It’s easy to give a glib answer to this question without really appreciating the suffering some people go through. Visiting folk in a hospital, hospice or a developing country can be a humbling experience.
If the question is phrased in this way it implies that God is good and loving towards all he has made – therefore why should he allow suffering. It also implies that God is powerful and has the ability to relieve suffering. Both of these assumptions are true; the Bible teaches that God is good and loving towards all he has made and that he is all powerful. So why does God allow suffering? A brief answer might include the following points.
The Bible teaches that in the beginning the world was good – no suffering or pain. But after the first couple disobeyed God and the single command he gave them, sin entered the world and things were changed. In addition to this, God cursed the world and the man and woman. In theological language, the first man and woman ‘fell’. And from that time men and women have lived in a ‘fallen’ world.
Whether we like it or not, this tells us that human beings cannot rebel against God with impunity. God did not withhold all of his blessings from the world, but after the ‘fall’ the world and the couple’s relationship with God was not as good as it used to be.
Today we still live in a ‘fallen’ world. People get sick – physically and mentally. Our bodies are subject to decay and we will all die of something one day. In addition to this, there are natural disasters, wars, famines and ‘accidents’. God’s curse and his displeasure against our rebellion is still very evident in the world. The world is a dark place. It is not as bad as it could be because God still gives us many blessings (and it is good to count those blessing and be thankful to God for them). Nobody can deny that something is wrong with the world, but it is human sin and God’s displeasure at that sin that make it wrong.
Is there any hope for us in this predicament? The Bible would say ‘yes’ – there certainly is hope. That hope is all focused on Jesus Christ. One of the most famous verses in the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Christ suffered and died upon the cross to take the punishment of God which our sins deserve. Christ died for sinners. He died in our place so that the curse of God and his displeasure against our sin might be removed. By repenting of our sin and trusting in Christ, our sins can be forgiven.
One writer describes suffering as ‘God’s megaphone’ where God loudly reminds us, through various difficulties, that things between us and him are not right. We need to put them right. We need to get right with God. That is done by confessing our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ.
The great promise of God given to those who will trust Jesus Christ is that one day there will be a new heaven and new earth where there will be no suffering, pain, death or sickness. The old order of things will have passed away. The cynic scoffs and says “This is just ‘Pie in the sky’ and wishful thinking”. But for the person trusting in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation this is a bright hope in a dark world.
However it’s not just a hope for the future. God promises that even in their daily suffering he will sustain and strengthen such a person as they pray to him in their various needs. Indeed he will also bless others as they pray for them.
How should we respond to suffering? We can soldier on as best we can and perhaps blame God for the suffering in the world, or we can trust in Jesus Christ whom God sent to be our Saviour. Which choice will you make?