Why Does God Allow Suffering
Suffering is not a sign of lesser faith but a reality of a broken world, and while we may not understand why it happens, we can trust that God remains sovereign and present through it all.
Ben Graybill
5/31/20263 min read
Why do we suffer while others thrive? Are they more godly than myself? What God will allow for a faithful servant to experience all kinds of suffering while this other person is healed or has a lavish life? Why not me? People ask. I think this is a real burden for some people and why they don't want anything to do with God. I know for a fact that myself and many other Christians are ill-equipped to respond to other people and the pain they have or have experienced.
Why would a God allow my son to go through cancer? Why would my cousin pass away unexpectedly or for me to lose every good thing I've ever had in my life? These questions often bring us back to the book of Job. Job had it all: money, family, and God was on his side. The devil essentially called BS on Job's faithfulness, basically saying to God, "If you had not blessed Job with all this, he surely would not be faithful to you anymore." God sat back in His chair and said to the devil, "Do your worst!"
The story continues on as follows: Job loses all he has, yet continues to remain faithful through it all. How could a man who went through all this continue to know that God is good at the end of it all. At his lowest point, he simply pleaded, “Show me why You contend with me” (Job 10:2). Rather than turning away from God in confusion, Job turned toward Him, entrusting his deepest sorrow to the very God whose ways remained a mystery.
Job discovered that God's presence was greater than the answers he sought, and after remaining faithful through suffering, God restored and blessed him abundantly. Job did not deserve anything that came his way, and ultimately questioned God, asking why—but he never rebuked Him. God answers Job when he questions Him by saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?” And this goes on—God humbles Job by shifting his perspective to that of an all-knowing, sovereign God who is not limited by human understanding.
Simply put, I’ll say this: The suffering we each encounter or experience is not fair, nor is it meant to be. Most don't deserve it; however, we are not promised a life or world apart from pain and suffering. If God is sovereign, then it means that He must have called for this on my life. No—just because God foreknew something does not mean that He caused it. When bad things happen, God uses them for His glory in new and strange ways we could not have seen.
Some people go through so much and come out the other side having the knowledge and understanding to speak into others about that very thing. I can't say I know the exact reason that these occurrences happen in people's lives that are clearly evil. The world is simply broken, and bad things happen—but we can find joy and peace in the gift of eternal life in heaven with our Creator, free from pain and suffering.
1 Peter says it like this: “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
May we be more equipped in responding to this topic.
P.S Yes Rebrand is still on its way