It’s easy to accept blessings from God when good things happen in our lives, but in moments of fear, pain and loss, it’s only natural to wonder where God is, whether He loves us, why we are being punished, and how a good and loving Savior would ever allow mishaps and tragedy to befall those who love Him.
This question has long troubled believers and challenged belief itself, and it’s one that everyone winds up asking at some point in their lives. For Catholic former NFL player Chris Spielman, it came to him many times as his beloved wife suffered for years from the cancer that ultimately claimed her life.
In this interview I did for The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (published on its online site, Angelus News), Spielman addresses the question directly:
Speaking to The Tidings, Chris Spielman emphasized that her death doesn’t mean their prayers weren’t answered, rather that the answer just wasn’t what they were hoping for.
According to Spielman, there comes a point in every person’s life when they have to ask themselves, “Do you really want God’s will in your life or don’t you?”
“If you do, then you have to accept what God has in store, and so I believe that all prayers are answered,” he explained. “If we claim that God’s will for my life or thy will be done, like it is in the Our Father, then we have to accept whatever that answer is to the prayer.”
Spielman also spoke about surrendering to the will of God, which is especially difficult for Americans — and, in particular, professional athletes — whose ethos is built on rugged individualism and never giving up.
Thinking about that, Spielman cited passages 2 Corinthians 12:8-10:
“Three times, I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
“We have to trust in God,” said Spielman, “and surrender to God whatever we have, whether it’s our burdens or our joys, and trust God with those.
“I really become the strongest person in the world by becoming weak and surrendering to God. I don’t know if that makes sense to you, but it does to me, in my mind.”
Click here to read the whole thing.
Here’s an interview Spielman did about the book he wrote chronicling his marriage and loss:
Image: Used with permission of Chris Spielman
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