On Suffering

The following is something I wrote last year for a friend who had questions about God and suffering. Thought I'd post it and see what others think. Mind you, I am no theologian, this is from my personal experience and studies.

Why do we Suffer?

One of the greatest questions people have (and probably the greatest reason why people don’t believe in God) is why do bad things happen? Why does evil exist? I too, have struggled with this question even to the point of doubting my faith in God. This was my question: If God is all-knowing, all powerful and all loving, then why does evil exist?
Certainly, God would have known that evil would happen, and if He is all powerful, certainly He could have stopped it from happening and if He is all loving, He would not want people to suffer. The fact is, there is suffering in this world, we all have suffered and will suffer some more. Even God himself suffered when He came down to earth and died on the cross.
So, why would a “loving” God allow so much suffering on earth?
The truth is that there is no easy answer to this question. I searched for months to try to figure out the answer to this question and I will do my best to answer it now. My argument is that there is suffering in this world because God is a loving God.
The first thing I need to point out is that God himself, is incapable of causing evil. God is holy, and sin and holiness cannot co-exist. It’s like oil and water, they do not mix. James 1:13 says “When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” People, not God, commit sins and inflict suffering on people. However, you might wonder why God would allow that to happen. It’s because of the fact that God gives us a choice.
Think of it this way, if you had to choose between two pieces of fruit, an orange and an orange, that are the same in size, shape, juiciness etc. then there really is no choice is there? But if you have an orange and an apple, then suddenly, you do have a choice, either A, the orange, or B, the apple. It’s the same thing with God. If the only thing was God, then we could only choose him, and we would essentially be brainwashed robots roaming around the earth with no mind of our own. But, God wanted us to have a choice (yes, he wants us to choose him, and to choose to do good, but he wants us to choose for ourselves). Without evil, there would be no good, just like there would be no shade if there were no sun. So I have to say that it was pretty loving of God to allow us to choose even though he knew that so many would reject the one that created them. What if your parents dictated your life? Told you exactly what you were going to do as a profession, who you would marry, how many kids you could have, where you’d live etc, and no matter what, you HAD to comply? That would suck! Essentially, that’s what it would be like if God did not allow us to choose. The thing is, with the ability to choose, comes the ability to choose evil.
In the garden, God told Adam and Eve not to eat from that specific tree. He did not put a moat around the tree or barbed-wire surrounding it. He placed it in the middle and told them not to eat from it. He asked them to obey and to trust him, the one who created them and who loves them. But he gave them a mind and a will to choose their own way and they were deceived by Satan who told them there is a better way, and so they took a bite. That bite screwed over the rest of mankind forever, but that bite also represented their choice and the freedom that God had given them to make their own decisions.
I think that we would not be complete if we did not have free will to do right or wrong. If we did not have free will, and could only do good, then there would be no need for God in our lives. God is the creator of the universe and he desires his creation to worship him. Psalm 19:1 says “The heaven declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Likewise, God wants our worship. 1 Chronicles 16:23-30:
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples. 25 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He also is to be [reverently] feared above all so-called gods. 26 For all the gods of the people are [lifeless] idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary. 28Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come before Him; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in holy array. 30Tremble and reverently fear before Him, all the earth's peoples; the world also shall be established, so it cannot be moved.
God is worthy of our praise, He is the creator of the universe and he knows everyone on earth by name, and he knows the number of hairs on your head (Mat. 10:30). Isn’t it true that when everything in our lives are going great, we kind of forget about God? We don’t need him because we’re good. But once things start going wrong, suddenly we either cry out to God for help, or blame him for making us suffer. God allows us to go through trials and pain because it makes us come back to him to rely on his love and grace. He is beckoning us to himself, because in him alone will we find the peace and joy that we are eagerly searching for.
So, over months of searching for the answer to my question, my friend pointed out a passage of scripture to me that made everything make sense. It is in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul is talking about how all the great things he has witnessed from God, and how he himself has been doing a lot for the ministry of Jesus. But he goes on to say:
7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was experiencing a “thorn” in his flesh. He was suffering (notice from “a messenger of Satan” not God) and God was allowing it to happen. Paul was begging God to take it away from him but notice God’s response in the beginning of verse 9. God says that his grace is enough. God’s grace is the free gift that he gives to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Grace is what covers up our sin and brings us as sinners into a relationship with a holy God. And his grace is sufficient, it’s all we need because God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. This means that at our lowest of low points, when we cannot go on by ourselves, when we are experiencing pain and tragedy and we are weak; that is when God comes in and displays his power and his strength in our lives. His grace, if we accept it, is what will pick us back up off of the floor, or pull us out of the pit we are in. He will literally perform miracles in our lives.
God loves us so much that he wants us to be united with him. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to bring us into his arms. He is willing to allow us to experience pain because he wants to restore us and show his love for us.
After I read this passage of scripture and realized these things about the nature of God, I had to fall on my face and beg Him to forgive me for being so blind. I had forgotten all of the ways that God has poured out his over my life. There are so many little miracles that I overlooked; blessings and gifts that I called “luck” or “coincidence”. When I found out that God lets me walk through the fire so that I can be refined in it (like how gold is made. They put it in a blazing furnace and the fire burns away all impurities and grime so it comes out perfectly pure gold), I was actually thankful for my suffering. My life verse is James 1:2-4, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
This is what it comes down to: we all suffer, God allows us to suffer because he loves us and he wants us to choose him. If we do decide to choose him, we will still suffer, but the difference is that we have a hope to look forward to. The hope is spending eternity with our creator who loves us more than we can ever comprehend.