Why Does God Allow Suffering
Photograph by Dana Long
Today's devotion post is part of my Bible In One Year Devotional by Nicholas Gumble via the Holy Bible iPhone app. This article was perfectly timed with my curiosity. Not once did I blame the Lord for the cancer inside my sister's body. My prayer for her was consistent; restoration like Job. Every day I prayed for my sister's healing. Whether it was here on Earth (which of course is what I wanted) or in that Holy City, I just wanted restoration for my sweet sister. The part I absolutely could not tolerate was the suffering.
My sister was the epitome of a flower child. She was all about keeping the peace and spreading the love. So I just couldn't understand why God was allowing her to be in pain. I questioned the Lord, not from a place of anger, but from an inquisitive place. Why are there so many people who openly deny you thriving in health and my sister a faithful, devout, Apostolic woman is fighting for each breath? I couldn’t wrap my head around that concept, and my wondering grew.
My morning devotional routine includes a short post by the British priest/ narrator Nicky Gumble. This devotional was so perfect and right on time (as the Lord always is). It has significantly changed the way I view certain situations especially in the aspect of time. This passage nurtured me; I hope it can bring some clarity to you.
“A one-year-old boy shattered his back falling down a flight of stairs. He spent his childhood and youth in and out of the hospital. Gavin Read, the former Bishop of Maidstone, interviewed him in church. The boy remarked, ‘God is fair.’ Gavin asked, ‘How old are you?’ ‘Seventeen,’ the boy replied. ‘How many years have you spent in the hospital?’ The boy answered, ‘Thirteen years.’ Gavin asked, ‘Do you think that is fair?’ He replied, ‘God has got all of eternity to make it up to me.’
We live in a world of instant gratification that has almost entirely lost its eternal perspective. The New Testament is full of wonderful promises about the future: all creation will be restored. Jesus will return to establish a new Heaven and a new Earth (Revelation 21:1). There will be no more crying, for there will be no more pain and suffering. Our frail, decaying mortal bodies will be changed for a body like that of Jesus’ glorious resurrected body.
Suffering is not part of God’s original created order (see Genesis 1–2). There was no suffering in the world before the rebellion against God. There will be no suffering when God creates a new Heaven and a new Earth (Revelation 21:3–4).
This, of course, is not a complete answer to the question ‘Why does God allow suffering?’
See the suffering of this life in the context of eternity.
David writes, ‘because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (v.10–11).
This is our future hope. These verses show that the resurrection of Jesus was foretold in the Scriptures (see Acts 2:25–28). This life is not the end. You can look forward to an eternity in the presence of God, fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. ‘Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18).
Lord, thank you that I can, in Christ, look forward to a resurrected body and an eternity in the presence of God, where there is the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.”
When you compare a period of suffering to the vast reality of eternity, it is almost no time at all, I’ve said this before in a recent devotional, but it is important enough to repeat. We humans have a minimal, finite view of time. We have things to do + errands to run, so we look out on time horizontally, to us, that's the way it is. God looks down on time. From an aerial view, He can see the end from the beginning. He can look at the 1900s, 2019, and even 3019 because He is not limited to time. This trial is not a mistake; it was perfectly orchestrated by a Creator who never fails. So instead of saying, "God, why did you allow her to suffer?" The mindset much change to a thankful heart that says, "God, you are intentional, and I may not understand your plan, just help me through it." That's when He makes Himself known as The Comforter for you. It's in those moments we find peace.
