Senseless Nightmare?

If this is the only life there is, it is truly a senseless nightmare. How can anyone believe God is loving and just when we hear about human suffering and atrocities every day. One thing is for sure, I don't have all the answers. I just know that God has revealed some things to me personally and it has affected me enought to share. Human suffering was a stumbling block to my belief in a creator. How could God allow the Holocaust? How could God be in control when a sexual predator kidnaps a young girl and rapes and tortures her for years?

I realize this may seem insensitive to those who have suffered, but as I've mentioned before, I became a believer because of a school shooting. I believe God's ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. He can wipe out a whole nation in order to show us He is God and to let us know that His kingdom will reign. He knows what awaits us on the other side. If Christianity is true, our earthly, temporal lives are but a brief prelude to a life that is going to go on forever. Earth is a small part of a bigger story and our present sufferings simply can't be compared to it. In Romans 8:18, we are told, " I consider that our present suffering are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us."

God wants His followers to be part of the solution. As we are transformed, we become ambassadors to a hurting world. We are His arms and legs in actively alleviating the suffering of others. Paul tells us, " Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

For the next week or so, I want to share some stories of individuals who have suffered or died and how God used thier tragedies for His kingdom that will never, never end. If this has been a stumbling block for you also, I hope this will help to answer your questions and bring understanding to why a loving God would allow suffering.