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Aug 05, 2004
Why is There Suffering in the World?
When people suffer, they often ask this question. “If God is a God of love, why does He allow suffering in the world?”
Many people have tried to answer this question. But their answers often lead to more questions. To find the true answer, we must look in the Bible. Let us examine what the Bible says about suffering in the world.
- God’s ways are above our ways. We must accept that God’s ways are above our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9) As believers, we must always remember that the Bible tells us the just shall live by faith. (Hab. 2:4) God uses suffering to work good in the lives of His children. God produces patience through tribulation. (Rom. 5:3)
- Sin is the real cause of suffering. God allows suffering to prove that sin is the real cause of suffering. And suffering is further proof that anything against God’s will is bad, harmful, painful, and leads to death. God originally gave Adam dominion over the world. (Gen. 1:28) But when Adam disobeyed God, the very nature of man and creation was changed. Both were affected by sin. Creation was no longer a paradise. (Gen. 3:17-18; Rom. 8:22) People became sinful. (Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:3)
- God gave us a free will. God does not stop us from using our free will. Think about this: If we want God to stop sin and suffering, then He must stop all of it. We have no problem with this when it means stopping a catastrophe, a murder, or a rape. But what about when someone thinks of something sinful? Sin is sin whether it is acted out or not. Hatred and lust in someone’s heart is wrong. If it is wrong, and if God is to stop all sin, then He must stop that person from thinking his own thoughts. To do that, God must remove our freedom of thought. This is something God has chosen not to do. Sin is rebellion against God. And the punishment of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23)
- Suffering can lead to salvation. God may desire to save someone through suffering. Consider Joseph who was sold into slavery by His brothers. What they did was wrong and Joseph suffered greatly for it. But, God later raised up Joseph in Egypt to make provisions for the people of that land during the coming drought of seven years. Not only was Egypt saved, but also his family. Including the brothers who originally sold him into slavery. Joseph finally says to them, "ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." (Gen. 50:15-21)
Of course, the greatest example of God using suffering to bring about salvation is the death of Christ. Evil, sinful people brought Jesus to the cross. But God used that cross as the means to forgive our sins and reconcile us to Himself.
Conclusion
Suffering is the result of human sin. The world is not the way that God created it. Because of that, we are all vulnerable to the affects of sin in the world. Why does one person suffer and another does not? Why do catastrophes happen to some and not to others? Why do little babies suffer for things they have not done? It is because sin is in the world. Ultimately, we must trust God who knows the beginning from the end and sees the grand picture. He will have the final word and He will be vindicated.
But there will come a day when the Lord will return and cleanse this world of all sin and all suffering. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev. 21:4)
* This article may be freely reprinted provided it is used in its entirety without modification and includes the following sentence:
Article reprinted from Pryors of Paraguay [http://pryors.net/] - Gods Work in Gods Way! The Pryors are missionaries to Paraguay, South America who are purposed to pursue the Biblical plan for missions and prove that New Testament principles still work today.
Posted by David Pryor in Bible Studies, Religion | Permalink
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