Read Time: Approx. 7 min.
INTRODUCTION
Murder, rape, suicide, poverty, violence, hatred, prejudice, disease, abuse, etc., the list of suffering and evil goes on and on. Charles Allen once said, "One does not have to live very long to find out that life can be hard and cruel and sometimes almost impossible." It has also been said that, "human suffering is not alleviated by resorting to trite and shallow answers. Why add to the agony of a broken heart the burden of empty words? Talk is often cheap, but foolish talk is always costly." Because I believe Daniel Johnson's words to be true, I will start by acknowledging that it is impossible for anyone to fully explain why God allows suffering and evil. I am also quite aware that rational explanations do nothing to solve the problem or heal our wonded hearts. I still struggle with the subject at times and believe I will always struggle to some extent. That’s human. When I do struggle, reminding myself of the following points listed below has been helpful for me and I hope they will be at least somewhat helpful to you as well.
FREE WILL
No observations of suffering and evil can be made without first understanding the free will that every human has. God has given to mankind the priceless gift of a free will. Free will makes love possible because love is not something that can be demanded. It must be freely given. Without free will, love for God or man would be impossible. So the root of the problem is not with God or that he has given us free will, but with mankind who has, does, and continues to abuse the gift of free will, often choosing to hate and do evil instead of choosing kindness, compassion and love.
THE FRUIT OF SELF
Much of the suffering and evil in our world is a direct result of man's sin (rejecting God to live life our way and on our terms). The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Think about how many people horde wealth while others languish in poverty and die of starvation. People drop bombs and pull triggers, not God. This world is full of selfishness and hatred and in spite of all our education, technology and scientific advances, the fruit of living for ourselves is killing our hearts and devastating people’s lives.
God has wired the human soul to live and rely on his love, his values, his standards and his ways. To reject these (either consciously or unconsciously), results in suffering and evil. When Jesus died on the cross, his death, burial and resurrection paved the way for mankind to turn away from living for self so that we could live for God and experience the difference his love can make in and through our lives.
BLAMING GOD
Throughout history, mankind has abused the gift of free will to do every kind of wickedness imaginable, only to point an accusing finger at God. But I guess that's easier than taking responsibility and surrendering to God. But what good does blaming God do? Sure, we may feel better because we have someone to blame. But feeling better about blaming God does nothing to make suffering and evil go away. It actually makes matters worse because rejecting God leaves us to address the problem on our own. Thing is, we are the problem!
Even those who claim to be good are not as good as they make themselves out to be. Someone has well said that, "evil prospers when good men do nothing." Are there good people in the world doing good things and making a difference? Absolutely. And if you take a close look, you’ll find that many of them are people of faith who do the good they do because they’re motivated and empowered by God’s love. But apart from God, even our best is not enough! And many do good not because they are motivated by love, but to appease their conscious’s, to seek praise from people or to present a certain image that will serve to benefit them in some way.
A SPIRITUAL ENEMY
Not only is the ill use of man's free will responsible for much of the pain and suffering experienced today, but there is also a very real devil. I realize that for many, a belief in God and or the devil is complete nonsense. I understand that perspective because I didn’t grow up in a religious or spiritual home or community and didn’t believe in anything I couldn’t rationalize. But the Bible says, "the thief (Satan) comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy." The Bible clearly warns us that Satan is our adversary who, "prowls around like a hungry lion looking for someone to devour." Satan is the "father of lies" and has lied to mankind and convinced many that there is neither a God nor a devil. Those who believe Satan's lies are left to themselves to deal with a problem only God is big enough to handle.
LIMITED PERSPECTIVE
In a sermon on God's Lordship, Donald Grey Barnhouse illustrates the importance of trusting... "Suppose you are watching a movie. You see a mother and a father walking along a road with their child between them. The father hits the child who cries feebly, “Oh, daddy don't!” Then the mother slaps the child who begs, “Please, please don't mommy!” Whereupon the father grabs the little one's shoulders and shakes him. By now the child is sobbing. Oh what cruel parents' you think. Then the curtains beside the movie screen slowly open, revealing a wide angle cinema-scope screen. Now you see the full scene: A blizzard is raging. A car, stuck in a snow bank is in the foreground. The family is struggling up the road toward a house in the distance. The child, half frozen, just wants to lie down and die, but the parents, in love, are keeping his circulation going by slapping and shaking him into wakefulness, in order to save his life. If we could see the full scope of God's screen, we would understand why he let's these things happen. All we can see is a tiny portion of the screen but we see Him!"
Similarly, it seems that the only thing that shakes people from the bondage of living for self or awakens them to the reality of God’s existence and our need for a Savior is suffering. Richard Exley has well stated that “God does not cause or will the tragedies that come our way. Perhaps He allows them, but He certainly redeems them.” God does not create or will tragedy, but he uses it as a wake up call for many.
GOD SUFFERS TOO!
When the question "why?" is usually asked, seldom is it asked from God's perspective. For instance, why did God Himself die on the cross for the sins of the entire world? Why did Jesus willingly suffer like no other to pay the penalty for the world's sin? Was that fair? Why didn't God let man suffer the consequences of his own sin? How does God feel when the very people He died for accuse, mock, blame, and curse Him for that which is not His fault? How does God feel when those whom He created in His own image choose to hate instead of love? The Bible refers to Jesus and says that, “he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” We aren't the only one's who suffer. God suffers when those He loves suffer. And He suffers more than you or I could ever comprehend!
A FUTURE HOPE
There is however, good news. All this suffering and evil will one day come to an end. Jesus has defeated Satan, death and hell through his death, burial and resurrection but has not yet destroyed them. This will happen when He comes again. The bible says, "He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." The Bible says that one day, "God will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no more earth or mourning or crying or pain, for the older of things has passed away." C.S. Lewis, after experiencing great loss said, "There is no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." In this we have hope.
OK, NOW WHAT???
Heaven sounds great but for those of us still on planet earth, we live in the here and now. When the rubber meets the road, we have to ask what good is a person’s faith in this life (regardless of the focus), if their faith does not empower them to overcome evil and find healing for their own soul? Even if we could have all of our why questions answered, that wouldn't change anything! The pain and suffering would still exist! Beyond our quest for answers, our greatest need a solution to the problem. You may not understand your doctor’s explanation about everything related to your cancer. But what you most want to know is can you be healed! Many people who ask, “why does God allow suffering and evil?” are also saying inwardly, "is there healing for my suffering or must I go on living with it the rest of my life?" If there is no God, what hope do we really have? If however there is a God, even though he’s allowed this suffering, can he heal our hearts if we turn to him? For those who have put their hope and faith in God, the answer is a resounding yes!
Yes, suffering is a reality. When suffering and evil wound our hearts, the Bible promise that God “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Through Christ’s love, we can be set free from the weight of the burdens that we carry. Jesus says, "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I cannot explain how He does it. I just know He does. We can either believe in Him and trust Him to do what He has promised or we can blame Him for that which he died to set us free from. We can act as though we are OK and can handle all our pain on our own or admit that we cannot. We can ignore our pain with drugs, alcohol and other forms of escapism. We can commit suicide as the only way out from the pain, or we can acknowledge that Jesus Christ is who he claims to be, our hope, our healer, our redeemer and the lover of our souls.
So the real strength of our faith in God is not that it makes us immune to difficulties, but that it gives us resources to deal with them in a redemptive way. Relationship with God enables us to be loving in the most hostile relationships, to find hope where others find only futility, experience peace even in the time of trouble and to find healing for our souls that can only come from God
