Suffering allows us to pass that test. Remember what Joseph said to his brothers at the end of Genesis: But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I want to share these two: Romans 8:18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us, Revelation 21:3-4And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! It may be to bless someone else. If there was no sin in the world there would be no suffering. That means we can choose to sin, and the natural consequence of disobedience to God’s beneficial laws is suffering. Even if I don’t understand why I know that I can trust you. He suffered pains so unspeakably agonizing that we will never truly understand his suffering. It reminds us all things are possible only when we combine our strength with God's strength. When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. He is helping us remember we don’t have to … On the other hand, eternal suffering is the worst of both worlds. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. The clearest example of this in … They couldn't always figure God out either. Are you angry with God for allowing you to suffer… This cost applied to Jesus, God's only begotten Son, and it applies to each of us, God's adopted children. We begin to have a rich and loving relationship with our Father and we learn to trust Him. Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Answer: There is so much suffering in the world, and it is felt by everyone to one degree or another. The general argument is that, if God is good and benevolent, He would not permit innocent people to endure suffering and pain. One of the questions that lie beneath the surface for many people is...does the bible explain why God allows suffering? Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. What if your trial was the one thing that God used in your life to win one lost soul to him? 10 Marriage Goals Every Couple Should Have for 2021, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright © 2021, Crosswalk.com. We will never have to suffer the eternal punishment for our sin, because Jesus suffered in our place. This I believe is one of them. – Romans 5:12 (NLT). Principle #1: Suffering Teaches Us to Trust God Good parents discipline their children, and God is a Good Father. There is goodness in suffering because it gives us blessings we can receive no other way. We are all under the curse of Adam’s sin, which means you will experience pain, hardship, and tears in this life—and one day you will experience death. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Even Jesus, the most perfect person to ever live, suffered greatly while He sojourned here. When it is all said and done he will ultimately fulfill his promise and wipe away every one of your tears. Jesus was our greatest example. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. However, just understand there are things that will happen in this life that you won’t be able to explain, and to which you will never get an explanation. Question: "Why does God allow the innocent to suffer?" “For those whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son He receives” (Heb. Read Psalm 77 on this, or the book of Job, or the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Our sin caused our separation from God and made Christ's suffering necessary. Temporary suffering is the result of the fallen sinful world we live in; but is limited to this life. When this happens, we lose essential communication with God and find ourselves trying to trudge through life on our own. Even Jesus felt that way on the Cross: "My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?" If you are in Christ, then the moment this life ends, so does any suffering you may be experiencing. A small child is diagnosed with leukemia and undergoes extensive medical treatment only to die in his mother’s arms. God Used This Testing to Teach Job and His Friends. The reality of the fallen world we live in is that people are going to suffer (see John 16:33). He was: - thrown in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. There are many promises throughout Scripture of God bringing us through trial and pain. When suffering comes, we are driven to our knees because we have nowhere else to go. God is just and righteous. It does not make much sense to me, and it makes me really angry at times. At the root of all suffering as we established is sin and evil. And, when those miracles come, those who experience them can then testify of the things they have witnessed. ", The definition of submit is "to stop trying to fight or resist something: to agree to do or accept something that you have been resisting or opposing.". When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. Why does God not just make it all better, why does he let us suffer? With the most amount of care, grace, and compassion, I want to attempt to address this very delicate issue. If there were two words or ideas that don’t belong in the same sentence these would qualify. Now that I have thoroughly depressed you, let me explain why you don’t have to be. Or, that they serve God for the wrong reasons. But he does not enjoy breaking us. Sometimes God … When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. Suffering can bring us closer to God when we confess our sin in repentance and cling to Jesus by faith. But, it is true: the sinful condition of our world is the result of one man’s sin. So, if God's love for His children is infinite and eternal, why does He let them suffer? And we have Scripture to prove why it is better to suffer now, than for eternity. Are we greater than He that we should not have to experience the same? Before we even dive into the topic, I want to say that this is not easy. These synonyms teach us exactly what suffering can do for us. By the very definition, when God makes us suffer, He is simply asking us to submit to Him, to come to Him and to stop fighting Him. As we suffer and submit to God's will, we are, in turn, showing our love for Him. All rights reserved. The Scriptures tell us that suffering came into the world as a consequence of the fall of man and of creation; that is to say, it is because of sin that God has visited judgment upon this planet. Because it was his suffering that brought about our salvation. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” – Isaiah 43:1-3. Physical death is just the death of the body, but the spirit lives on. What I have discovered is that there are some questions that just won’t get answered in this life. Each day brings new tragedy. If you remember the story of Joseph I hope you see the parallels. However, it does point to a truth that we sometimes forget. There are great Christian apologists and scholars who tackle this question. Does the Bible Explain Why God Allows Suffering? Somehow, on the cross, all the world’s evil was being directed at one pure, clean target in order to defeat it once and for all. Two of the biggest are suffering and death. The reason may surprise you and the answer can be found within the definition of the word suffer itself. Jesus suffered everything we all will ever experience. It wasn’t fair. Tiffany Fletcher, FamilyShare Tuesday Jun 7, 2016 at 12:01 AM Jun 7, 2016 at 10:53 PM. It has been said that this life is a test. What Does Jesus Really Mean by 'the Ends of the Earth' in Acts 1? Suffering teaches us to keep moving forward. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. When this happens, suffering comes so we can know what God wants for us and learn to stop fighting against it. This allows us to once again feel the quiet inspiration of God and align ourselves with our Father. It is so important to remember that we will face hardships in this life, but it’s more important to remember those hardships won’t last forever. Because He allows us to have free choice—to be humans and not preprogrammed robots. Well the fact is, God doesn’t make us suffer, he allows it. Who Is the Author of the Book of Proverbs? He does no wrong. Help me to never lose sight of your great love for me even as I walk through some of life’s most difficult challenges. Tiffany Fletcher, author of "Mother Had a Secret: Learning to Love my Mother and her Multiple Personalities" http://motherhadasecret.blogspot.com/. The human spirit is always looking for an excuse. Making us believe that God, who loved us enough to die for us while we still hated Him, would then turn around and cause us to suffer after we came to love Him is one of Satan’s most effective strategies for hiding the fact that it was he who brought pain and suffering into the creation, not God. I have called you by name; you are mine. He was: - crucified on a cross for sins he didn’t commit. And, most importantly, it allows us to see ourselves and our relationship with God differently. – 2 Corinthians 1:4-5. If there is anything that doesn’t make sense and is hard to come to terms with, it’s the idea of a loving God and suffering. God allows the suffering, then comforts you and brings you through it, so then you can in turn comfort someone else. God allows his people to suffer troubles for various reasons. God will one day set things back in order, and suffering will be no more. Just as the Bible states, we were sent here to gain experience; and suffering is an important part of this earthly experience. He is helping us remember we don't have to walk this life alone because He is our Father. That is what heaven is. When the Bible speaks of suffering, if you sum them all up, there are really two types that matter most: temporary suffering and eternal suffering. He was bruised and broken; yet, He suffered it. You may never fully understand the sufferings and trials of this life...I know I don’t. Yes, he uses suffering to make us more like Jesus. For you belong to him and his love for you is great. That includes the curses of pain, disease, sorrow, and death that attend the consequences of wickedness. Each of us knows firsthand what it means to suffer as a result of … Eternal suffering is the result of rejecting God’s love and mercy while in this life, coupled with paying the ultimate price for it throughout eternity. Sometimes we are allowed to suffer so we not only know God but also know His plan for us. “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. How can we understand how to console a friend in mourning if we've never lost a loved one ourselves? First we must point out the fact that life is in some cases a test. He has spent more than 30 years serving the body of Christ in various capacities and has just released his first book, The Pursuit of Purpose. Suffering can make us bitter…or it can make us better. I know it’s hard when you go through suffering, but God will use that suffering to lift someone else who may be going through something similar. 12:6). We are given a small taste of what Jesus suffered out of love for us. By the very definition, when God makes us suffer, He is simply asking us to submit to Him, to come to Him and to stop fighting Him. Then, as we endure, we learn what we are capable of. Pain and suffering are often peoples' biggest obstacle to faith. We can get so focused on our own desires that we create plans for our lives that are not at all aligned with God's plans for us. There is goodness in suffering because it … Yet within that sin and evil God has the ability to turn the most difficult pain and suffering into something that becomes good and blesses many people. Paul was doing God’s will, yet he found himself in a Roman prison. If you've never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, then God wants you to see your need to do so. It ends well for him and for everyone. I would encourage you today in your suffering to know that God has neither forgotten you, nor rejected you, and he is not mad at you. Of course, this does not seem to be a very good option because if God was intending to stop further suffering, why would He use suffering to stop it? It helps us to better learn how to see through the eyes of love. 4. Again, the suffering of one bringing blessing to many. Although suffering had no place in God's original design, it became nevertheless useful to God's ultimate plan. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. The fact that God allows suffering and agony today proves that He will allow it in eternity as well. Everyone who has ever lived on earth has experienced suffering. Sometimes, people suffer as the direct result of their own poor choices, sinful actions, or willful irresponsibility; in those cases, we see the truth of Proverbs 13:15, “The way of the treacherous is their ruin” (ESV). We develop our character, strengthen our faith and learn how to see the good in every situation. Am I in the place of God? But, believing in the sovereignty of God, there is no other option than suffering being something God allows and/or causes. But you may wonder, ‘If Jehovah is the most powerful person in the universe, why doesn’t he stop those terrible things from happening?’ We know that God cares deeply about us, so he must have a very good reason for allowing suffering to continue. Job was taught to be patient, and to trust God in the midst of suffering–even when he couldn’t understand it. Often we harden our hearts to the spiritual side of life because we get so caught up in the chaos of everyday living. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. It allows us to see people differently. This doesn’t remove the temporary suffering in this life, but it gives us the hope of freedom from suffering in our eternal life. If your spirit is separated from God for eternity, it will be lost forever. Those blessings can be found in the very synonyms that are listed under the word suffer in the dictionary. God said, “If you take that position, you will suffer and die.” Man took that position, and he began to suffer, and he has been dying ever since. By the very definition, when God makes us suffer, He is simply asking us to submit to Him, to come to Him and to stop fighting Him. Yet the story doesn’t end with his suffering. God lets us suffer to correct us as a result of our sins. We learn to have compassion, to be sad with those who are sad and to comfort those who need comfort. He didn’t deserve that. Sometimes in the midst of trial and pain, we have to look forward. If you want to know about suffering, I strongly suggest you turn to the 1st Book of Peter who wrote more about suffering than any other author in the Bible (18 times! Here are some of those reasons: (1) Sometimes God’s people suffer because the devil wants to test them. I know that doesn’t offer much comfort, especially if you are suffering right now. Eternal suffering is the result of rejecting God’s love and mercy while in this life, coupled with paying the ultimate price for it throughout eternity. And he will supply deliverance. Maybe the answer to the question does the bible explain why God allows suffering is found here in the person of Jesus Christ.