“How could anything good come from something as evil as the holocaust?” This is the question that kept me up at night when I first read Night by Elie Wiesel. God promises us that for those who love God all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). How could the mass genocide of God’s beloved people work together for good? After reading Night in the mindset of PCA’s Portrait of a Graduate, I now realize the reason Elie became so angry towards God is because he failed to keep a “big picture perspective”.
In the face of an overwhelming trial, Elie turns against God, developing bitterness and eventually apathy towards the same God he once called “Master of the Universe” (Wiesel 20). Instead of turning to God during his trials, he turned away
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All trials that we face, God uses to bring us closer to Him, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10). When we depend upon God, He shoulders our burdens while strengthening us, making us more like Him. When we live a “lifestyle of obedience”, we gain an eternal perspective, “seeking first the kingdom of God” (Mat. 6:33). Elie, in some ways, blamed God for the holocaust. He was angry God did not answer his cries. But, God did hear his cries, “Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it” (Job 35:13). God hears every cry, but God does not always give us the answer we want. God heard Elie’s cries for help but did not give Elie the answer he desired. God has a purpose and plan for all things. As Christians, we know that, “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26). Nothing is a mistake in life, even the struggles we face. Even God’s silence has a purpose, as it can cause us to search for Him and put our