Why is There Suffering?

Compared to some, I haven’t experienced much suffering in my life.  Still, my heart has been broken.  I’ve been in pain.  I know loneliness and sorrow.  People wonder why there is pain and suffering in the world.  How can a just God allow it?  If He really cares about His creation, why doesn’t he blot out these bad things?

In the Old Testament, the book of Job details a painful chapter in the life of a man called Job.  God and the devil met and discussed Job.  God was pleased with Job and how he faithfully served God.  Ultimately, God allows the devil to test Job.  At first he can do anything he wants to Jobs family and belongings, but not Job himself.  After Job proves faithful after losing everything but his life and wife, God allows the devil to test him further. 

Job experiences physical and emotional pain.  He also suffers tremendous loss.  His wife tells him to curse God and die.  Friends come to visit him and comfort him.  They could hardly recognize him at first.  His suffering is so great they could not think of anything to say for a week.  In their understanding of God, you received blessings when you are faithful but punishment when you sin.  Since it appeared Job was being punished, they concluded he had sinned.  Therefore, they advised Job to repent of his sin and God would restore him. 

Job pled his innocence.  He wished for an intermediary between him and God.  He desired for someone who could lay a hand on him and God.  He wanted a comforter.  He wished he had never been born.  He believed he had been wrongfully chastised.  

Where was God?  After debating with his friends, God comes to Job.  What was the answer God gave Job?  Can you imagine this answer? “Job, the devil and I were having bet about how faithful you are.  To make you curse Me, he took away everything and gave you painful sores all over your body.  I knew you would be faithful.  Thank you.” 

If you were to know that is what the spirit world is behind the veil, would you feel better?  I believe you would be quite angry.  We do not want to be pawns.  God created us to have free will.  We want to choose our own way.  Such an answer is not comforting.  If the book of Job teaches us about why people suffer or why bad things happen to good people, I think most people would not be comforted to actually read it.  On the contrary, we would despair even more. 

Instead, God comes to Job and says, “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself up like a man and answer me.”  Then he asks questions like these:  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth.  Can you take leviathan home as a pet?  Did you give the horse its strength?  Does the eagle soar at your command?  Have you ever given orders to the dawn?  Does the rain have a father?  Would you condemn God to justify yourself? 

Humbled, Job replies, “I am unworthy.  How can I reply?  There’s nothing that You cannot do.  You are the storm that calmed my soul.  I place my hand over my mouth.” 

So why is there suffering in the world?  Why do bad things happen?  Could it be that God knows that the ultimate end of suffering is God Himself?  When things of this world can’t satisfy our emptiness, when there is no healing for our brokenness, we will find that God will ultimately be all that we have.  When God is all that we have, we will learn that God is all that we really need.