The question of why God allows suffering is one that has troubled believers and nonbelievers alike. When we look around the world and see the depths of poverty, disease, oppression and injustice, it can certainly appear that God is indifferent to human suffering.
This issue takes on even greater urgency when we consider the plight of starving children. It’s easy to become angry at God and wonder why He doesn’t intervene to feed the millions of children who live with gnawing hunger every day of their lives. Why does our perfectly good, all-powerful, all-loving God appear not to care about them?
This is a critically important question, and it deserves a thoughtful response rooted in Scripture. As we explore what the Bible says about this struggle, several key truths emerge:
1. God cares deeply about human suffering.
First, it’s fundamentally wrong to think that God doesn’t care about human suffering. The Bible clearly teaches that God’s heart breaks over the effects of sin, evil and suffering in this world. We see this in verses like:
“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9)
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14)
Jesus, as God in human flesh, expressed perfect love and compassion during His earthly ministry. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He had deep compassion for the sick, the outcast, the broken. God is not some detached, indifferent deity – the Bible says He enters into our pain and bears it with us.
2. Suffering is the result of sin.
Second, we need to understand where suffering comes from. The Bible teaches that pain, sickness, poverty, injustice and death entered the world through the genesis of sin. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, sin invaded like a virus and began spreading tragedy through God’s good creation (Genesis 3).
We live in a fallen world, and all the misery we experience – from physical illness to moral evil – stems from sin taking root in people’s hearts and corrupting God’s good design. Make no mistake, God hates injustice, violence, poverty, sickness and despair infinitely more than we do.
3. God is working to redeem this suffering.
Here’s the hope-filled part: God initiated a plan, from before the foundation of the world, to redeem this suffering through Jesus Christ. While God did not directly create evil and suffering, He permitted them to enter the world through humanity’s free will. And in His sovereignty, He had a purpose in allowing it.
What’s that purpose? So that He could conquer sin and suffering through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Scripture says Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), conquer death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57), redeem creation (Romans 8:18-25) and repair everything broken by sin. His plan is to one day create a new heaven and new earth with no more tears, pain, crying or death (Revelation 21:1-5).
In the meantime, God is at work to bring beauty from ashes. He takes the evil in this world and redeems it for His glory and humanity’s good. Even in the worst tragedies, He is present as a compassionate Comforter.
4. God calls us to join Him in alleviating suffering.
Importantly, God’s plan to redeem suffering involves using His people. Those who receive salvation through Christ are then mobilized as His hands and feet to share that salvation with the hurting world. Scripture overflows with God’s call for His people to care for the poor, seek justice for the oppressed, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned, defend the defenseless, and be providers for those in need (Isaiah 1:17, Matthew 25:31-46, Galatians 2:10, James 1:27, 1 John 3:17-18).
The church is God’s agent of mercy to a suffering world. As Christians, we have the privilege of being part of God’s answer to the crisis of evil and pain. As the body of Christ, we are called to sacrificially serve those who are hurting in ways that reflect His love to them.
So rather than asking “Why doesn’t God do something?” we should humbly ask, “What can I do?” And then seek to be the hands and feet that alleviate suffering as God leads.
5. God will ultimately eradicate all suffering.
The overarching hope that the Bible gives is that the pain of this present world is temporary. Evil will one day be vanquished. Disease will be no more. Violence will cease. Poverty will end. Death will be defeated. God will wipe every tear from people’s eyes, and suffering will be forgotten (Revelation 21:1-5).
For God’s children, this hope of eternity frees us from despair amid earthly trouble. Our suffering has an expiration date. No matter what tragedies or trials we face today, a day is coming when God Himself will remove all afflictions from His people.
The book of Revelation paints a beautiful picture of this coming reality: “He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away…Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:3-5).
What an incredible hope to hold onto, both for ourselves and for the suffering children we ache for. The pain is temporary. God’s deliverance is coming. He will make all things new.
6. We can trust God’s goodness and wisdom.
A final truth to remember is that we can fully trust God’s goodness and wisdom. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). We have limited human perspective, but God sees and knows all. We may wonder how God can be good while allowing such injustice, but we can trust that His ways are pure and righteous altogether.
We may not be able to grasp it now, but we can rest in the knowledge that the Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25). He is compassionate, slow to anger, filled with unfailing love (Psalm 103:8). He works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
In a world filled with evil and suffering, we can anchor our souls to the hope of Christ. We can live out God’s love to those who are hurting. We can trust His heart and His goodness, even when we can’t understand all His ways. We can find our refuge under the shadow of His wings until the day He makes all things new and every tear is wiped away.