"God's ways are fathomless. We can't ultimately comprehend the works of God (cf. Romans 11:33-36). Hymn writer William Cowper said, 'God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.' Why does James die and Peter live? We aren't told the reasons. We know that Jesus promised James' death in Mark 10:39, but we're not told why. Surely the church was praying for James, like Peter, yet he was put to death. John, James' brother, lived to be an old man. Sometimes believers suffer terribly, and sometimes God delivers miraculously (Schreiner, 'God's Inscrutable Sovereignty'). We can't predict the ways of God. "Sometimes those who would be great parents can't have biological children. Sometimes those who are terrible parents keep having babies. Sometimes God answers prayers for healings, and sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer -- at least for a season (Psalm 73). "While s...
Striving to be a Samwise Gamgee in a world of Smeagols.