Why Is There Suffering?

Recently, my pastor asked if I would answer a few questions from an apologetic standpoint about suffering. He gave me a list of questions to answer, and I did my my best to do them justice. Maybe this will help someone out there.


How is the existence of evil proof of God?

By using a logical thinking process, let me explain.

• Most all of us would say that taking a baby and burning it with a lighter is evil.
• Even most murders in prison would agree that this would be an evil thing to do.
• Even if it didn’t bother some people to do such a thing, they most likely would identify the action as evil.
• If God does not exist, then there is no standard and therefore no such thing as good or evil
• Everything would be an opinion.
• Clearly, there is such a thing as evil: Burning a baby, The Nazi’s; The 911 attack, etc.
• Therefore, there must be a God that has instilled the concept of moral laws into humanity.

Our society judges Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, and so many more based on a standard. Where does that standard come from? It can’t come from society, because it would only be an opinion if there is no good or evil. It must come from God.


What would you say are the main reasons we have suffering?

First I’d like to say that it is easy to sit up here and talk about this when a person is not going through a certain type of suffering. I have no qualifications to talk about every instance in life. I just want to try and explain this from my world view. I have felt suffering, and so have all of you. It differs from person to person and case to case, but it has happened since the fall of man. This is one of the hardest questions to answer from an apologetic standpoint, but I’m going to try.

We suffer because of several factors: Evil, our sinful choices, and God’s punishment.

However, the main reason suffering happens is this: God created a world that was perfect. When mankind sinned it changed the environment of our world. The natural state of the earth when it was first created was a land of bliss. It was fellowship with God. It was total freedom. It was light and love. Now after sin entered into the world, this became a place of suffering. People say, “Why does God allow it? What is He doing about it?” The facts are this: As long as you live in a land of suffering, you will be subject to suffering. You have to die to escape. Can you swim in a pool without getting wet? You may wade in and not get as wet as some people, but you’ll still get wet. God’s nature will not allow Him to put an end to suffering here. His nature does allow Him to make a path of escape. Why on earth do you think we die? Yes it is the wages of sin, but imagine if we lived on in this world forever in this state of suffering. Here’s something that will blow your mind. Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth…to this land of suffering and death. He had hunger pains, he teethed as a baby, he was too cold, he was too hot, he has to deal with his own body odor, he probably stubbed his toe, he may have had sinus trouble, he was sleepy, he was tired, he was a man of sorrows, he was lonely, he was forsaken by his father, he was whipped, humiliated, and killed unjustly. He did this to put an end to suffering. He left prefect fellowship in heaven where He was comfortable, adored, cherished, clean, and satisfied, to come to this literal Hell Hole to save you and me. If you think God caused suffering, get the biggest mirror you can find and stand in front of it. The person in there is the culprit. It was me guys. I caused all this mess. Certainly God could intervene and does at times in specific cases, but the natural state of our world is what it is. We can’t escape it on our own anymore than we can escape being human.

Is there anyone here today that will not go through suffering?

In a word: No. Sooner or later something awful will happen to you or someone you love. Period. I’m not going to gloss it over or pretend it won’t happen because that would make me a liar. It is how we deal with these things that is important. Billy Graham once said, “You’re born. You suffer. You Die. Fortunately, there’s a loophole.”


How do we respond to those suffering? What can we learn from Job’s friends?

To me the best way to deal with this is to express love. Job’s pals didn’t come up to him a say, “I know just how you feel.” They didn’t say, “Is there anything we can do.” They cried for him and tore their robes and put dirt on themselves and sat down to suffer with him. Now they said some silly things later on, but at first they had the right idea. The best thing we can do when suffering comes is to pray and hold on tightly to each other with as much compassion as we can manage. Sometimes just being there is enough. I don’t know about you, but I think this is why no matter what we say to someone in grief that it sounds inadequate to even our own ears. We just need to be there for each other. That is what we should do, and that is exactly what God does.

Who is your Biblical role model for how to handle suffering?

There are many good ones, but I identify with David more than any of the others. The main reason is that I feel some of the same struggles he did. He also brought a lot of suffering on his own head because of his actions. I have done this too. However, David understood the nature of God. When he had done wrong with Bathsheba and was told that the baby would die, he sat in sackcloth and ashes because he knew that God was a God of mercy and forgiveness. He knew God might show him undeserved mercy. When God let his child die, he didn’t turn bitter towards God. He stood up, washed and started living again. When he was asked why, he said that God might have allowed his child to live, but since he didn’t that the best thing for him to do now was to live right and to go to his child in Heaven one day. David was more concerned with loosing the Holy Spirit than he was with any suffering he might have to endure. He could endure it all if only God would forgive and restore him. I want to have that same attitude.



What will be your process of dealing with things when you suffer?

I will probably cry, make deals with God, go into depression, etc. However, I hope I won’t or at the very least when I come to my senses and remember what I believe I hope I will address it the way it should be. I trust God. That is the long and short of it. I am also a fallible human being with plenty of fear. When it happens, I will pray. We all have to remember a few things as we go through life, and this one is hard to grasp. God has out best interest at heart. He does not cause suffering or allow suffering to happen to us because He is mean. Remember we live in a realm of suffering. What He does do is use suffering to make us more like Him. How many times in the Bible has he done this? He does not will us to sin, but He can turn our sin into something that He can use for His glory. It is not about us. He is the giver of life, and He has the right to take it when He chooses. We are not our own. That is scary, but we must trust in a good God. As C.S. Lewis said, “He is isn’t safe, but He is good.” We also have to remember that we do not know what we want. We think we do. We think we want one thing, but we really don’t. God knows what we want. Let me explain that because it is a hard concept to get hold of. We strive for things that will never satisfy us. We think we want things that will not fulfill us. What we really want is fellowship with God. You know that melancholy feeling you get sometimes? It is because you are a stranger in a strange land. You don’t belong here. You were made to worship God and fellowship with Him, and that alone will ultimately satisfy you. You can never be satisfied fully on this earth. You can be content, but never totally fulfilled. Work won’t do it. Relationships with people won’t do it. Money won’t do it. Only a fully realized relationship with God will accomplish it. That can only happen in Heaven when we see Him face to face. We are made according to His purpose…not ours. Mops are made to mop. They are not made to stir spaghetti sauce. Only when they mop are they fully realized for what they are. If mops could feel, they would not be happy unless they were mopping. They might think they want to sweep, but they would not be happy doing that. God knows what you need even when you don’t. Suffering sometimes moves us towards that fellowship and dependency on God. Look at your past. When has your faith in Him grown? Nobody, including me, wants to sign up for that lesson. I don’t want to suffer. However, suffering will happen, and if I let it, it will pull me towards God even more.