Who's in Charge of a World That Suffers? a Billy Graham DevotionalShembull

Why Does a Loving God Allow Suffering?

Many people ask, “Why does God allow fear to continue to grip the hearts of people today?” They ask, “Where is God’s power? Why doesn’t He stop all this misery and cruelty with which our world has been cursed?” Others ask, “How can God be good and merciful, when every day men and women are crushed by agonies almost beyond their endurance?” These questions are asked not only by atheists and enemies of religion, but also by bewildered Christians, who, staggering under the burden of anguish, cry out, “Why must I bear this misery? How can God lay all this suffering on me?”

One of the earliest books in the Bible, the Book of Job, deals with this difficulty. Some today have experienced war, terrorism, broken relationships, financial pressures, and many other hardships. But I doubt they have sustained losses as large as Job’s were when treacherous enemies captured his men and all his herds and flocks. Perhaps there is someone whose son or daughter has been held hostage, or who has received notification that his son or daughter was killed in action. Job lost seven sons and three daughters in a single day. Others, perhaps, are stricken by sickness and groaning in pain. Job suffered from some form of sickness that made his body a mass of boils and sores. 

When Job could find no human explanation for his afflictions, he cried to God, “tell me what charges you have against me” (Job 10:2). 

This age-old question of “Why must the righteous suffer?” is as old as time. There is only one place where we can find an answer and that is in the Bible. Yet in their blindness some men have rejected divine guidance to insist that everything in life comes from chance. Fate, they declare, smiles on some people, and they have an easy, untroubled existence. Fate frowns on others, and they are beset with unnumbered difficulties. They say that it is all a matter of luck. “Since we are only creatures of chance,” they conclude, “why not press every drop of pleasure out of life while we can, and have our full fling before tomorrow comes and death with it?”

Other skeptics have gone to the opposite extreme and declared that people suffer because they are weak. “Learn to be hard and ruthless,” they urge. “Smash all opposition. Away with sympathy, kindness, and mercy. Down with love.” Oh but they haven’t considered the love of God! 

Secularists fail to offer satisfying solutions to man’s dilemma of suffering. Often humanistic philosophies tend to create further confusion and personal discouragement. 

The question of why God allows suffering is one of the most profound mysteries of life. And it is a difficult question to answer. We cannot turn to any one passage in the Scriptures to find a thorough and conclusive treatment of the subject, but the Bible does hint at some answers. I would like to share with you some truth that can be helpful. 

Realize that God has been active in working toward the alleviation of suffering. 

Remember that suffering originated in the Garden of Eden, as we discussed earlier. God gave people the freedom of choice: to choose good or to choose evil. Part of the human makeup that distinguishes the human race from other creatures is the ability to reason and make moral decisions. Man is a free moral agent. 

Adam chose to follow the advice of Satan, and he rebelled (sinned) against God. Adam’s choice (his sin) opened a “Pandora’s box” of suffering for mankind. A careful study of Genesis reveals that Adam’s action produced a wide spectrum of suffering: physical, spiritual, social, psychological, and even ecological. In a very real sense, the suffering of this world was created by man himself. The tendency to sin, the sinful nature, is a human characteristic transferred from Adam and Eve to the second  generation of mankind. And it has been transferred to every generation since. It is part of the human nature we have all inherited.

And yet it is God who took action to solve the problem. In the Garden He gave Adam a ray of hope—the promise that one day He would send His Son (the seed of the woman) to earth to destroy the devil’s work and deal with the problems of man’s sin and suffering. 

We have seen this fulfilled historically in Jesus Christ. By His life, death, and resurrection He triumphed over Satan and sin, and He is the key to the solution of suffering. By His death, He releases us from the penalty of sin. By His resurrection life, He gives us the power over the tendency to sin as we allow Him to control our lives. 

So we see that God has not been passive regarding the plight of the human race. He has taken action. In fact, all of history is moving toward a time when Christ will establish His rule over all the universe. Satan, sin, and suffering will be eliminated entirely. God promises to free us from the penalty and power of sin; and one day He will produce an environment in which we will be free from the presence of sin and the suffering associated with it. Isaiah 9:6, 7: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” 

It is in God’s own suffering that we see His great love. We must not try to evaluate God’s character and judge whether or not He is a loving God by looking at our own sufferings. It is by looking at the cross that we come to know and experience the depth of God’s love for us. 

Respond

Have you experienced a season of deep suffering in life where you felt like Job? 

How does the knowledge that your suffering is not caused by fate or your own weakness impact your view of God's character? 

How does reflecting on God's demonstration of love on the cross encourage you in your walk with Him?