Why does God allow suffering in our lives?
Suffering is never fun. It is never easy. It comes in many forms. War, sickness, pain, death, unfair treatment, financial. It is the question of the ages. If God is good, why does God allow suffering in our lives?
The answer is not an easy one. Scripture says that what is good, is from God. What is perfect is from God (James 1:17). How can suffering then be from Him too? Does scripture contradict itself in this?
Well firstly, let me take you back to the garden of Eden. In the garden, Eve chose by her own free choice to disobey God. Then Adam, did the same. As a result, sin came on all human beings. The result of the curse of sin brought hard work, bitter tears, strife, tension, family disunity, murder, sickness and all these things that make us suffer. Be that as it may, does why does God allow that kind of suffering for us, today? Often times, those who suffer did not make a choice that caused consequences, like Adam and Eve did. Natural consequences do follow some actions, yes. Are they from God? Let’s put it this way. If I decided to touch someone’s eye with Pink eye and then went and touched my own eye without washing my hands first, the natural result would be that I would get Pink eye. Does that mean that God allowed it? Yes, He did, but I also made a choice to do something silly that should not have been done. It is a natural consequence.
However, sometimes we don’t deserve what happens to us. The wife who lost her husband to Cancer didn’t do anything to bring about a natural consequence. The pastor who lost his leg in a freak accident didn’t do anything to cause that. It happened. And it was not cool. And God allowed the suffering to happen.
Scripture says that nothing can happen to us without God knowing about it (Psalm 24:1). We are worth more than the flowers and birds (Matthew 6:24-35). So He knows, but why does he allow the suffering is the question.
I have learned one thing from suffering, and hopefully this gives an answer to the question. Suffering has brought me closer to God. It has refined me. It has produced a work of God in my life that would not have happened without the suffering. It has taken ashes and made something beautiful. Through the suffering, I have learned that God is faithful. He is true. He is my provider. He is my helper. He is my deliverer and that He loves me more than I can ever know. And none of this would have been a reality, had I not gone through the suffering. It has taught me to trust Him and rely on Him.
God allows suffering in our lives to refine us, and create in us that perfect work that He has set out to make. Matthew 5:10-12 says that suffering is a blessing. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says that suffering produces good work in us. The answer to why God allows suffering in our lives is because He wants to produce good in us. He doesn’t cause suffering, but He does allow it to happen to produce good. We can trust Him and know that He is good. He promises to be there with us through it (Isiah 41:10).
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