Real expectations

So a couple of events came together to really get my brain working and inspiring this post. One I am reading a great book called A Case for Faith and the first chapter is about how can a loving God allow bad things to happen on this Earth. Two, a family member heard the dreaded word Cancer and there is some fear and uncertainity right now related to that, though the prognosis is good. Three, the sermon at church Sunday was on fear. I have come to realize that God doesn't necessarily speak to me through a loud voice in my head but more through events and messages that all come together at a perfect time and there is no way I can miss what he is trying to get through to me. I think that is why prayer and reading his word and christian fellowship are all so important because those are all part of hearing what God has to say to us.
What has been on my heart lately is how I could explain to someone who doesn't know God why he would allow bad things to happen, especially when you are praying to him for a positive resolution. I know God says when we pray he hears us and that he can perform miracles so why can't he just start throwing down miracles all over the place like he did when he was here on Earth. I know he is a healer and I believe he performed many miracles on his time here on Earth and even since then, so why wouldn't he want to bust out one of those miracles when I am praying for something serious. Well I think I have come up with a couple of reasons that can bring me some comfort even though I might still just prefer the quick miracle.
I am not a biblical scholar and still growing in my faith so please excuse me if I don't get all this right, I am just letting my heart's thoughts flow for a second.
1. God gave us a perfect place to exist with no pain and suffering and we blew it. I hate to point fingers but specifically Eve and Adam kind of blew it. So since they went for that seemingly healthy apple snack, the world fell in to suffering. Since that bite we have existed on a fallen Earth. Disease of the body and mind became the norm. Cancer wouldn't have been an issue in God's perfect plan but once we became a fallen place all kinds of diseases were allowed to run their course. It is not that God is causing these things he is just allowing them to happen because that is the result of a fallen world. All these sickos who kill and hurt people, well they got their start with that first bite, I know, it sucks. I have been reminded several times lately that it is not God wanting these things to happen but as a result of the fall in to sinfullness Satan has some temporary power in this world and things are going to have to run their course until Christ returns to claim his kingdom. The good news, all things will be made right in eternity. That is a strong encouragement for me. All the wrongs that we endure and feel like aren't justified here on Earth are going to be reconciled in Heaven. If a love one is suffering here on Earth and we want their pain gone, it might not be gone before they leave this Earth but it will be gone when they get to Heaven and everything will be made right.
2. God sent his son to this Earth to suffer all the nastiness of being human and then sacraficed his son for us. How can I be in a position to ask God how he can allow something bad to happen to me or a loved one when he sent his own son down to Earth to suffer as a human and then die on the cross for my sins so that I can spend eternity in his glory. As a human Christ asked God the same thing we often ask in hard times, why does this have to be me is there anyone else that can carry this burden? God why would you forsake me? But ultimatly Jesus trusted in God and knew that his will would be done and while we can pray for burdens to be lifted off of us we have to remember that God's will and plan have a purpose. He won't give us more than we can handle and what we endure through following God will not be in vain. God never promised that our lives would be perfect if we followed him, he never said this. We live in a sinful world full of sinful people and bad things are going to happen, this isn't Heaven, this is Earth. What he did promise is that he would be there with us through the journey. He will be my strength when I feel like giving up and I can trust him to never leave me. Suffering can have a purpose, I truely believe that and I just hope that the next time I am faced with trials that test my faith I can trust in the Lord to help me through. When bad things happen or what you prayed for doesn't happen it doesn't mean you didn't have enough faith or didn't pray hard enough it just means that is not the plan. God doesn't set bad things in to motion, living in a fallen world has set those things in motion, God will be there though to hold us up as we walk through this world.
My mind has been racing with a lot of thoughts lately and I am not sure I conveyed them all or if I conveyed anything well with this post. It was probably more for me than it was for anyone reading. But something I heard lately that stuck with me is "my faith is based on my circumstances." So I am not going to have faith in God's power when things are going well and then doubt him when things go bad. This is a fallen world and bad things are going to happen, that is a fact. But I have faith in the Lord leading me through those bad times and all things being made right when I enter his kingdom. For now I praise because I feel truely blessed.