Romans 8:28, Revelation 21:4, Job 42:7
The Question That Never Goes Away
No question presses harder on Christian faith than this one: if God is all-powerful and all-good, why does He allow suffering? Why do children die of cancer? Why do earthquakes kill thousands? Why do the innocent suffer while the wicked prosper?
This is not a new question. It is as old as the book of Job. It has been wrestled with by the greatest minds in Christian history. And it deserves honest engagement, not easy dismissal.
What the Bible Does Not Say
The Bible does not offer a complete explanation for every instance of suffering. Job's comforters tried to explain his suffering — and God rebuked them sharply (Job 42:7). The disciples asked about the man born blind: "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" Jesus rejected both options (John 9:2-3).
The Bible does not promise that every question about suffering will be answered in this life. Deuteronomy 29:29: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God." Some things are hidden, and demanding an explanation for every instance of suffering is demanding more than God has promised to give.
What the Bible Does Say
While the Bible does not explain every specific instance of suffering, it does illuminate its general landscape:
Suffering entered the world through sin. The creation was made good (Genesis 1:31). Death, disease, and decay entered through human rebellion (Romans 5:12, Romans 8:20-22). Suffering is not part of God's original design — it is the consequence of a world that has rejected its Creator.
God is sovereign over suffering. Nothing happens outside His knowledge or beyond His control. Joseph's brothers meant their evil for harm; God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). God works all things — including suffering — together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
God suffers with us. The incarnation is the most radical possible answer to the problem of suffering: God entered the suffering world Himself. Jesus wept at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:35). He is a high priest who sympathises with our weakness (Hebrews 4:15). He is not a distant observer of suffering — He is the one who bore its full weight on the cross.
Suffering has an end. The new creation will involve the abolition of all suffering: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore." (Revelation 21:4). The suffering of this present time is not the last word.