Suffering Points Us to God
The question is, Why does God even allow suffering? What hope do we as Christians have in a world that is filled with so much tragedy and unspeakable suffering? I think the best answer to any question that begins with “Why did God . . . ?” is “For his glory.” Now, that’s not meant to minimize the pain and the anguish and oftentimes even the despair that suffering can bring to bear on our hearts. It is simply a way of saying that there is an ultimate reason, even if we can’t fully grasp it, why God would allow suffering in this world.
I think the best way to answer that is probably this: I believe God allows suffering precisely so that his mercy, his kindness, his grace, and his long suffering in receiving suffering saints and bringing comfort to their hearts in the midst of it can be seen.
The Steadfast Love of the Lord explores Scripture to find a clear picture of what God’s steadfast, unfailing love looks like and how, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, believers experience his affection.
So even suffering exists in some mysterious way to point to the glory of God, his sovereignty, and the majesty in which he governs the universe, so that in the final day we will see how every pain we have endured and every heartache that we have been forced to suffer, has been used of God to bring attention to his glory and grace. And it’s also a way of refining our character and bringing us more into conformity with who Jesus is.
And then, of course, there’s the question, What hope do we have in a world filled with so much heartache and suffering? That brings me back to Romans 8:18-25, where Paul says that “the whole of creation has been subjected to futility in hope of the ultimate and final redemption of our bodies.” So, we have this living hope.
Peter says in 1 Peter 1:3 that hope is alive and powerful, and he goes on to say that it’s reserved in heaven for us—an imperishable, unfading hope that all the wrongs of this world will be righted. Jesus, the judge, will bring to bear righteous punishment on those who have inflicted vengeance and sin upon God’s people. And ultimately, we will find the new heavens and the new earth, where our hope is fulfilled, and all the wrongs will have been righted, and all the questions will have been answered, and we will rejoice in God’s presence for eternity.
Sam Storms is the author of The Steadfast Love of the Lord: Experiencing the Life-Changing Power of God’s Unchanging Affection.
