Why Do We Suffer?

This was the question asked a lot of times–it was asked by an Atheist trying to prove that there is no God, the same question was also asked by those people who suffered and doubts starts to creep in.

Why? Why would God– a loving God, allows suffering. Did suffering really comes from God?

These are the questions that I’m sure most of us have asked, and here are my thoughts and some explanation about those.

Why do we suffer? Because we are living in an imperfect and damaged world. That’s where suffering and pain comes from, it is inevitable.

Why is this world damaged? Because of sin. The sin came from the disobedience where Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God forbids.

Then if God is all knowing, why did He not stop Adam and Eve from disobeying Him? Yes, He is all knowing but He created man with free will and He did not create a robot. God intended it to be perfect, until disobedience produced sin.

If you are asking why there is even tree of knowledge, it is because if there weren’t then basically God created a robot. There will be no obedience because there’s nothing to obey. The sin doesn’t because they ate the fruit, if you think that the fruit has a magic of some kind, it comes from disobeying God. Look, there were a lot of trees there and God allowed them to have all the fruits of those trees except one but they still fell into the temptation.

God is so Holy that even one simple act of disobedience has affected all mankind. He hates sin so much– small or big, it will always lead to death.

That’s where suffering comes from. Not from God but from the disobedience of man.

God cannot be tempted by evil and the Bible clearly said that He wants nothing but what is good for us. Do you think those war would start if people obey God? No. Even now, it comes from the disobedience but people are always blaming God for every bad thing that’s happening to them.

We keep blaming God as if we do not deserve pains. We keep blaming Him where all that He does is good, we blame Him as if we are all good. Let’s say He allows bad things to happen? So what? We are so sinful and so self-centered, we deserve that.

But the good news is, God still cares for us and He still wants us to have eternal life despite of the sins and our disobedience.

God used suffering to save us.

He knows that it would be really hard for us to be righteous that’s why He even allowed His only begotten Son to suffer for our sake. Jesus who is good, who did not sin, who heals people, who obeys God– He allowed Him to suffer.

If we should ask question, the right question should be “Why God allowed Jesus who obeys Him, suffer? Why not us?” because of all people, Jesus is the only one who doesn’t deserve suffering.

This proves that God could turn bad things into glorious moments. God still used those inevitable suffering to save us. If not for the cross, we will still be bound to hell. If not for what Jesus did, salvation would be too hard. If not through Him, victory would be impossible by our own strength.

God is good and loving, suffering doesn’t come from Him. He wants what is good, pleasing and perfect, and His plans would not be for harm. But again, sufferings are inevitable because this world is damaged by sin. It is the sad truth that we have to accept.

But praise God for His goodness because this world’s imperfection will not stop Him from doing His beautiful plans for His people.

With God’s hand, suffering, as irony as it may sound, can still turn out to be beautiful. He can absolutely turn ashes into beauty. That is the good news for us.

What God can do out of our suffering?

Suffering, because it’s inevitable, can turn you into what God has called you to be. Joseph the Dreamer suffered a lot before he landed in the hands of Pharaoh to be what God has called him to be– a leader.

Those pains you have suffered could be a preparation and a confirmation in where God wants you to work in His Kingdom. Nick Vujicic is an inspirational speaker and a pastor who doesn’t have limbs. His disability became his strength in working with God in His kingdom because of him, people would immediately know that if God has a big plan for a man without limbs then He too has plan for them. Nick can reach out people with disability as well and be a source of inspiration for them and also to prove that God is faithful despite of their situation.

Those people who is suffering from depression could minister to those people who are suffering from the same situation. Those people who suffered from abuse could minister to the people who suffered from it as well.

These pain will mold us, like a fiery furnace, until we are refined as gold. These will slowly grow us until we are perfect and complete, until we will become like Christ.

Isn’t that beautiful that God can equipped you through your pains? God is so powerful that He could turn around things for us. Your pain might serve as a healing for someone. Because maybe you greatest victory would be found in your deepest scars.

If you just allow God to use your brokenness, I’m sure He will make new things out of your broken pieces. New things that will build something that lasts eternally just like what He did on the cross of calvary.