No one ever said that life was fair. In fact, there are times when it seems downright unfair.
Bad things happen to good people, and there doesn’t seem to be anything anyone can do about it.
So why does God allow bad things to happen?
If He truly loves us, why would He allow pain and suffering in our lives?
These are difficult questions that have puzzled people for centuries. In this blog post, we’ll explore some possible answers to this perplexing question.
The first thing we must realize is that God, in His sovereignty, has given us free will.
The Freewill
Free will means that God doesn’t control everything that happens on earth. We are allowed to make our own choices about the direction our lives take. And sometimes those choices lead to pain and suffering.
If there was no possibility of making bad choices, then there would be no need for free will.
Bad choices sometimes lead to sin—which is the ultimate cause of all human suffering.
Sin began in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command not to eat from “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).
After that, God stepped back to give humanity the freedom to choose. Adam and Eve ate from that tree, and their sin was passed down to all of us—just like any disease or addiction is passed down through families (Romans 5:12-14).
This is why bad things happen. It’s our broken sinful world.
The Good News
But there is good news. Because of His great love for us, God provided a way to heal our brokenness and restore fellowship with Him (John 3:16).
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross to take away our sin and give us new life (Romans 6:23). If we accept His free gift of salvation, we can be forgiven for our sins and experience a fresh start.
In fact, God desires all people to live in fellowship with Him forever (1 Timothy 2:4). So from the very beginning, He has been working toward that goal by calling people into a close relationship with Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.
In the meantime, God continues to give us the freedom to make our own choices. Sometimes those choices result in pain and suffering. And He allows bad things to happen in order to teach us valuable lessons.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -(Romans 5:3-5).
As hard as this may be for us to understand, we must remember that God’s ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are above our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God Uses Our Pain To Shape Us
He uses our pain to shape us into the people that He wants us to be. Sometimes it’s through struggles with physical infirmity or living in poverty. Other times it may come as a result of losing a loved one, being abandoned by someone we trusted or having to endure the shame of gossip.
Pain and suffering will always be with us because sin remains in this world until Jesus returns. But God’s grace is sufficient to help us through our struggles (2 Corinthians 12:9), and He never wastes our pain or allows it to happen without a reason.
When we suffer, we must never forget that God is working in the background to accomplish good things through our pain (Romans 8:28).
Often these lessons take years for us to fully understand and appreciate. But they will be evident when we step back and look at them from a distance.
Pain and suffering can be reminders of God’s love and provision.
Why Does God Love Us Despite Our Sins?
God loves us even when we sin, and He is pleased with His Son’s sacrifice. But God wants to use our pain and suffering to draw us closer to Him.
If we needlessly suffer, it shows that we have not been paying attention to the lessons that God wants us to learn from our difficulties (Hebrews 12:3-11).
God wants us to learn that we can trust Him during these hard times and that we mustn’t blame others for our own mistakes. If we become bitter toward those who have hurt us, then we lose the ability to heal and experience God’s goodness.
When we allow our pain and suffering to draw us closer to God, we will become more like Jesus (1 Peter 2:20).
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” -(Hebrews 12:11).
We can let our pain and suffering tear us apart, or we can allow it to bring us closer to God and others.
“As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”-James 5:11).
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”- (Isaiah 55:6).
How should we react when we experience physical and mental pain?
When we cannot find a reason for our suffering, we must remember that God is working in the background to accomplish His purposes (Romans 8:28).
Even if there does not seem to be any benefit in our pain, God is using it. And suffering is never wasted when it helps us get closer to God.
But suffering also has the ability to destroy our faith, which brings us back to the importance of remembering that God’s ways are different from ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – (2 Peter 3:9).
Don’t give up hope when you are in the midst of your difficulties. Not only do they have the ability to strengthen your faith, but they also draw you closer to God and other believers.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame.”- (Romans 5:3-5)
These passages indicate that it is possible to find joy in the midst of our difficulties if we remember that God is working in the background.
Why Do We Need To Be Strengthened When We Are Suffering?
When Christians go through difficult times, they need to know that they are not alone.
We must never forget that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – (Psalm 46:1).
But we need to stay close to God and others, letting our pain draw us closer.
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” – (Matthew 24:12)
We must be careful that our suffering does not cause us to become bitter toward those who have hurt us.
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many..” – (Hebrews 12:15).
Each day we must remember, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” -(James 1:12).
How Can We Have Hope When We Are Suffering?
When you are going through your difficulties, remember that “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – (Romans 8:28).
And just as God used difficult times in Job’s life for good, He can use our suffering if we remain close to Him.
We must also remember that “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – (Romans 8:18).
We must focus on what is coming, not on our current difficulties.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” – (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Conclusion
We can find consolation when we suffer because “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame.”- (Romans 5:3-5).
Because God uses our suffering to help us grow close to Him and others, we should never give up in the midst of our difficulties.
However, we must be careful not to allow the evil in this world to turn us against God and others. We must remember that “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – (2 Peter 3:9).
And finally, when we suffer, we must remember that God is doing something in our lives, even if it is difficult for us to see. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
