Why is there suffering? is one of the questions that people ask. How could a good God allow suffering? Many people are victims of natural calamities (earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, droughts, famines), victims of wars, injustice, persecution, neglect, loss of loved ones, accidents, and debilitating illnesses, etc. Consider all those with cancer or people born with crippling diseases, mental and physical, incapable of feeding themselves. Our hearts and prayers have and will go out to them.
Sadly, many use the issue of suffering as an excuse to
reject any thought of God, when its existence is the very reason, we should believe
in Him. Suffering stands as terrible testimony to the truth of the explanation
given by the Word of God.
But how can we know that the Bible is true? Simply by
studying the prophecies of Matthew 24, 2 Timothy 3, and Luke 21, please take
the time with an open heart to read as the Holy Bible is no ordinary book. It
is the supernatural testament of our Creator about why there is suffering.
God created heaven and earth, saying over and over,
"It was good" (Genesis 1). He made mankind (Adam and Eve) according
to His image and likeness and placed them to dwell in His creation. God
declared everything "very good."
So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female
created he them.
Genesis 1:27
KJV
And God saw
every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening
and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
KJV
God created humans perfectly and they lived in a
perfect world without suffering. When Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent
and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they rebelled against God.
Sin entered into the world and death by sin. God cursed the earth because they
sinned and drove them out of the garden of Eden. When sin entered the world,
death and misery came with it (Genesis 3).
Wherefore, as
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 5:12 KJV
Some people suffer as a result of their sin, such as
the man Jesus healed at the Bethesda pool (John 5:1–15). This man had an
infirmity for thirty-eight years. The man who was physically healed, Jesus
later found him in the temple and warned him to sin no more or else a worse
thing could happen to him.
Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin
no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
John 5:14 KJV
Some people suffer for God’s glory, such as the man in
the Bible who was born blind. This man’s blindness was not the result of his
sins or his parents sins; rather that the works of God should be made
manifest in him.
And as Jesus passed
by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his
disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents,
that he was born blind?
Jesus answered,
Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him.
John 9:1-3 KJV
The greatest suffering of all happened when God gave
His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin for us who knew no
sin. Jesus laid down His life willingly, betrayed, falsely accused, mocked,
scourged, gambled over. He suffered tremendous beatings by Roman soldiers, humiliation,
and the agony of crucifixion. He took the punishment we deserved by bearing our
sins and the sins of the entire world, dying in our place, buried, resurrected
after three days, many appearances, was seen by over 500 people at one time,
conquered sin and death in order to provide the free gift of salvation. (Isaiah
53 and the four Gospels and 1 Corinthians 15).
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.
2 Corinthians
5:21 KJV
But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.
Much more then,
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him
Romans 5:8-9
KJV
We believe that God is sovereign! Omnipotent
(all-powerful), Omniscient (all-knowing), Omnipresent (to be everywhere at
once). We cannot know the mind of God, and He can use suffering to draw us
closer to Him. In this world we suffer as Bible-believing, born-again
Christians, but through God’s grace we have inner peace knowing He has overcome
the world.
These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world John 16:33
KJV
Trials and tribulations help us grow and are part of
what it means to be human in a fallen world. We experienced God’s comfort
through trials and tribulations. We are then able to comfort others.
We are troubled
on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but
not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest in our body.
2 Corinthians
4:8-10 KJV
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.
2 Corinthians
1:4 KJV
The Bible encourages us to look forward to the things
to come. Present suffering is nothing compared to future glory.
For I reckon
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18 KJV
Some people will think and ask, "When will the
suffering of this world end?" God is powerful enough to remove all the
suffering in the world, but He would need to wipe out all of humanity. If God
were to show up at 12:00 noon to get rid of all the suffering in the world,
where would you be at 12:01? Heaven or Hell? It is only by God’s mercy that He
delays His judgement. He is waiting to give people the opportunity to repent.
The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 KJV
To repent from sin is to be sorry for who you are and
what you are. To change your mind from the rejection of Jesus Christ to the
faith of Jesus Christ. To believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone and the sacrifice
made through His precious blood shed on the cross through His death, burial,
and resurrection. God will forgive your sins and grant you everlasting life.
God will give you a new nature (born-again) and He will walk with you through
the Holy Spirit. Eternal life is a free gift. You can’t earn it by doing
anything.
In heaven there will be no more suffering, no tears,
no death, nor sorrow for the former things are passed away.
And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things
are passed away.
Revelation 21:4
KJV
With Blessings in Christ,
David & Gay
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