It’s the age-old question: why does a good God allow suffering? Some call it “the problem of evil.”
Most scholars agree Job was the first written book of the Bible. Job lived around the same time as Abraham, so it was penned sometime between then and Moses writing Genesis and the rest of the Pentateuch. The Bible includes Job with the poets, an odd fit, but the theme is fascinating—the suffering of a good and righteous man. In other words, the same question (why does a good God allow suffering?) motivated the first book written about the Hebrew God.
Atheists, deconstructionists, and other general critics of Christianity and the Bible can’t seem to get past this question. Personally, I know several people who have lost their faith and walked away from God because of a period of suffering, during which they prayed and God didn’t change the situation.
But the Bible doesn’t shy away from this question. At all. God and the writers directly face it, treating the question as an honest and valid struggle. Yet there are answers. Difficult seasons, dealing with evil and suffering, threaten our faith. We despair. But God offers hope. One we can trust in.
Where Does Suffering Come From?
Suffering enters the world through sin. In the beginning, God created everything as good (Genesis 1:31), including humanity, and especially so. However, Satan (or the serpent) brought his rebellion into the Garden, tempting Eve and Adam to join him, which they did. Through Adam, sin entered the world. With it came death, pain, and hardship (Romans 5:12). God isn’t the author of pain, only good. Suffering exists because we live in a corrupted, dying world run by selfish, corrupt humanity, all dying together in sin.
The Bible even teaches how creation itself groans under this bondage to corruption. The apostle Paul writes that this material world was subjected to decay and death (from Adam’s sin), longing for the day it’s set free from the weight of entropy, which will come through the revelation of the second Adam, Christ. The creation suffers national disasters, disease, aging, and more. All part of the broken world.
Further, bad choices didn’t end with Adam and Eve. Suffering comes from sin, people making rebellious decisions, hurting themselves and others. We’re so deceived, we even think we’re the ones in the right. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Violence, abuse, betrayal, these come from prideful hearts turned away from God.
The Devil is also still at work, taking an active part to bring suffering, leveraging our selfishness and the broken world as part of his work. Jesus called Satan a liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), referencing his deception in the Garden of Eden. The apostle Peter warns us against Satan because “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) While God limits what the Devil can do (Job 1-2), our spiritual enemy works to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). D
With these forces arrayed against us, it’s no secret that suffering exists. The real miracle is that we can find any good or love in the world.
That’s because God hasn’t given up on us or creation. The Bible details the reality of suffering, but also how God is still in control.
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
We all know this world isn’t the way it should be. While we’ve never experience itd, every person longs for a life apart from suffering and pain. Every person, whether Christian or not, knows this world isn’t as it should be, without ever seeing a perfect one.
Since the Bible claims God alone is good, how can such a good God allow suffering?
First, God allows for free will. He desires a relationship, not parrots or robots. The Kingdom of God doesn’t work by force, coercion, or manipulation. The Father wants a relationship of love, and love must be willingly given to be real. Even in a perfect Garden, he gave Adam and Eve the ability to disobey him. Without the possibility of rejecting him, humanity could never truly accept and follow him. Deuteronomy 30:19 famously says, “I have set before you life and death … choose life.” God honors our choices, despite how it brings him sorrow and pain and death to ourselves and others.
Second, since the brokenness already exists, God uses suffering to test and refine his people. Trials expose the heart, true faith. As such, the hardships produce a stronger faith and endurance to the promised and glorious finish. James 1:2-4 goes far enough to tell us to “consider it pure joy” when facing such trials, for these reasons. God allows trials because he believes in the treasure within, and like gold refined by fire, God purifies his people through difficulty (1 Peter 1:6-7). Jesus, the perfect and sinless Son of God, learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8), as an example to us.
Third, in Christ, nothing is wasted or lost, including our suffering. God redeems and restores. Romans 8:28 includes a powerful and profound statement: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” The Lord brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3), life from death, healing from hopeless wounds, and victory from defeat. The cross of Jesus proves the ultimate reversal—humanity’s worst act, executing Christ, becomes God’s means of salvation, for us and all creation. For those who trust in God, through grace and faith in the Son, suffering is transformed into glory, but only in and with him. Otherwise, suffering is only pain, meaningless. In Christ, he promises a just end, where all things will be put right. God will “wipe every tear … there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.” (Revelation 21:4)
No, a good God doesn’t bring or delight in suffering. If anything, he chooses to suffer and weep along with us, like Jesus grieving at Lazarus’ tomb, even though he knew he was about to raise the man from the dead! (John 11:35) In the same way, despite God knowing all things will work out for good, because he is good, he enters the pain now with us. And he calls us to do the same for others (Romans 12:15).
What Scriptures Teach God Redeems Suffering?
As we’ve mentioned, to be human includes struggling with suffering in this world, no matter what our worldview. Therefore, every perspective seeks to find a way to deal with suffering.
In Buddhism, suffering comes from desire, so the goal is to live detached, emotionless, be desireless, and reach enlightenment. Hinduism believes suffering comes from karma, a consequence of past actions, good or bad. The solution is to live better in this life to get less suffering next time, a moral system. Islam sees suffering as only a test of faith from Allah, not something God redeems. New age thinking may claim suffering is but an illusion or part of a personal energy misalignment.
The Bible teaches how suffering comes from another personality, originally, Satan and his rebellion, and we must admit it often feels fairly personal, whether from nature or betrayal by others. However, Scripture repeatedly teaches how God redeems suffering with even greater reward for those who follow him.
Jesus himself taught this. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you … rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12) In one of Christ’s greatest teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, he clearly connects earthly suffering for righteousness with such an eternal reward, and we rejoice in advance.
Back to James, he supports this idea. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12) God’s promise to turn our pain into future reward and goodness is so absolute, we should count ourselves blessed when enduring under trial. Not because God loves pain, nor should we, but because these tests refine and strengthen our faith for more Kingdom reward.
Paul makes this radical claim: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17) By facing our troubles with faith and in Christ, we give our trials value, treasure, and these same troubles do a work on our behalf, an abundant weight of future glory.
God never overlooks or dismisses pain. If we submit to him, he uses it for our good and his glory.
What Biblical Narratives Show How God Redeems Suffering?
The Bible is full of stories highlighting people who endured suffering, yet God redeemed their pain with reward. Not only does the first written book (Job) engage with the problem of evil and suffering, but God also ends up giving Job far more than he had previously as a reward. That’s the complete story.
Joseph also suffered unfairly. His brothers sold him into slavery, and later, his master’s wife falsely accused him, leading to prison (Genesis 37-40). God used these trials to shape Joseph, giving him the character to lead Egypt through a time of famine. Joseph later told his brothers after their reconciliation, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) Joseph’s suffering helped to save many lives.
Ruth endured the loss of her husband and became a poor, foreign widow in Israel. However, she chose to be loyal and loving to Naomi and Israel’s God (Ruth 1:6). Her struggles led to a great redemption, with the wealthy Boaz finding her character beautiful and marrying her. Ruth even became the great-grandmother of King David, part of Christ’s lineage (Matthew 1:5).
In the New Testament, Paul faced imprisonment, too, as well as beatings, a shipwreck, and constant dangers (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). God used his suffering to spread the Gospel across the Roman Empire, even teaching us today through the written Word. Paul knew the temporary was worth trading for the eternal. “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)
The Lord Jesus Christ suffered more than anyone, and in every way we could imagine—betrayal, persecution, false accusation, even crucifixion, and the weight of humanity’s sin. In contrast, while we deserve suffering because of our sin, Christ was completely innocent. Through his willingness to suffer, God brought salvation to the world, and his resurrection gave him an eternal, glorious crown (Philippians 2:8-11). In him, we can also get a crown if we endure (2 Timothy 4:8).
Those who endure suffering with faith often get more than a reward; they also receive a legacy passed on to others.
How Do We Find Hope in Dark Times?
First, we must cling to the God who remains with us. He doesn’t abandon us or leave us lonely. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18), showing us how God feels our pain and enters it with us. When giving the parable of the sheep and the goats, the great separation between life and death at the Judgment, Jesus personally identified with the broken and marginalized (Matthew 25:31). Even when we enter suffering, the Father’s comfort remains. He walks with us, bearing our burdens in our weakness.
Second, God empowers us to endure through his Spirit. We aren’t left to suffer in our own strength. Romans 8:11 says the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives within you and me. The Lord grants us his grace and strength to endure, the courage to continue on, and the ability to shine when others turn to darkness. Sometimes God delivers from suffering; other times, he walks through it with us. In both cases, he remains faithful and victorious.
Third, we can endure because God promises to redeem every pain. Today’s suffering isn’t the end of the story. The true and final end will result in perfect justice, all sin and evil being removed, and a life of abundance and reward for those who remained faithful in him. We have this secure hope in Christ, a reward of eternal glory. The suffering we now face will not and cannot compare to the joy that awaits us and already exists in God.
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