Why Does God Allow Suffering?
From a study by Radio Bible Class
Ministries
Suffering Takes Us To The Edge Of Eternity
If death is the end of everything, then a life
filled with suffering isn't fair. But if the end of this life brings us to the
threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those
who discover, through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for.
Those who find themselves and their eternal God through suffering have not
wasted their pain. They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to
the Lord of eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending
joy why Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven"
(Mat 5:3-4,
10-12 KJV)
{3} Blessed are the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
{4} Blessed are they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted....
{10} Blessed are they which
are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
{11} Blessed are ye, when men
shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake.
{12} Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
(2 Cor 4:17-18
KJV)
For our light affliction, which is
but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
{18} While we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen:
for the things which are
seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen
are eternal.
Pain Loosens Our Grip On This Life
In time, our work and our opinions are sought
less and less. Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear. Gradually they
succumb to inevitable obsolescence. Joints stiffen and ache. Eyes grow dim.
Digestion slows. Sleep becomes difficult. Problems loom larger and larger while
options narrow. Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day,
then the curse of old age is also a blessing. Each new pain makes this world
less inviting and the next life more appealing. In its own way, pain paves the
way for a graceful departure
(Eccl 12:1-7 KJV)
Remember now thy Creator in
the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come
not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
{2} While the sun, or the light,
or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
{3} In the day when the keepers of
the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow
themselves,
and the grinders cease
because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
{4} And the doors shall be shut in
the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low,
and he shall rise up at the voice
of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
{5} Also when they shall be afraid
of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way,
and the almond tree shall
flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden,
and desire shall fail: because man
goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
{6} Or ever the silver cord be
loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,
or the wheel broken at the
cistern.
{7} Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was:
and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it.
Suffering Gives
Opportunity To Trust God
The most famous sufferer of all time was a man
named Job. According to the Bible, Job lost his family to "a mighty wind," his
wealth to war and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God
never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his
friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal
that His arch-enemy Satan had challenged Job's motives for serving God. Neither
did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God.
Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth, young lions on the hunt,
and ravens in the nest. He cited the behavior of the ostrich, the strength of
the ox, and the stride of the horse. He cited the wonders of the heavens, the
marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that
if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was
reason to trust that same God in times of suffering.
(Job 42:5-6
KJV)
{5} I have heard of thee by the
hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee.
{6} Wherefore I abhor myself, and
repent in dust and ashes.
God Suffers With Us In Our
Suffering
No one has suffered more than our Father in
heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world. No
one has so continuously grieved over the pain of a race gone bad. No one has
suffered like the One who paid for our sin in the crucified body of His own Son.
No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and
died, showed us how much He loved us. It is this God who, in drawing us to
Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering and when our own loved ones
cry out in our presence.
(1 Pet 2:21-24
KJV)
For even hereunto were ye
called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps:
{22} Who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth:
{23} Who, when he was
reviled, reviled not again;
when he suffered, he
threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
{24} Who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were
healed.
(1 Pet 3:17-18 KJV)
For it is better, if the
will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
{18} For Christ also hath once
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit:
(1 Pet 4:1-2
KJV)
Forasmuch then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the
same mind:
for he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin;
{2} That he no longer should live
the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men,
but to the will of
God.
God's Comfort Is Greater Than Our
Suffering
The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take
away an unidentified source of suffering. But the Lord declined saying, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
"Therefore," said Paul, "most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong". Paul learned that he would
rather be with Christ in suffering than without Christ in good health and
pleasant circumstances.
(2 Cor 12:7-10
KJV)
And lest I should be exalted above
measure through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in
the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet
me,
lest I should be exalted above
measure.
{8} For this thing I
besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
{9} And he said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in
weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest
upon me.
{10} Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for
Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I
strong.
In Times Of Crisis, We Find One
Another
No one would choose pain and suffering. But when
there is no choice, there remains some consolation. Natural disasters and times
of crisis have a way of bringing us together. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes,
riots, illnesses, and accidents all have a way of bringing us to our senses.
Suddenly we remember our own mortality and that people are more important than
things. We remember that we do need one another and that, above all, we need
God. Each time we discover God's comfort in our own suffering, our capacity to
help others is increased. This is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he
wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we
may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God".
(2 Cor 1:3-4
KJV)
Blessed be God, even the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies, and the God
of all comfort;
{4} Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we
ourselves are comforted of God.
God Can Turn Suffering Around For
Our Good
This truth is best seen in the many examples of
the Bible. Through Job's suffering we see a man who not only came to a deeper
understanding of God but who also became a source of encouragement for people in
every generation to follow. Through the rejection, betrayal, enslavement, and
wrongful imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone who eventually was
able to say to those who had hurt him, "You meant evil against me; but God meant
it for good" ( Genesis 50:20). When
everything in us screams at the heavens for allowing suffering, we have reason
to look at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an
executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
( Matthew 27:46).
(Gen 50:20a
KJV)
But as for you, ye thought evil
against me;
but God meant it unto
good...
(Rom 8:26-28
KJV)
Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought:
but the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.
{27} And he that searcheth
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for
the saints according to the will of God.
{28} And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
You're Not
Alone
You're not alone if the unfairness and
suffering of life leaves you unconvinced that a God in heaven cares for you. But
consider again the suffering of the One called by the prophet Isaiah, "a Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief". Think about His slashed
back, His bloodied forehead, His nail-ripped hands and feet, His pierced side,
His agony in the Garden, and His pathetic cry of abandonment. Consider Christ's
claim that He was suffering not for His sins but for ours. To give us the
freedom to choose, He lets us suffer. But He Himself bore the ultimate penalty
and pain for all of our sins.
(Isa 53:3-6
KJV)
He is despised and rejected
of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and we hid as it were our faces
from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed
him not.
{4} Surely he hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
{5} But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
{6} All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all.
(2 Cor 5:21
KJV)
For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
(1 Pet 2:19-21
KJV)
For this is thankworthy, if
a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering
wrongfully.
{20} For what glory is it,
if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
but if, when ye do well, and
suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
{21} For even hereunto were ye
called:
because Christ also suffered for
us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his
steps:
When you do see the reason for His suffering,
keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died to pay the price for our sins, and
that those who believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will
be saved. The forgiveness and eternal life Christ has to offer
is not a reward for effort but a gift to all who, in light of the evidence, put
their trust in Him.
(Rom 10:9-10
KJV)
That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
{10} For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
