Where is God in Suffering?

Have you experienced suffering? Have you ever wondered why God allows suffering? Have you ever questioned why bad things happen to good people? You’re not alone in that. There is a desire as humans to have answers to these questions and while the answers don’t always make sense to our human, finite brains, we serve a God who is so much bigger than we even imagine and we can trust that He is ALWAYS good — even in the midst of suffering.

God allows suffering because it is a consequence of our sin (Gen. 3). It reminds us of our frailty. Our life is but a mist that is here and then vanishes (James 4:14). He also allows it because it is the price of human freedom. We have been given free will which allows room for suffering. When we chose to “be like God” and know good from evil in the Garden of Eden — we chose to allow pain, death, and suffering to become a part of our daily life. God uses suffering for our spiritual and moral formation. We are all works in progress — He uses our sufferings to get us where He wants us to be. He did not cause us to suffer. That was not a part of His perfect creation, but we thought we knew better than Him, so now He uses our pain and suffering to redeem, restore, and bring glory to His name. When we allow Him into our pain — He doesn’t waste it. Even when we can’t see it, He works all things together for good (Romans 8:28).

Pain can be spiritually and morally debilitating — sometimes people lose faith through suffering. We have choices when we suffer and we have to decide if we want to grow from it or allow it to crush us. The God we serve gushes with fondness over His creation from the smallest to the largest. He empathizes with us in our pain and in our weakness (Hebrews 4:15). He is our healer. He knows us more than anyone and He is near to us — and when we are brokenhearted, He comforts us (Psalm 34:18). Our God took on our sinfulness and was crucified for us. He shares in our suffering and He’s with us in our darkest hour and deepest pain.

So, what should we do in the midst of our suffering? Worship Him. Worship speaks of our affection and it helps us as we go through suffering. God is not trying to crush us in our suffering. As you go through suffering, enrich your memories of God (Psalm 136). This will help you remember God’s goodness. Surround yourself with people and communities with long memories because sometimes you forget things in the midst of your pain and they can help you remember. It is also helpful to go over Biblical lament — there’s an entire book on it called Lamentations for starters. While dealing with suffering, resist evil by doing good. Don’t give in to temptations in the midst of your suffering (James 4:7). Take a stand against evil by doing something good.

It is absolutely normal to feel alone or even abandoned by God in the midst of your suffering. Even if you feel that way, remember — God is still with you even if you don’t feel His closeness. If God didn’t abandon Jesus on the cross or in the tomb, He will NEVER abandon you (Deut. 31:6). Always remember that there are glimpses of God all throughout your life. God is hidden everywhere in plain sight — look for Him! The more losses we have, the more glimpses of God we experience. Treasure the graces of ordinary life. There is so much divine grace in your life — just open your eyes!

The path to God is faithful obedience — there isn’t a short cut.

Song of the Week: This week I chose two songs because I couldn’t decide between them. They are “The Reason for the World” by Matthew West and “You Get the Glory” by Jonathan Traylor. Enjoy!