When sharing about my belief in God I had people ask questions that I was unable to answer. Maybe you have questions about faith that give you doubt.One of these tough questions to understand is; why does God allow suffering? We as believers are often asked by skeptics, “why are there tragedies, war, and suffering?” Skeptical people will say, either God is all loving but not all powerful, or God is all powerful but not all loving. They say this because they feel if God was all powerful he would stop suffering, and if God is all powerful he must not be all loving because he allows suffering. What skeptics are saying is they believe God is to blame.
Is it God’s wishes that cause suffering? I don’t think so. God created a perfect world for us to live in. That is His desire. I believe because of sin (our own failing)the world is not perfect. It is imperfect because of the sin in it.
If this is the reason then why is there sin, and why does God allow it?
God gave us free will because he wanted us to love him out of our own choice. He gave us choice because love cannot be forced or programmed. God created a perfect world, (Genesis 1:1, 10, 25, and 31). Man then chose to sin, and be disobedient to God, (Genesis 3:1-19). This sin causes the world to be the way it is.
So when God lets something bad happen is it God’s judgment against us?
I have heard some people say 9-11 was God’s judgment, or that hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment. I don’t think it was.
Jesus said this in Luke 13:4. “Those eighteen on who the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were the worse sinners than all the other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” Were the people who died in the twin towers the worst sinners in New York? Were the people who died in hurricane Katrina the worst sinners in New Orleans? The truth is bad things happen to relatively good people and bad things happen to bad people. Because of sin in the world bad things happen to all of us.
In Matthew 7:24-27 it says that one man built his house on the rock and one man built his house on the sand. When the rains came the one on the rock did not fall. The one on the sand fell. Notice that the rains will come to both types of people. Bad stuff is going to happen.
The good news is that if you build your house on a foundation of rock that is Jesus Christ you will be able to get through the tough times.
Suffering comes in three types.
Corrective suffering, constructive suffering, suffering that glorifies God
First: Corrective suffering. God sometimes uses suffering to bring us closer to him. In Luke 15 the prodigal son came back to his father when the suffering he was subjected to got bad enough. Suffering can bring us back to the Father our God. And when this happens he will come running to you with open arms to welcome you home. Suffering can be like an amplifier of God’s voice. God whispers to us in good time but it seems like he shouts to us when we are in pain. In Hebrews 12 it says God’s children will be disciplined (this is how he corrects us). We are to be happy because this is a reminder that we truly are his children.
Second. Constructive suffering. Sometimes God will allow suffering to prepare us to do his work. The suffering can help harden or shape us to be used or useful to do his work. This is like when fire is used to harden steel. It is often the people who go through the great trials and tough times that are the ones who have the most powerful testimony for God.
Third. Suffering used to glorify God. Sometimes God will take away suffering and glorify himself in the process. An example of this is when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said in John 11:4, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it”.
When we pray to God to stop suffering, sometimes He says yes and sometimes He says no. Paul asked God three times but God did not take away his suffering. God said to him in 2Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness”.
In John 9:3 Jesus gave a blind man sight because, “But that the works of God may be done in him”. John 9:6, 7. “He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and he said to him “Go wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is translated sent)”. Once he was healed he didn’t know who Jesus was but he became a great witness to God’s glory! And then he became a faithful believer in Jesus.
Maybe there has been some type of tragedy or suffering in your life. Maybe God is trying to draw you nearer or get your attention. Maybe he is trying to open your eyes to who Jesus is. Call out to God and let him help you through it. He is the God of comfort and will be waiting with open arms for you. Be just like the blind man and say “once I was blind but now I can see”. God will use these things for good if you let him. Romans 8:28. In all things God works for the good of those who love him. He can make you a better person through it. He only wants the best for you.
Jeremiah 29:11. For the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
The future He has in mind and has promised to those who follow Jesus is to live with them forever in love and in a perfect world.
There is a fourth type of suffering and that is pointless suffering. If you don’t let God have a part in your life then suffering can not be used by God for your good. Don’t let the suffering in life be pointless to you.
