A seasoned minister declared that not all tragedies are borne out of sin and questioning God over these things is "very natural."
In the third installment of his sermon series, "The Visible Hand of the Invisible God," reported by The Christian Post, Michael Youssef stated that blaming God for misfortunes is "pagan thinking," a notion initially held by Jesus' disciples in the New Testament and some Christians today believe.
Youssef is the founding pastor of The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia. He also founded Leading The Way ministry and authored more than 50 books.
Recalling the story of the man who was born blind in John 9, the minister reminded about Jesus' response to His disciples when they asked Him about the reason of the man's blindness.
In John 9:3, Jesus said that the man's condition occurred to him not because of sin but so that "the work of God might be displayed in his life."
The succeeding verses showed that Jesus fulfilled the blind man's destiny by healing him which displayed God's power, as Jesus mentioned, much to the amazement of the people who knew the latter.
Youssef argued that associating all tragedies to sin is wrong.
"We are very quick to draw conclusions about other members of the body. We are quick to pass judgment on other members of the body. We are quick to connect dots. These dots don't even exist. We are quick to tie all sin to calamity. That's wrong," he said.
He also wondered about people, who do not even acknowledge God or believe Him, but are blaming the LORD when evil things happen to them. Youssef then shared his experiences with people who subscribe to this thinking. One is when he met someone who does not believe in God but was angry with Him. Another is about some of his congregants who vent out their anger on him when they are upset with God.
He also observed that a person who is angry with God often take out their frustration to people whom they believe are the "godliest." The pastor said that these individuals act this way because their anger is accompanied by guilt, citing people who are pushing for homosexuality and are "hell-bent" on teaching these evil ideas to children.
"That comes out of guilt. That anger is out of guilt. They are created in God's own image. And they know what they're doing is contrary to creation. ... And that's guilt; they don't know it. Their burning with guilt. [They] show anger towards God because God is invisible, and they vent on God's children - the believers - call them bigots, call them every name in the book," Youssef explained.
Moreover, Youssef stated that questioning God over misfortunes is typical, citing the stories of Gideon, Job and even Jesus Himself, who questioned the LORD during their darkest hours.
"The question 'why' is very natural. ... Don't let a legalist tell you, 'Oh, you should not question God.' All of the great heroes of the Bible - it would take me a day to name them all - all have asked 'why,'" Youssef said.
Further, the pastor emphasized that "God is not the author of evil" but permits tragedies to happen to Christians simply because He wants to display His glory. These tragedies, he noted, are often accompanied with blessings.
"God specializes in restoring fragments of life into something more beautiful and more meaningful," he stressed.
The pastor went on to share his own experiences, wherein his victories were followed by tragedies.
But amidst all his "sorry prayers," the pastor revealed that he felt God's love and embrace like never before.
"It's the grace of God. God's blessings and life's blasting all at the same time," Youssef said.
