Written By Dr. Tanya Paynter
It can be hard not to blame God for our suffering.
When our sense of justice has been thwarted and we have no one to direct our anger toward, we tend to direct it toward God.
Why would God allow such a tragedy with Charlie Kirk? Scripture gives us some answers.
God Sees With an Eternal Perspective
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” – Colossians 3:2
Our perspective matters. We judge God by an 80-year lifespan, but he sees across eternity. From his perspective, even the deepest suffering on Earth can be infinitely redeemed when we are with him in eternity.
God tells us that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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” (Isa. 55:8-9).
The goal of this life is not to live long and comfortably but to boldly step out in faith, proclaiming the gospel to win as many souls for the Kingdom as we can, something Charlie Kirk did well. Our focus should not be on this life but on the Life to come.
God’s Priority Is Our Eternal Souls
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”- 1 Timothy 2:4
For humans, comfort, happiness, and a long life are our priorities.
God’s priority, however, is not our comfort or a long, temporal life but the salvation of our soul.
When we understand that God’s ways are not our ways, we begin to see that his priorities may not be our priorities.
This does not, however, make him uncaring or indifferent to our suffering.
Dangers of Making “Keyhole” Judgements
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5
Theologian Os Guinness warns about the dangers of judging situations based on snippets of observation made through a “keyhole.”
He says “there are times when we see glimpses of God’s ways but not enough to allow us to make true conclusions about what he is doing and why.” [1]
We are called to trust God and, through understanding God’s character, rest assured that his reasons for allowing pain are ultimately good, even when we can’t see it.
He Works All Things For His Good
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
In his wisdom, God is able to redeem all actions, working all things for good.
Sometimes, certain types of pain are necessary for an eventual good we cannot yet see despite the suffering of those left behind. [2]
In the battle for souls, Charlie’s death may lead to a revival only God can foresee.
He will not let a sacrifice like his be wasted.
Wakeup Call
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” – Psalm 119:71
God uses our suffering to grab our attention, shake us up, and drive us closer to him.
Suffering removes the false belief that we are in control as well as the illusion of self-sufficiency. Self-reliance and happiness are fleeting and illusory – we cannot truly know God or our need for him when we’re content and happy.
It’s only once the illusion of self-reliance is removed that we are driven towards a relationship with God.
C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures… but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” [3]
Call to Arms
“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” – Philippians 1:14
Charlie’s death has stirred up Christians around the world to pray for a revival like nothing has since 9/11.
How will Christians respond to his call for courage in declaring the faith? I have seen more posts urging boldness amongst Christians in the past few days than I have in the past few years.
Paul’s imprisonment emboldened the Philippians to “speak the word without fear.”
Can Charlie’s sacrifice embolden those of us left behind? How many souls may be saved if that happened?
The World Hated Jesus First
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” – John 15:18
Jesus knew that his message of truth would not be well received by the world because the world hates the light.
“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” – John 3:20
When we speak the truth, the world wishes to silence us. Charlie gave his life for the truth, attempting to win souls for God. That sounds extremely Christ-like to me.
Are we willing to be hated in order to share the message of the gospel with others, as Charlie did?
God Meets Us in Our Pain
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
Jesus knows what it means to suffer, too.
He voluntarily came to Earth to walk in it with us. He weeps with us over death and pain. He experienced our suffering on the cross.
Jesus never promised we would be free of suffering. Quite the opposite, we were warned that we would be persecuted and “suffer for his sake” (Phil. 1:29).
He is with the Kirk family, with the members of Turning Point USA, and with those of us who grieve for the loss of Charlie.
But through it all, we can rest in the comfort and promise of the Lord to be with us always.
He Is Strongest When We Are Weak
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ … For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
When we realize that we cannot do this life without him, God is free to work through us. Pain, trials, and difficulty are how we learn to lean on him. Our faith grows as we’re refined through the fire of trials (James 1:2-3).
When we stop clinging to personal comfort, let go of our fear, and trust in the Lord, when we reach the end of our own strength to handle the troubles of this world, that is when we are at our strongest. That is when we lean fully on the Lord.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
Charlie’s death is shocking, and tragic, and overtly evil in a way we don’t often encounter in the United States. But his sacrifice will not be in vain if the “righteous are bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1).
Now is the time for Christians to march out in the armor of God, equipped with the sword of the Spirit, and open our mouths “boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19b).
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’” (Rev. 14:13).
Rest easy, Charlie Kirk. We have the watch.
References
- Os Guinness, God in the Dark, (Crossway Books, 1996), 165-166.
- Lee Strobel, Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life, (Zondervan, 2023), 148.
- C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, 1st ed. (Touchstone, 1996), 83.