Why does a loving God allow suffering in our world? Does He care?
How do we make sense of suffering? How do we reconcile the reality of so much suffering, anguish and misery with a divine being who is all-loving and infinitely merciful? This quandary has plagued theologians and philosophers for centuries. But they have failed to give us a satisfying, rational answer. Is there more to the story we haven’t considered?
Through the prophet Isaiah God tells us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). God thinks and acts on a level different from ours. He sees things from a much broader overview. From our perspective, it’s as though we were putting together a jigsaw puzzle with many of the pieces missing. What part of the picture are we failing to see?
The free Bible study aid booklet, Why Does God Allow Suffering? addresses these questions head on. This booklet reveals the source of so much human suffering, helps us understand why God allows it, shows His different perspective on it and lets us understand how and when all suffering will eventually cease.
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Let’s examine the causes of suffering from a biblical perspective. God’s Word is the key source that can help us discover the reasons people suffer (p. 4).
Understanding why God allows evil and its resultant suffering requires a fundamental understanding of one of God’s greatest gifts—as well as how man has continually abused that gift. The gift is free will—or, as it is more popularly called, freedom of choice (p. 10).
Often the specific cause of instances of suffering simply cannot be precisely explained—at least not in this lifetime. Sometimes the best we can do is to accept it as explainable only by what the Bible calls “time and chance” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) (p. 15).
The Bible reminds us that in trials we should look beyond the present and focus on the potential benefits (p. 22).
Knowing that we live in a world awash in misery, in which tragedy can strike at any time, shouldn’t we heed Christ’s warning to repent and begin aligning our life with His? (p. 36).
If you are suffering, what should you do? Take your problem to God through prayer in faith and ask for His comfort and encouragement! (p. 37).
