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14
If God Exists, Why Does He Allow Suffering?
March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If God exists, why does he allow suffering? Why does it seem like we cry out to him and he ignores us? Are we being punished for displeasing him? Why do innocent children and good people have bad things happen to them? Why does it seem like suffering always comes in clusters, with one bad thing coming after another? Is there any way to stop the suffering?
I’ve been asked these questions over and over again. There’s a very simple answer but most of the questioners don’t want to hear the truth, they want to blame God or someone else for their suffering. Some people turn to God when they are suffering but most turn away and get angry with God.
Here’s the truth if you can handle it: We all suffer.
No one is immune to suffering. Some people suffer more than others do and it doesn’t have a thing to do with how good or bad you are. We all know someone who is a horrible human being who deserves to suffer 24 hours a day for the rest of their lives and yet seems untouched by tragedy or suffering. Trust me, despite outward appearances, they are suffering in ways you cannot see. You can’t live a life of nastiness without suffering internal torment – the kind of suffering that eats you up from the inside out. No one lives on this planet without suffering. Suffering is a part of life.
First, God is not the source of your suffering, Satan is.
Satan’s only job on earth is to make us so miserable we want to die or hurt other people so they can share in our pain. God is your only way out of suffering. The more pain you are in, the more you need to turn your attention to God. When you turn away from God two things happen: you lose your source of strength and you allow the devil to get into your life and start controlling you. When the devil takes over control, you get pulled further away from God and deeper into things that will cause you more suffering. If you should die while separated from God, you will spend eternity with Satan burning in hell.
That’s the truth. Not what you wanted to hear was it?
Second, suffering makes us feel like we are alone in the world.
An alarming number of people isolate themselves when they are suffering. They either want to lick their wounds in private or don’t want to bother other people. Another simple truth is that people were put on this planet to help other people. We have no other purpose for interacting with one another. If you can allow yourself to be vulnerable, to tell people how much you are hurting, people will help you. The people who step up to help you probably won’t be the people closest to you, particularly if they are the ones causing you to suffer. Don’t be afraid to ask casual acquaintances, coworkers or even strangers for help. Sometimes a kind act or word from a stranger can ease your suffering. This is the idea behind support groups and charities – you share a common goal – and there really is strength in numbers.
Third, don’t expect for things to get better right away. Healing and restoration takes time.
I am probably the last person who will tell you it gets easier with time. Time does not heal all wounds. Some wounds never completely heal. Since we are capable of loving deeply, we are also capable of feeling pain deeply – whether it’s the death of a loved one, the breakup of a relationship, a devastating illness, a hurtful remark or any other kind of pain. God designed us to love one another and when we feel unloved or alone, we experience a sense of loss. Every person, emotion and event in our lives shapes who we are. Our experience with suffering actually allows us to be more compassionate when other people are suffering similar pain. We can use our suffering to comfort others if we don’t turn away from God. If we turn from God, we grow bitter and angry, which brings us more pain and more isolation – the exact opposite of what we want to happen.
In the midst of our suffering it is difficult to focus on God’s promise to us. He promises that he will bring you through anything, will never leave you no matter what happens, and will always bring something good from your suffering. This does not mean your suffering is not painful; it means it will end. This does not mean bad things will never happen to you if you have God in your life; it means God will show you something positive that resulted from your suffering, if you’ll let him. If you get mad at the world, God cannot help you. Remember we all suffer, it’s part of life. The speed at which you bounce back from suffering is determined by your reaction to it. Looking at the negative side will just drag out the suffering, not end it faster.
Finally, it’s okay to get mad at God; he is strong enough to take it and he won’t hold it against you.
Getting mad at your circumstances is a normal reaction. Telling God you’re angry and that life isn’t fair is normal. Begging God to end the suffering or to make the problem go away is normal too. God can handle you yelling at him. Yelling, crying, screaming, begging, pleading and hysterics are also forms of prayer and a way to tell God how strongly you feel about your circumstances. He understands that suffering is very difficult for us and that at times it seems unbearable. But as long as you never turn away from God or curse him for your troubles, God can bring you out of them. God is the rescuer, not the persecutor.
Some of the most holy men in the Bible yelled at and argued with God when they had troubles. The ultimate long-suffering man was Job. He literally lost everything – his crops, his livestock and his children. When he didn’t think it could get any worse, Job found himself covered with festering sores. Even then Job never turned from God. Job’s friends came and sat with him after he lost everything trying to comfort him, but didn’t do so well. What finally happened to Job? His friends tried to get him to give up on God because God had taken everything from him, but Job refused to turn from God. When Job was done yelling at God about how he felt, his suffering ended, not because of the yelling but because Job never turned away from God. God doubled Job’s wealth, gave him more children, reunited him with his family, and gave him a special place in his kingdom.
Suffering is a chance for God to see what you’re made of and to allow you to grow in character. If you remain faithful, God will reward you and bring good things out of your suffering. Parents who lose a child to cancer set up research foundations that raise millions to find a cure so no one else’s child will die. Communities rally around terminally ill friends and put on benefit concerts that raise thousands of dollars to help pay for hospital bills. Elementary kids collect spare change to buy mosquito nets for kids in Africa so they won’t die of malaria. These are just a few ways to bring good from suffering.
The negative side of suffering is when someone’s child dies and the parents sue doctors, hospitals and anyone else that happens to be around. They spend the rest of their lives blaming everyone around them for their loss. They become bitter and angry which keeps them from moving on to the blessings God has for them.
God will never leave you in a place of suffering forever. It will always end. You can shorten your suffering by finding comfort in God’s promises and by using your suffering to help others deal with theirs.
Kathryn Lehan is the author of “Save Yourself! The Plain Truth”, a primer for anyone interested in learning more about God. Ms. Lehan answers difficult questions we all have in plain language with a minimum of Bible quotes so that you can “get” the truth about God. Please visit her website at: http://www.encouragingoutbursts.com to read an excerpt from her book.
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