

Recently, I've gone through a lot of problems. I have struggled financially, and struggled with lots of small stressors. I have struggled with doubt about my life direction. I have struggled to find a church that I feel like I fit in at.

Through the midst of all of this, I get frustrated with God. I mean, I'm a 'good Christian girl.' I don't smoke, don't drink, (usually) do not use foul language, (usually) do not drink....you get the picture. I'm not perfect. But I'm trying to serve a perfect job. Yet, there is something in me that seems to think that I ought to be rewarded for my efforts. That something is pride. And, it's not okay.

Many Christians have tried to solve the problem of evil and hardship in this world. Some have pointed to the story of Job as a reminder that we should trust in God and surrender under His Lordship. Others have looked to Romans, and have reminded us that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord (Romans 8:28). Others looked to the gospels to remind us that fervent prayer, made in faith, will change things.

But sometimes even these good answers don't satisfy me. What happens when I have prayed and prayed and prayed and still suffer? What do I do when it is hard to trust? Author and Psychologist Dr. Larry Crabb has an interesting answer to these questions.

In his book: The Pressure's Off, Crabb challenges our traditional theology of trouble. He argues that many Christians think this way: If I do A, God will give me B. Thus, as a 'good Christian girl,' I should be rewarded.

Crabb argues that this type of thinking is wrong at best and idolatrous at worse. By thinking this way, we are valuing God's blessings more than God himself. God Himself should be our first love and our first desire, not His blessings.

This book challenged me in a way that few books have and really pricked my 'theology of works.' It did not give me an easy answer to the question of pain, but it helped me to see that maybe in all things, our focus should be on the Lord and not on what He is or is not providing. We were created to relate to Him. By doing this, we will always have the desire of our heart, regardless of our outward circumstances.