Fatalism or Faith?

Allah has willed it

How many times have I heard this statement in our first 10 months in Chad. It’s spoken of everything that happens. The four year old boy who was hit by a car while wondering along the side of a busy road. The man who dies on the operating table in our local hospital, from a relatively routine operation necessitated by an entirely preventable disease. The guy on the motorcycle who hit me today as he was trying to pass (on the left) as I was turning left, skidding across the pavement and fortunately (for him and for me) coming away with just a good scrape. “It happens, God willed it.” In this case God also apparently willed that I give him some money, but that’s another story.

It’s one of the characteristics of this society that has struck me the most – the complete acquiescence to the events of life, without any real hope that there is a divine plan and that it is good. It provides for me a picture of what happens when you have such a strong belief in the sovereignty of God, as Islam does, without knowing anything of the great love of God. I was talking to a friend several weeks ago who made a very profound (in my view) observation: Muslims certainly believe God is great, but they don’t really believe he’s good. Not on a personal, relational level. They wouldn’t say that, but it seems to be a valid observation. Their god is arbitrary and capricious. He demands robotic obedience to a long list of do’s and don’ts, but doesn’t give any assurance of salvation at the end of it all. Mohammad himself didn’t even have assurance.

I have a great burden for those all around me every day living and dying in hopelessness. We have so much to offer! Our God is sovereign AND GOOD! Life is full of difficulty and heartbreak, the curse of sin, but we have the cure! Jesus took the curse so that we don’t have too. And for those in Christ, there is a great, overarching purpose in all events of our life. We’re being conformed to the image of Christ, the ultimate end of God’s promise to “work all things together for good.” (Romans 8:28-29)

Pray for our friends and neighbors, some of whom are very proud of their many religious activities, others who have been beaten down by life and feel as if there’s no hope. Both types need to see their fatalism turned to faith.