Recent headlines about a retiring professional women's soccer player named Megan Rapinoe, got my attention.
The headline read, "Megan Rapinoe Claims Final Match Injury Proved There Is No God." The article recounted the events of her career-ending game that lasted for only six minutes. While running across the field, her Achilles tendon presumably snapped, causing her to exit the game, and her lifelong career as a professional soccer player.
Admittedly upset, she stated that she had never been a "religious person" but "If there was a God, this is proof there isn't." She was basically stating that if there was a God, that he certainly would not have let her get hurt in the first 6 minutes of the last game of her career. It just wasn't fair.
I wonder if she has ever heard the story of Job. He could have told her a thing or two about what is "fair." Far more serious than a game of soccer, Job suffered great loss through the death of all of his children at once, his servants, and his livestock, and then he was stricken with a terrible disease as well.
Unlike Megan Rapinoe, Job was a devout believer in God and served him completely. So, why did Job suffer in such a way?
The answer is this: God allowed it.
Wait a minute. You might say "Isn't God supposed to love us, protect us, and give us only good things?"
Well, yes and no. You see, God did love Job very much. God knew that Job loved him as well. And when the devil brought accusations against Job, saying that if he were to be afflicted that Job would surely curse God, the Lord proved him wrong, and at the same time, gave people, even us today, a great example of God's love, protection, and power.
You see, Job had everything in life. God withheld nothing good from Job. God blessed Job with a beautiful family, health, and wealth. Instead of immediately denouncing the existence of God when things got hard, he pressed into that faith and belief. He praised God and exalted God, even through the sadness, pain, and disappointment.
Job knew that for whatever reason those things were happening to him, God had a plan and a purpose.
Did he like what was happening? No! And even when the suffering became too much for him to bear, he pressed through, not cursing God or turning from him, but humbling himself before God. In return, God intervened and in time, restored everything that was taken from him, even twice as much as he had before.
The problem that many people have today is that they don't want to believe in a holy and just God. They want to believe in their own personal version of God. A God that allows the type of sin that they want to live in. A God that would never punish or condemn their disobedience. A God that would never give them rules or commands. A God that suits THEM.
And therein is the reason that most atheists have a hard time coming to faith in God. He just isn't what THEY want Him to be.
Would Megan Rapinoe have believed in God if she would have gone on to win the last game of her career? Probably not. She's had a lifetime of winning without belief. But maybe, just maybe, she will find the one true God amidst the pain, sadness, and disappointment.
Our ways are not His ways, and our thoughts are not like His thoughts. Sometimes the avenue to God is nothing like we expect, but everything that we need.
