A REASON FOR ADVERSITY
TIME CAN BLUNT THE STING OF EMOTIONAL
PAIN. BUT UNDERSTANDING WHERE IT FITS IN
GOD’S WILL CAN PUT IT TO REST
By, Charles R. Chesnutt, Sr.
For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
“Buy the Truth and sell it not.”
Proverbs 23:23
©2017 by Charles R. Chesnutt, Sr. all rights other than those expressly relinquished below are reserved:
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Revisions of this work are determined by the date published.
This edition was published on March 8, 2017.
Preface
The author, an attorney and graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, approaches the problem of pain with the conviction that scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit and wholly without error. Accordingly, this book is an uncompromising demand for scriptural consistency and truth – whether it bodes good or ill for how one may prefer to view God. The reason for this approach is not simply to grasp the truth, but to honor the Creator, who, for His own reasons, has made us in the way that He chose and is in no need of apology.
This book is an examination of scripture for the purpose of understanding why God, being both just and good, permits pain and tragedy to occur to those He loves. This book addresses the age-old conundrum of why the biblical, loving God who has created us permits the existence of pain.
The problem of pain is a canker in the faith of many and a stumbling block for many more. But there are excellent reasons why the Creator has created pain and pleasure together. The failure to see these reasons and to confront adversity directly as part of the creation obscures the character of God, and leads the Christian to a place where God is re-defined and made into something that He is not.
Ultimately, if God is God, He is responsible for all things including adversity and pain. When one confronts this difficult truth with blunt honesty and simply accepts the plain words of scripture, the circumventions that we often use to color our conception of God begin to fade and an unexpected consistency and faith emerges.
Charles R. Chesnutt