Suffering

A lot of people ask this question. Mostly unbelievers in an attempt to smear God's name, but even Christians have asked this before - I know I have. 

The question is: Why do people suffer? Or Why is there so much suffering in the world? 

I'm going to try to answer this here. I doubt I will be able to answer it in full, but perhaps I will shed a tiny bit of light on what is considered one of the bigger questions. 

1) Broad Scale: The World of Suffering

Romans 8:19-22 - "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."

Why is the whole creation groaning? Why is the whole creation suffering?  

Genesis 3:17-19 - "And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

The ground was cursed because of Adam. We can ask, why? What did Adam have to do with the whole of creation? Well, the answer to that is in the Bible as well. 

Genesis 1:26-31 - "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

God gave man dominion over every other created thing. Dominion means mastery. That means that Adam was responsible for all of creation - he was the master, placed by God, and all creation was subjected to Adam. Because Adam sinned, everything he had dominion over - i.e. EVERYTHING - was corrupted and stained. Suffering in the natural world comes because the whole creation is twisted by sin. Things decay, things suffer, because of sin. 

2) Narrow Scale: Personal Suffering

Here are a few points to consider in answer to the question, why do people suffer? 

First Question: Who?

God sends us trials. 

In order for us to understand why trials come, we have to know Who they come from. Let's look at some verses that talk about God sending affliction and testing us. (All emphasis mine.)

Psalm 66:10 - "For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried."

Zechariah 13:9  - "And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

1 Thessalonians 2:4 - "but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts."

Psalm 119:75 - "I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me."

Isaiah 30:20 - "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher."

Isaiah 48:10 - "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction." 

Micah 4:6 - "In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted;"

Nahum 1:12 - "Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more."

So, in light of these verses we know that God sends us trials. I could go into more about God's sovereignty and His ordering of the world, but these verses will suffice. Now that we know Who, we can ask why.  Here are some answers.

Second Question: Why?

1) God sends us trials for His own sake, for His own glory. Isaiah 48:10-11 - "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."

God says it is for His name's sake and for the sake of His praise. When we go through a trial, Who is the only One Who can bring us out of it? Is that not God? Can we ever trust ourselves? Is our own strength enough? No; our own strength is not strength at all. 

2) God sends us trials to punish us for our sin. Jeremiah 9:7-9 - "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them,for what else can I do, because of my people? Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?"

I can think of a small example in my own life. A very small example. 

I was storming through the house in a temper (I forget what about now, so don't ask. All I remember is that it made me really, really mad.), ignoring the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in my head. I knew I was doing wrong, but I was storming through the house anyway. All of a sudden I stubbed my pinky toe really hard. (See? I told you it was small. Keep reading though.) It took my mind off my anger just long enough for me to realize how stupid and sinful I was being. I confessed to God while rubbing my poor little pinky toe. 

Did God cause me to stub my toe? Yes, yes He did - He is in control of even little things like that. It was a little thing, but it was enough to turn my heart to repentance. So, yes, God sends us trials to punish us - He sends us a "wake-up call". And praise Him for it! 

3) God sends us trials to refine us. (Isaiah 48:10) Daniel 11:33-35 - "And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time."

How can something be refined, or purified, unless it goes through some heat? How can you get the dirt out of the floor without scrubbing it? (Talking from the perspective of one who lives in a house with eight other people, and five dogs. A lot of dirt gets tracked, although Mom has plans to change that...) 

4) God sends us trials so that we may become steadfast in the faith. James 1:2-4 - "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:12 - "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

How does faith grow? It cannot grow if there is nothing to feed it. Someone who does not suffer, never has to hope. Someone with an easy life never grows faith. Faith comes from suffering. Is it not so?  

5) God sends us trials so that we may share Christ's sufferings. 1 Peter 4:12-14 - "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."

Who has suffered more than Christ? Are we not called to share in His sufferings? Is a servant greater than his Master? 

6) We must be careful to examine ourselves to see whether or not our suffering is for Christ's name, or because of our sin. 1 Peter 4:15 - "But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler."

What gain do we receive when we suffer because we have sinned? 

7) We must glorify God in our suffering. 1 Peter 4:16-19 - "Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

All circumstances. Good and bad. God does not delight in our suffering, but we ought to thank Him for all circumstances - when we are suffering through a trial, we are still in God's perfect will. God never forgets His perfect plan which He executes for our good and His glory. He never forgets about us. Hebrews 2 speaks of that - Jesus can help us in our temptations because He was tempted; Jesus relates to us in everything - we can cast our cares upon Him, truly. When we suffer, we can rest in Him, knowing that He suffered too, and for us at that. What a faithful God we have. What a glorious God we serve. 

Praise God!