One of the most difficult questions a Christian has to face is “why would a good God allow suffering?” The question is of course not limited to the scope of Christians. It is one of the main objections that an educated Westerner has when it comes to the idea of the Judeo-Christian God. If God is all-powerful and all-good, then there wouldn’t be any suffering in the world. That’s the common belief. Most people put it to rest right there. But the Christian can’t put it to rest. The Christian who believes in this all-powerful and all-good God, must ask the question at some point.

If the statement is true, then the Christian God as we understand him, cannot exist. But if it is false, then even the skeptic is called back for a reexamination. So let’s look at the statement more closely. To say that God is all-powerful and all-good is a claim the Bible makes. By all-powerful we mean that God has absolute power as creator and ruler of the universe. There is nothing outside of his reach and control. By all-good we mean that God is the standard for goodness – that it is his character that defines for us what we inherently know to be good – a lived-out love for our neighbor. Given these premises, is the conclusion – that suffering therefore should not exist – the only possibility? To draw that conclusion assumes at least one other premise to be true – that suffering is evil. We assume suffering to be evil because we don’t like it. It is not the usual result of loving your neighbor. We don’t love our neighbor so that he will suffer. We try to love our neighbor so that he won’t suffer. But that doesn’t prove that suffering is inherently evil.

Not all suffering is evil, just like not all pain is evil. When you touch your hand on a hot stove it causes pain. It is that pain that causes you to move your hand. Pain, in that example, is good. It was the act of touching the hot stove that was evil. When you begin a new exercise program and come home with pain in your muscles, the pain is not evil. In that case neither is the exercise for you know that the breaking down of muscle leads to muscle gain. The pain isn’t evil and neither is the exercise. Both are good.

In the same way, we cannot simply assume that suffering (or the allowance of suffering) to be evil. The statement, “If God is all-powerful and all-good then there wouldn’t be any suffering in the world,” is an invalid argument according to the simple rules of logic. So before you jump into life assuming the statement to be settled remember the proverb, “only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.”

Job invites us to re-examine the question, “why does God allow suffering?” These verses in Job take us behind the scene of Job’s experience to find out that there is more to suffering than the sufferer knows. These verses show us what is happening in the court of heaven. In the court of heaven we learn that suffering proves the glory of God. That is, suffering proves God’s Word true.

Standard Podcast [ 36:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download