1. First of all, there is an entire book in the Bible devoted to the topic of suffering. This book is Job, which is possibly the earliest book to be written of all. It describes a man in the patriarchal period who underwent tremendous suffering because Satan wanted to prove to God that someone who believed in Him would renounce Him once he lost all of his family and his possessions and his health. God permitted Satan to afflict Job, and Job in his despair began questioning Him and arguing with his friends, who were insisting that Job had done something evil to deserve his pain (this was a false accusation). Eventually, God did speak with Job, but rather than describing His interactions with Satan and the spiritual battle occurring while Job was undergoing his tremendous physical suffering, He asked Job if he was in charge of all creation and was able to control it at his will. Who was Job to question God when God had done so many magnificent, wonderful, and awesome things in creation and in sustaining it?
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding," says God (Job 38:4).
God never gave Job an answer to why his suffering happened. Instead, He talked about how powerful, impressive, and amazing He was. "This seems like a cop-out, that's unfair!" many might say. But, then, who are we as creatures? Does God need to answer to us? We will not know the reason for many of the things we suffer until we stand before God, but we can take comfort in the fact that He is as mighty and strong as He said He was to Job. He would have stopped our suffering easily - but He did not, because He had a reason for it. The reason given in the book of Job is that Satan was humiliated because Job kept trusting in God even though he lost everything. Yet Job did not know this till he went to heaven. So it is with us Christians - in many ways we will not specifically know why we suffer this or that, but in heaven we will know what spiritual forces were involved, and how God was working for His glory. And that should be enough to comfort us, because we know our God is in control of all things. He is glorified by our trust in Him even when it is challenged by evil. When we defer questioning Him until the time He believes is right to answer us, then He is honored because we have chosen to leave our concerns with Him and believe that He knows what is best. That is what Job teaches us about suffering.
2. The Bible does give several other reasons for why suffering happens to Christians. Next, let me discuss persecution. Over the past 2000 years millions of believers have been martyred for their faith. They have been starved, drowned, hacked to pieces, burned to ashes, beheaded, whipped to shreds, shot in the head, and endured decades of imprisonment before languishing away. Even today across the world brothers and sisters for Christ are being tortured simply because they trust in Him and are fearless to proclaim Him before others. Why does God allow this? Why is Christianity in this sense such a religion of suffering?
A. Through suffering, we witness to others. Witness the first example of martyrdom, that of Stephen in Acts 7. He was dragged before the Jewish authorities for supposed blasphemy against God, but boldly asserted the truth of how they instead had rejected God by killing Jesus Christ. In a rage, they stoned him to death. However, one man, who was with the persecutors, was affected, even though the big change would not happen for a while. This man, a "Pharisee of Pharisees," zealous for the religion of his forefathers, turned out to be the Apostle Paul. God used the testimony of Stephen to prepare the way for when Jesus would appear to Paul and convert him, transforming an evil persecutor into a devoted slave of Christ.
B. Paul himself, in his ministry, experienced tremendous affliction. In 2 Corinthians 11, he lists the various sufferings that he endured to help prove that he was indeed a faithful servant of the Lord even as many were questioning his authority as an apostle. One of these afflictions occured when he was in the Greek village of Philippi (Acts 16). After he and his companion Silas had delivered a girl from demonic oppression, her masters were so enraged that they had them beaten illegally and then threw them into prison. But what did the two men do? Did they bemoan their low condition and groan in the midst of their extreme pain? No! They praised God with joyful song - "and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25). Others were witnessed to in this moment. Then what happened? A supernatural earthquake shook and broke the prison! The jailer in charge of everything was so overcome by the amazing power of God in giving His servants joy and delivering them from the bondage of the jail that he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. This would not have happened if Paul and Silas had not expressed their steadfast confidence that God would preserve them and do what was best no matter what circumstances were going on. So it is with us. When we honor God in dire troubles, this affects both our present condition and the condition of others. Our own physical suffering becomes more bearable (and perhaps we are even delivered outright from it!), and our neighbors and companions are amazed at what God is doing in our lives. Make no mistake - total suffering won't end till we depart this world, but the Lord can and will bring us joy in the midst of our tribulations!
3. We Christians sometimes suffer because of sin in our lives. God is a merciful Father, but He also chastens us. Here is what I mean:
"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:5-11).
It's just like our earthly fathers may have given us a spanking when we were kids. Did they do that because they liked us to scream and cry? No! It's because we did something wrong and they want us to make sure that this wrong is painful and is not the right thing to do at all! Likewise, God, whose laws and truths are perfect and holy, sometimes has us suffer because He wants us to see that He is much better to serve than sin. If we steal, we get punished, so that we know stealing causes painful consequences. Defying God is painful - how much more painful hell is! We as Christians should consider ourselves privileged that we only undergo temporary sufferings to help us see the goodness of our Father rather then burn agonizingly in hell-fire as we endure the wrath of our Judge.
I've experienced my share of suffering because I made some poor choices. Yet, I must say that my Father was also very merciful because down the road I found out that precisely because this bad thing or that happened, something very very good came to be. That does not excuse my wrong choice, but it does illustrate the Romans 8:28 passage: that God works all things for good to those who love Him. Another passage says as well, "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities" (Psa 103:10). So, if you are a Christian and are suffering because of sin in your life, rest assured that God will not cast you out for ever. He simply wants you to repent, and He will not stop chastising you until you are embracing Him and humbly asking for His forgiveness. And even with your sin, He may work out some very amazing things down the road. One poignant example: in Genesis, because Lot committed incest with his daughters, Jesus Christ was brought into the world. How? Because one of Lot's daughters bore Moab to him. Ruth, 100's of years later, was a descendant of Moab. Her descendant was King David - whose descendant was Jesus Christ. Awesome what God does, huh?
4. Suffering also develops key spiritual qualities, by testing them. Faith, trust, courage, perseverance, kindness, boldness, knowledge - how can these qualities be improved without being tested against something opposed to them? We have faith where there is unbelief; we trust where there is mistrust; we have courage where there is fear; we have perseverance where there are great impediments in the way; we have kindness where there is cruelty; we have boldness where there is timidness; and we have knowledge where there is ignorance. I can give a Biblical example for each of these qualities being developed through suffering!
Faith - Abraham believed God even when he had to leave his family, his homeland, and all he ever knew (Genesis 12).
Trust - Judah trusted God to deliver from from the King of Assyria when he was besieging Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah - and God destroyed the Assyrian army!
Courage - God told Joshua to be strong and courageous as he went up against the evil, wicked Canaanites to destroy them - for He was with him always (Joshua 1:9).
Perseverance - Jeremiah the prophet ministered for 40 years among a rebellious and unbelieving people, yet was always faithful to carry out the word of the Lord.
Kindness - Jesus prayed for His own persecutors when they nailed Him to the cross.
Boldness - After being threatened by the Jewish authorities, Peter boldly asserted his intention to continue preaching the Gospel - "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)
Knowledge - We, as ambassadors of Christ, bring the knowledge of God into a world full of darkness and ignorance, which seeks to suppress the life-giving message that we carry to it.
So, suffering is indeed beneficial in that it is used by God to refine and shape us so that Christlike qualities can shine forth more and more, just as impurities are burned away from gold and silver so the metals can clearly show forth their sparkling luster.
5. Suffering helps us to see that this world is not everything there is. We are often tempted to think that the pleasures of this world give us enough satisfaction - then an unexpected disaster may strike. We may lose a loved one, experience bodily illness, or undergo severe financial difficulties. Is it not proper that for us Christians, such trials lift our eyes up to God and to His promises of a perfect world without sin and suffering? One of the reasons John wrote the book of Revelation was to comfort believers who were suffering terribly, so that they would get a small glimpse of the glories of heaven to come. Sin thoroughly soaks this world with blood. This alone should show us that we ought to set our eyes on something better. Peter says, "But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13). Hebrews talks about us running a race and fixing our eyes on Christ (12:1-2). Just in the previous chapter, the statement was made regarding saints of the past:
"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city" (Heb 11:13-16).
And this, through suffering, is what we also aim for. We long for the future glory with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, not for the pleasures of this world.
6. Suffering helps us minister to others as well. In 2 Corinthians, Paul lays down a foundational principle:
"If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. "Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort" (2 Cor. 1:6-7).
A good example, perhaps, is if a young woman went through an abortion and then, afterwards, became a Christian. She now has something which she can relate to when she ministers to other women who have gone through the same experience. Perhaps, God can even use her understanding and compassion to actually save someone else! One of the reasons the saints are so close to each other is because they know how dangerous and crafty the power of sin and Satan are. They have each experienced sin's gangrenous effects upon their lives. Thus, we Christians band together to minister in fellowship, so that we can assist the one who is stumbling and weak, showing the love of our Savior.
8. I want to briefly comment on God's purpose for suffering in the lives of unbelievers. Unbelievers suffer primarily because of two reasons: because God may want to save them by bringing them to repentance, or because God is deciding to condemn their sin and show them that they are without excuse, that they are mocking and defying His holy name. Yes, many unbelievers do live wealthy and rich lives, enjoying the pleasures of this world with minimal pain. God does have a purpose in this - to make their fall all the much harder when it happens. But I am primarily speaking of suffering here, of course.
Why do unbelievers who have never heard of Jesus Christ suffer incredible torments on this earth, and then have to endure the fires of hell for all eternity? This is a very difficult question to address, because it sears at the heart of our consciences and emotions. The Biblical answer is - They have still sinned, and still must perish, for God has decided, for His own good reasons, to pass them over and not choose them for salvation (Romans 1 and 2 give the best description). Remember what I said earlier and in other blog entries. God is not obligated to give any of us salvation. But in saving millions upon millions of people, He is being merciful and gracious beyond anything that we can ever imagine. We call for judgment upon the murderers of our children. Yet, God might decide to save some of them. Why? Because He is so much more understanding, different, and wise than we are. He knows what will be best for Himself and for His glory to be displayed in this world. We do not. We need to shut our mouths and recognize that He knows best. After all, He is perfect and true, right? That's all we need to know :)
The above reasons for allowing bad things to happen to good people are not the only possible explanations, but they are the main reasons. Suffering is intrinsicly bound up within God's plan to glorify Himself through all that happens on this earth; and to understand why it happens, we must understand Who God is. This is also why we can only, for the most part, generalize about why certain horrific events happen. Why did God use Hurricane Katrina to cause so much devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi? I can only give some general answers, based on the patterns I have found in Scripture. God was putting believers there through suffering to refine their faith; that they might minister to others who were in need; that certain unbelievers might be judged for their sin and pride; that His mighty power might be displayed in upsetting a major American city; and many other reasons. But can I point fingers and say this or that person suffered for this or that reason? No, I can't. We don't know God's purposes for every little thing that happens. Just because someone died in Katrina does not mean the wrath of God was punishing that person. We can only say, "God, You are God, and You know what is best!" And if we truly know Who He is, we find comfort in trusting Him.
I definitely have not exhausted this topic of why suffering happens. I am sure I will return to a more specific issue down the road, or perhaps expand some of the paragraphs that I wrote to clarify myself better or to clear up key objections. Since this was an important blog post, I encourage you to put questions in the comments section. I can then take your suggestions into consideration when I return to delve more into this topic.
May the Lord bless you with a greater understanding and love for Himself!
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