Why Does God Allow Suffering?

(Sorry for the delay. My family has been relocating, which has taken a large amount of my free time.)

More often than not when engrossed in a conversation about Christianity I hear, "Why does God allow us to suffer?" If he is a loving god than why would he allow evil and anguish to exist? I heard a good analogy once (can’t remember from whom):

Minister – Do you love and protect you children?
Parishioner – Yes, of course. I would never let my children suffer.
Minister – Have they ever fallen off their bike and injured themselves?
Parishioner – Yes, but that is how they learn. By getting back up and trying again.
Minister– Well, just like you were letting them learn by allowing them to suffer, God does the same for his children.

At the day of creation, God did not intend for the Earth to be challenging and for his children to endure pain. However, in Genesis 3: 13 – 19 God explained to Adam and Eve how they must suffer for their sin. At that point the world was opened to evil. Sorrow became an obstacle we must all overcome.

You may now think, “But I’ve repented and accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior.” That is a fair thought but you must remember when Paul was speaking to the Romans he told them “We are all sinners and all have fallen short of God.” Each of us sin most everyday. It’s a fact of life that we cannot get past without Jesus. Jesus told us that we should take up our cross and follow him. Hinting that we must suffer as he did to fully understand the need for his loving care.

Paul was worried that his letter to the Corinthians had saddened and angered them to the point that they were shunning him. The Corinthians told him that it was not them that were shunning Paul yet he was shunning them by causing anguish with his written word. Paul responded that he did not regret that his letter caused them pain and sorrow. It is sorrow that brings us to the Lord and if his letter did that (which it did) then his job was successful.

A lot of biblical stories come to mind when I think of people who were brought to God through suffering. The leper, the lame and the blind came to Jesus for freedom from their illnesses. Jesus healed them and said, “Go and leave your life of sin. “ If they were healthy and prosperous would they have pleaded at Jesus’ feet for relief?

Revelation 21:4 says God will wipe every tear from our eyes; there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. The old order of things will pass away. In other words, we will be freed from sorrow once and for all. If we trust in Jesus we will experience the peace and harmony God intended during the six days of creation.

So for all who are suffering, whether it is from disease, injury or just everyday struggles, rest assure, endless prosperity is coming.