Beyond that, and sin issues aside, Os Hillman rightly expressed that " God will use pain in order to create a love relationship with His creation." Got that? God uses -- even allows -- pain, trials, and tribulation (the "troubles" of this life) to draw us into a closer relationship with Him and to "train" us to carry out our "mission" (His will) on this earth.  

Now I understand that, for some, this statement may challenge your theology. However, consider that God allowed Jesus to experience incredible pain and suffering in order to rescue us from hell through a genuine, life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with us. 

Likewise, consider how Jesus created such a relationship with Paul. Our Lord blinded him and used a crisis in Paul's life in order to bring him into relationship and use him for God's purposes (Acts 9).

Now also understand that God's first preference is to show mercy and kindness ( "Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" -- Romans 2:4). The problem is there are few people who respond to the goodness and mercy of God. He desires relationship with us and will go to great lengths to create such a relationship in order for us to receive the rewards and inheritance He has for us.

So how does this apply in terms of the loss of a loved one? The death of a partner/fellow officer? Folks, it may very well be that God's plan is to use such loss as a means to reach the lost.  For example, I can tell you with overwhelming certainty that part of slain Deputy Zach Parrish's legacy is that the Gospel was preached with power and authority to a captive audience of mostly unbelievers at his funeral service. There are those have who repented and come to faith because of this horrendous tragedy and, because of that decision, will spend eternity in heaven instead of a just eternal "sentence" in hell. 

Then there is the question of evil. Billy Graham was asked the "Why?" question ("Why does God allow evil?") hundreds of times during his ministry.  As part of his wholly biblical answer, Dr. Graham rightly pointed us to 2 Thessalonians 2:7 in which Paul calls evil  "the mystery of iniquity." That's what evil is -- a mystery.  And why does God allow evil?  Consider the following three points from Bro. Graham:

(1)  God tells us in His Word ( the Bible) that evil does not come from God, nor can we blame God for all the evils in the world. Evil comes instead from Satan, and it entered this world when Satan deceived Adam and Eve and caused them to turn against God. Both evil and Satan are real, and the two go hand-in-hand.

(2) T he Bible tells us that someday all evil will be banished. The vast spiritual conflict between Satan and God that has raged from the beginning of time will be over, and God will be triumphant. Someday all evil will be cast "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).

(3) God reveals in His Word that,  in the meantime, He can give us victory over evil. This doesn't mean bad things will never happen to us, but even when they do, we can know God is with us, and He will give us strength to stand against and overcome them in Christ.  

Here in Colorado, we've had our share of "Why God?" and "when all hell broke loose" moments, including but by no means limited to the horrific 2012 Aurora theater shooting. In the aftermath of that "hell breaking loose" moment, many of my fellow officers repented of their sin and were born again in Christ.  Many others re-committed their lives to Him and are being used in mighty ways for His purposes. 

Also here in Colorado, my friend, mentor and former pastor, Ed Taylor (someone very much familiar with tragedy) wrote the following: 

One of the most popular question we face surround the issue of evil in light of the goodness of God.  However asking the question, "If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?" starts with a flawed premise. The question itself implies that we are in a position to say what is good and what is not good about God. We ourselves do not know what good is naturally, for we are not basically good. How then can we judge God?

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)

Still, the question of evil persists, and we often hear the question "why?" in the aftermath of ongoing tragedies. Remember, when God created the world, He created it perfect. That includes His creation of man. Yet, this "perfect" man was also given the freedom of choice, or an ability to choose. When Adam chose to disobey God, sin, death and suffering became an inevitable part of life. Romans 5:12 states, " When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned" (NLT). The evil in this world is a result of that original sin.

You may say, "Wait a minute, I didn't choose to sin. Adam did." Yet, the Bible teaches that we all have sinned ( Romans 3:23). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We have a natural bent in us to do what is wrong. James 4:1 says that there is a " whole army of evil desires at war within you." At the same time, God gave us absolutes to live our lives by -- standards that are found in the Bible. When we make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and standards, evil is the result.

C. S. Lewis put this question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact of evil is God's solution, Jesus Christ [Paul Little, How to Give Away Your Faith (Downers Grove, Ill.; InterVarsity Press, 1966), p. 72]. Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word, that " everything works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them " ( Romans 8:28 ). 

God regularly uses evil and tragedy for our good in accordance with His perfect will. At my church ( Truth Church Calvary), Pastor Sam Park just finished taking us through Genesis and shared Joseph's assessment of his brothers' wicked act of selling him into slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said, " As for you, you meant evil against me, but  God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[a] should be kept alive, as they are today ( Gen. 50:20). 

We may not always understand the "why's" of evil and tragedy, but we can know the "Who" that will carry us through it. God promises, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God . . ." (Isaiah 43:2-3 NIV).

So do you have that understanding and hope?  Do you have the assurance that no matter that what happens in this life, God will carry you through and ultimately lead you home to be with Him in heaven (and thus escape "all hell")? Are you walking in victory knowing that, in the end, we WIN?  Friend, Christ went through "all hell" so that you can!

Today, if you know Christ as Lord and Savior, then be bold and obedient in radically living that out and sharing your hope with others in accordance with our Great Commission "call for service" (a command, not a suggestion -- and simply sharing these newsletters with others is a way to do that). 

Likewise, if you are reading this without a saving relationship (not "religion") with Christ, I implore you to consider the following: