Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? “Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?” Ensign, August 2018 Digital Only: Young Adults We might not always know why certain things happen, but it can help to remember what we do know. In the Mormon Messages video above, Sister Reyna I.

1. Aburto, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, describes trials she faced when she was young and how she would long to understand why God was allowing bad things to happen.
2. The article below answers that question.
3. Why?” This seems like one of the most commonly asked questions in life, right? And it’s straightforward and simple.

But more often than not, we don’t get a straightforward answer to this seemingly simple question, and not getting all the answers can definitely test our faith. When bad things happen, we might sometimes wonder where God is. If He’s really there. If He could have prevented it.

If He could have sent a miracle. We know He is all-powerful. We know He is in control. We know He wants what’s best for us. But there continue to be horrific tragedies and pain and suffering throughout the world. And we continue to face temptation, sorrow, and a multitude of trials within our own lives. Sometimes we just want to know why,

What’s the purpose of all this suffering? Why does He allow bad things to happen? Unfortunately, we might not always know the reason “why.” But we can always draw faith and strength from remembering the things we do know. One vital part of the plan of salvation is that every single being who has ever lived on the face of this earth was given agency—we are able to choose for ourselves, and consequences, both good and bad, stem from those choices.

Heavenly Father knows that choice and accountability for those choices are both necessary for our spiritual growth. Because He knows this and loves us, He doesn’t usually interfere with the consequences of our choices. If He forced us to make the right decisions, it would be impossible for us to grow and reach our divine potential.

It would be impossible to live by faith in Him and His plan for our happiness. Because of the beautiful gift of agency, people make their own choices, both good and bad. Many good things have happened in the world because of agency, but many terrible things have come about as well.

In those bad moments when the wrong choices of others cause you pain, remember what President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, taught: “God rarely infringes on the agency of any of His children by intervening against some for the relief of others. But He does ease the burdens of our afflictions and strengthen us to bear them.

He does not prevent all disasters, but He does answer our prayers to turn them aside. “Through all mortal opposition, we have God’s assurance that He will ‘consecrate afflictions for gain’ ()” (“,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 117). Have you ever gone through something difficult and that experience allowed you to empathize with friends or even strangers who were facing a similar challenge? Or have you seen others experience sorrow from difficult circumstances and turn their pain into a moving, empowering cause? The trials we face allow us to develop compassion for others and can inspire us to make a difference in the world, in big and small ways.

They enable us to truly be “willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light” (). Think of times when natural disasters or horrific accidents occurred in the world. Remember how many people you saw on social media, on the news, or even in your own community who stepped up to raise money, donate necessities, and provide any bit of service they could to those in need? Sometimes when bad things happen, they empower us to act and serve.

Even the Savior, our example, suffered infirmities, “that his bowels may be filled with mercy” and so that He could know “how to succor his people” (). Trials can open our eyes to those who are suffering. They can enable us to show others genuine compassion and love.

1. They can refine us to be more charitable, empathetic, and influential humans.
2. They can instill in us a powerful need to serve.
3. When bad things happen, when you’re facing heavy challenges, when you don’t understand all the reasons behind your struggles, here is one thing to always remember: No matter what trial you’re facing, when you’re feeling lost, alone, defeated, or broken, the Savior’s arms are open to receive you.

Maybe one reason for the tragedies and difficulties in our lives is so we can use our agency and faith to rely on and see the infinite power of Jesus Christ in our lives. Doing so allows us to better understand Him. To build our relationship with Him. To become more like Him.

To fully comprehend that He truly did sacrifice everything He had for all of us, Yes, life can be hard. Really hard. But when life knocks you down and you still manage to use your last drop of energy to turn to the Savior, you will see that He is always there, and He will always come to your rescue. Because He knows exactly what you’re going through.

He’s felt it all before. Jesus Christ’s Atonement included suffering of all forms—mental, physical, and spiritual. Everything. He understands. He will not abandon you. So, when you are struggling to find the answer to the question, “Why did God allow this to happen?” try asking Him to help you understand through sincere prayer.

• Even though He might not be able to give you the full answer yet, He can help you find comfort and gradual understanding.
• Take a moment to think about what you’ve learned because of bad things that have happened.
• There’s no doubt you will recognize those moments when you were able to sincerely understand someone else’s sorrow because of something you once faced, those moments of tragedy that motivated you to serve others, those moments when the Savior carried you, and those moments when you fully realized that Heavenly Father is aware of you and will always be there to guide you.

Your answers are there. Heavenly Father is in control. He has a plan for each of us, and “in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things” (). Despite what difficulties and challenges may come, despite some lingering questions we may have in this life, we can move forward with faith and peace, knowing that one day we will understand everything.

Does God have a purpose for my pain?

“In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure.” 2 Corinthians 1:6 -7 (TLB) God expects you to use your pain to help others.

• Whatever mistake, failure, trouble, trial, or bad decision you’ve experienced, God says, “I’ll still use it for good in your life.
• And I expect you to use it to help others.” This is called redemptive suffering.
• In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings.

He will give you the strength to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:6-7 TLB). Think of the biggest troubles you’ve had in your life and the worst pain you’ve had to endure physically or emotionally. God doesn’t want you to waste that hurt; he wants to redeem your suffering.

• You can always help people more through your weaknesses than through your strengths.
• Telling someone all the things you’re good at won’t help someone in pain.
• But sharing with them how God has walked with you through your pain could change their life.
• One of the biggest hurts in my life was the death of my youngest son, who took his life after struggling with mental illness for 27 years.

Almost every day somebody calls me from around the world, asking for help with mental health. I didn’t ask for that ministry; I didn’t think that would be a part of my dream. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my pain. The people that come to me for help think I must be safe because I’ve been through it—and because I’m willing to talk about it.

What pain in your life are you not talking about because you think it’s a burden you have to carry alone? God wants to use you right now—not when you’ve fully recovered or moved past your pain. He wants to use you even in the areas that you have been embarrassed about and that still hurt. Part of God’s dream for your life is that you help people, not just through your gifts and strengths but also through your pain.

This is what Jesus has done for you. This is the power of the Gospel. Talk It Over

What fears keep you from sharing your pain with others? Why do you think sharing your painful experiences is sometimes a more effective ministry than sharing your gifts and abilities? Do you believe God can use you when you have not fully moved past your pain? Are you able to do this with whatever hurt you are experiencing right now? Why or why not?

Why does God allow others to hurt us?

2015 was another year of global tragedy on a massive scale; a perusal of newspaper headlines proclaim the top tragedies include the earthquake in Nepal that killed almost 9,000, the terrorist attacks in Paris, ongoing attacks and massacres by ISIS and Boko Haram, the war in Yemen which has claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens, airliner crash in Taiwan, a massive shipping explosion in China, landslides in Colombia and avalanches in Afghanistan, and stateside shootings in San Bernardino, South Carolina, and Oregon.

1. These headlines show that suffering and evil stem from a variety of sources, ranging from natural disasters to accidents to purposeful victimization.
2. How could God allow any of these things to happen? Why doesn’t he swoop in to deflect the bullets, to diffuse bombs, to bring relief to those in peril? Is it a paradox that an all-powerful God Who is good refrains from using his might to eradicate evil? Why does he allow evil to flourish and why did he allow it to enter our world? These are among the most difficult questions to address, but one can begin by differentiating between the sources of evil and suffering.

The first, and seemingly harshest, source to address is people who harm other people. These also fall into two categories: those who intend harm to others (victimization), and those who cause harm accidentally (accident/consequence). These categories are characterized by wars, rape and abuse, assault, neglect and even accidental misjudgment.

It is critical to consider the source of these evils and accidents: it is the result of decisions and choices made in the human capacity of free will. The decisions of sinful people account for a large chunk of evil and suffering in this world. People do what they want to fulfill their perception of satisfying their wants and agendas, even at the cost of another’s harm.

Galatians 5:19-21 describes these agendas as ‘works of the flesh’ – hatred, fighting, adultery and immorality, selfish ambitions, murders. I do what I do to get what I want. James 3:16 summarizes that where there is self-seeking, chaos and every evil thing is there as well.

Evil is practically the characterization of fleshly desires – We are the anti-holy! So why doesn’t God step in at every turn of human wickedness to correct the situation? Because every human is created as a moral agent with the capacity to choose good or evil: free will comes with soul and spirit, and free will is a central component to humanity and the existence of free will itself necessitates the freedom to choose evil.

We are not created to be robots or biological machines, we are created to enjoy fellowship with our creator, but that fellowship must be authentic – it must stem from a decision to love him and trust him. Evil is not the only decision that comes from free will; love also comes from free will.

1. Without free will, there could be no decision to do right or to love God, if choosing evil or disobedience were not truly an option.
2. Author Peter Kreeft writes, “God has committed himself to create and sustain those of us who use the gift of freedom to hurt others and to hate God himself.
3. The power of those who drove the nails into his beloved son’s hands and feet came ultimately from him.

If freedom has a terrible price, surely God pays more than his fair share.” Victimization is among the greatest of evils in this world, but they don’t come from God, but God has chosen to share in the greatest victimization as his son Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for the sins of our free will and to allow us a choice in fellowship: confess your sins to God and choose to believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the payment of your own sins, entering into authentic fellowship with your creator that will extend into eternity.

What does God have to say about suffering?

Why Can We Hope in the Midst of Suffering? – Based on the following verses, we discover the Bible instructs to have hope in suffering because: Our sufferings are “light and momentary” and “are achieving for us an eternal glory” ( 2 Corinthians 4:17 ).

Paul reassures that when viewed from eternity, our pain will appear short-lived. God is with us through every trial. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles” ( 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ). Suffering produces a mature faith.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” ( James 1:2-4 NIV ).

1. Christ gives us His peace.
2. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
3. In this world you will have trouble.
4. But take heart! I have overcome the world” ( John 16:33 NIV).
5. To read other encouraging Bible verses about suffering, click this link,
6. While suffering is something we must all endure, those of us who know Christ as Savior can hold to the promises of scripture.

Because He has already won the victory over death, we can trust our Lord is with us through every struggle. Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/spukkato Tammy Kennington is a writer and speaker familiar with the impact of trauma, chronic illness, and parenting in the hard places. Her heart is to lead women from hardship to hope. You can meet with Tammy at her blog www.tammykennington.com where she’ll send you her e-book, Moving from Pain to Peace-A Journey Toward Hope When the Past Holds You Captive,

Where is God when we suffer?

For the believer, suffering ends not in defeat, but in victory! – Do you want to know where God is when you are suffering? The Bible answers that questions for us: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Romans 8:35, 37).

Why can’t God stop bad things?

Why doesn’t God stop bad things from happening? When something bad happens, we may wonder why God didn’t stop it. After all, He’s all-powerful! Here are two ideas to think about.

1. We grow from hard experiences. Everything the Lord does is for our benefit. Every. Single. Thing.

“He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world” (; emphasis added).So that’s one insight into why God may allow bad things to happen: He knows that somehow, someday, we’ll benefit from the experience. After all, the point of mortality is for us to experience happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain, and grow to become more like our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

2. God respects agency. Some challenges are a natural part of mortality. Other trials come from people making bad decisions. God respects the agency of each of His children. He (and we) can encourage, plead, warn, and teach—rewarding good behavior and punishing bad behavior. But in the end, it would go against His nature and plan to force anyone to do anything.

So what can we do? God didn’t send us here to fend completely for ourselves. He sent a Savior to experience every pain and pay for every sin. Jesus Christ knows perfectly how to help you. When bad things happen, keep turning to Him! And know that God loves you. : Why doesn’t God stop bad things from happening?

Does God promise no pain?

God Did Not Promise Days Without Pain. Laughter Without Sorrow, nor Sun Without Rain, but He Did Promise Strength for the Day, Comfort for the Tears, and Light for the Way. Vinyl Wall Art Decal Sticker Share: Found a lower price? Let us know. Although we can’t match every price reported, we’ll use your feedback to ensure that our prices remain competitive.

Can God trust you with pain?

#4 – God Wants to Give Us an Unshakable Hope. – It often happens that our pain strips us and exposes the focus of our true beliefs and hope. God, through Jesus, wants to give us an unshakeable hope that can endure any kind of pain and suffering. This is not hoping for a better outcome or solution to a problem; it is the eternal hope in His living word and promises.

How does suffering glorify God?

Suffering and the Glory of God by R.C. Sproul I once visited with a woman who was dying from uterine cancer. She was greatly distressed, but not only from her physical ailment. She explained to me that she had had an abortion when she was a young woman, and she was convinced that her disease was a direct consequence of that.

In short, she believed cancer was the judgment of God on her. The usual pastoral response to such an agonizing question from someone in the throes of death is to say the affliction is not a judgment of God for sin. But I had to be honest, so I told her that I did not know. Perhaps it was God’s judgment, but perhaps it was not.

I cannot fathom the secret counsel of God or read the invisible hand of His providence, so I did not know why she was suffering. I did know, however, that whatever the reason for it, there was an answer for her guilt. We talked about the mercy of Christ and of the cross, and she died in faith.

The question that woman raised is asked every day by people who are suffering affliction. It is addressed in one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. In John 9, we read: “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’ ” (John 9:1–3).

Why did Jesus’ disciples suppose that the root cause of this man’s blindness was his sin or his parents’ sin? They certainly had some basis for this assumption, for the Scriptures, from the account of the fall onward, make it clear that the reason suffering, disease, and death exist in this world is sin.

The disciples were correct that somehow sin was involved in this man’s affliction. Also, there are examples in the Bible of God causing affliction because of specific sins. In ancient Israel, God afflicted Moses’ sister, Miriam, with leprosy because she questioned Moses’ role as God’s spokesman (Num.12:1–10).

Likewise, God took the life of the child born to Bathsheba as a result of David’s sin (2 Sam.12:14–18). The child was punished, not because of anything the child did, but as a direct result of God’s judgment on David. When we suffer, we must trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He works in and through the pain and afflictions of His people for His glory and for their sanctification.

However, the disciples made the mistake of particularizing the general relationship between sin and suffering. They assumed there was a direct correspondence between the blind man’s sin and his affliction. Had they not read the book of Job, which deals with a man who was innocent and yet was severely afflicted by God? The disciples erred in reducing the options to two when there was another alternative.

They posed their question to Jesus in an either/or fashion, committing the logical fallacy of the false dilemma, assuming that the sin of the man or the sin of the man’s parents was the cause of his blindness. The disciples also seem to have assumed that anyone who has an affliction suffers in direct proportion to the sin that has been committed.

• Again, the book of Job dashes that conclusion, for the degree of suffering Job was called to bear was astronomical compared with the suffering and afflictions of others far more guilty than he was.
• We must never jump to the conclusion that a particular incidence of suffering is a direct response or in direct correspondence to a person’s particular sin.

The story of the man born blind makes this point. Our Lord answered the disciples’ question by correcting their false assumption that the man’s blindness was a direct consequence of his or his parents’ sin. He assured them that the man was born blind not because God was punishing the man or the man’s parents.

There was another reason. And because there was another reason in this case, there might always be another reason for the afflictions God calls us to endure. Jesus answered His disciples by saying, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).

What did He mean? Simply put, Jesus said that the man was born blind so that Jesus might heal him at the appointed time, as a testimony to Jesus’ power and divinity. Our Lord displayed His identity as the Savior and the Son of God in this healing. When we suffer, we must trust that God knows what He is doing, and that He works in and through the pain and afflictions of His people for His glory and for their sanctification.

How God punishes those who hurt you?

What Does This Say? –

God is just

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.” 2 Thessalonians 1:6 The justice of God will often not be obvious in this world. People who do good often suffer and people who do evil often prosper. But God is just, and even though His justice may be hidden now, it will become obvious when Jesus Christ is revealed (1:8).

The justice of God is a central truth in the Bible. God never acts out of vindictiveness. He always acts with justice. You can have absolute confidence that no one will be punished for a sin he or she did not commit. No sin will be punished in a way that is disproportionate to the offense. No one will escape from the justice of God.

God knows all things. Nothing is hidden from Him. No one intimidates Him. No one has leverage against Him. Power and wealth count for nothing with Him. That means you can have confidence in the absolute justice of God.

God will punish

“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8 We are given two descriptions of this punishment Everlasting destruction “They will be punished with everlasting destruction” (1:9). The combination of these two words is terrifying, but the meaning is clear—this is a destruction without end.

“It is to always be dying and never to die.” You may say, “Wait a minute. How can any sin deserve everlasting destruction? If God is just, how can He punish like this?” The best answer I ever heard to that question was given by a friend of mine who is a middle school pastor Suppose a middle school student punches another student in class.

What happens? The student is given a detention. Suppose during the detention, this boy punches the teacher. What happens? The student gets suspended from school. Suppose on the way home, the same boy punches a policeman on the nose. What happens? He finds himself in jail.

• Suppose some years later, the very same boy is in a crowd waiting to see the President of the United States.
• As the President passes by, the boy lunges forward to punch the President.
• What happens? He is shot dead by the secret service.
• In every case the crime is precisely the same, but the severity of the crime is measured by the one against whom it is committed.

What comes from sinning against God? Answer: Everlasting destruction. Shut out of the presence of God “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (1:9). To be shut out from God’s presence and from His power means to be without hope and without love forever.

1. James Denny says it like this “Obey the Gospel and you enter into light in which there is no darkness.
2. Disobey the Gospel and you enter into darkness in which there is no light A night in which no morning dawns” Here is what the Scripture says: God is just.
3. He will punish through everlasting destruction and those who are so punished will be shut out from the presence of the Lord, forever.

This will happen when Jesus Christ is revealed. This is one of the hardest truths in the Bible. But here is something I’ve discovered—the hardest truths can produce the most tender hearts. If you grasp this most difficult of doctrines, and place yourself under this truth, God will use it to soften your heart today.

Is it OK to question God?

Is It Okay To Question God? – We’ve seen that people in the Bible question God regularly. The Bible highlights these questions, rather than hiding them. But still that doesn’t really answer our question, is it okay to question God? Is it a sin to question God? To question God is not wrong in and of itself.

1. What matters is how we do it.
2. Bringing out questions and concerns to God is not wrong, but rather it is healthy.
3. But we still must do so in a way that is respectful.
4. There’s a difference between questioning God and accusing him.
5. We can question God in a way that still holds that he sees what we do not.
6. When we question God we should do so in a way that is respectful and honoring.

But the Bible seems to be clear. Not only can we question God, we should. We are finite beings trying to grasp an infinite God. We are going to struggle, and questions can help. God doesn’t get angry with our questions. He invites them. It’s often through our questioning that we come to a deeper understanding of who God is.

Should Christians suffer in silence?

28 When we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience; 29 We should bow in submission, for there may still be hope.30 Though beaten and insulted, we should accept it all.31 The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever.32 He may bring us sorrow, but his love for us is sure and strong.33 He takes no pleasure in causing us grief or pain.34 The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison; 35 He knows when we are denied the rights he gave us; 36 When justice is perverted in court, he knows.37 The will of the Lord alone is always carried out.38 Good and evil alike take place at his command.39 Why should we ever complain when we are punished for our sin? 40 Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.41 Let us open our hearts to God in heaven and pray, 42 “We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O Lord, have not forgiven us.43 “You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger, 44 By a cloud of fury too thick for our prayers to get through.45 You have made us the garbage dump of the world.46 “We are insulted and mocked by all our enemies.47 We have been through disaster and ruin; we live in danger and fear.48 My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people.49 “My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream 50 Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees us.51 My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city.52 “I was trapped like a bird by enemies who had no cause to hate me.53 They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone.54 Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near.55 “From the bottom of the pit, O Lord, I cried out to you, 56 And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard.57 You answered me and told me not to be afraid.58 “You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life.26 So it is best for us to wait in patience – to wait for him to save us – 27 And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.28 When we suffer, we should sit alone in silent patience; 29 We should bow in submission, for there may still be hope.30 Though beaten and insulted, we should accept it all.31 The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever.32 He may bring us sorrow, but his love for us is sure and strong.33 He takes no pleasure in causing us grief or pain.34 The Lord knows when our spirits are crushed in prison; 35 He knows when we are denied the rights he gave us; 36 When justice is perverted in court, he knows.37 The will of the Lord alone is always carried out.38 Good and evil alike take place at his command.39 Why should we ever complain when we are punished for our sin? 40 Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.41 Let us open our hearts to God in heaven and pray, 42 “We have sinned and rebelled, and you, O Lord, have not forgiven us.43 “You pursued us and killed us; your mercy was hidden by your anger, 44 By a cloud of fury too thick for our prayers to get through.45 You have made us the garbage dump of the world.46 “We are insulted and mocked by all our enemies.47 We have been through disaster and ruin; we live in danger and fear.48 My eyes flow with rivers of tears at the destruction of my people.49 “My tears will pour out in a ceaseless stream 50 Until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees us.51 My heart is grieved when I see what has happened to the women of the city.52 “I was trapped like a bird by enemies who had no cause to hate me.53 They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone.54 Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near.55 “From the bottom of the pit, O Lord, I cried out to you, 56 And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard.57 You answered me and told me not to be afraid.58 “You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life.59 Judge in my favor; you know the wrongs done against me.60 You know how my enemies hate me and how they plot against me.

Does God say we have to suffer?

Theme Scripture: Matthew 11:28 – Let’s set the record straight right from the start. As Christians, God does NOT want us to suffer! Having said that, we know He does want us to learn and grow and mature. This means he will permit us to suffer and will use it as a tool to serve our eternal welfare.

1. Now, what about the rest of the suffering experienced by everyone else? The answer is essentially the same –, which will be an eternal lesson for all.
2. While these are good lessons, how do we cope with our individual suffering here and now? There are two groups of people who are suffering that we want to talk to today.

There are those who may know of and appreciate Jesus and there are those who have dedicated themselves to follow him as his disciples. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus famously invites all who are “weary and heavy-laden” to come to him so he can give them rest.

Why is God silent in my suffering?

Read Psalm 109:1-13 What do you do when heaven is silent? What do you do when you cry out to God and there is no answer, or at least you can’t hear it? This happened to David. He kept crying out to God, “Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!” (v.1).

1. David was being attacked by the wicked-a frequent occurrence in his life.
2. You must remember that when he prayed these prayers of judgment (v.13), he was not seeking personal revenge.
3. No, he was praying as God’s king over Israel.
4. David wanted to see the wicked judged because they were attacking the people of God, the ones from whom God’s Word and His Son would come.

Why is God silent at times? It may be because we aren’t listening or we don’t want to listen. Evangelist Billy Sunday used to say that a sinner can’t find God for the same reason a criminal can’t find a policeman-he’s not looking. Sin makes us turn a deaf ear to God.

When Adam and Eve heard the voice of God in the Garden of Eden, they ran and hid. Children often do that when they disobey. Sometimes God is silent because we aren’t ready for the message. He wants to talk to us about something, but we aren’t ready. We have to go through refining trials to make us ready to listen.

God is sometimes silent because He knows we aren’t willing to obey. He is always ready to show us His will, but He shows His will only to those who really want to do it. Jesus said in John 7:17, “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine.” Obedient people always hear the voice of God.

1. Finally, sometimes God is silent that He might test us-to teach us the importance of silence, the importance of waiting on Him.
2. Waiting helps remind us of God’s sovereignty * * * The silence of God is one of the difficult tests of faith.
3. What should you do when He is silent? Remember His faithfulness and past blessings.

Live today on what He has already told you. Trust Him and wait. You will hear the voice of God again. Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group ( bakerpublishinggroup.com ). Used by permission. All rights to this material are reserved. Material is not to be reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from Baker Publishing Group.

Why is God letting this happen to me?

God Doesn’t Love Suffering – “God doesn’t love your suffering. He loves you.” God doesn’t love your suffering. He loves you. He will walk with you through the darkest valleys and will never ever leave you. When God brings trials into your life, don’t question his love or turn away.

1. God is doing something breathtaking in you, for you, and through you.
2. Because the Lord is with you, and because the Lord loves you, everything that happens to you is filled with divine purpose.
3. Every trial you endure has passed through God’s loving hands.
4. And one day, when your faith becomes sight, you will thank him for every difficulty.

: If God Is with Me, Why Did This Happen?

Is God still good in times of personal suffering?

Is God Good All the Time? – The Bible says that He is. Nahum 1:7 declares, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” God is good to all because it is who He is.

1. When God created all things, He said that it was “very good” ( Genesis 1:31 ).
2. However, we know that there are things in this world that are not good.
3. Suffering is a part of our experience.
4. It entered this very good world that God had made through the schemes of Satan.
5. Satan wanted to be like God and so great was his fall from the heavens to the earth.

He deceived the first humans into doubting the goodness of God. Right from the start people have questioned God’s goodness, because the enemy of God is a cunning liar saying, “Did God really say?” ( Genesis 3:1 ). The disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden brought a curse upon the earth which we are still feeling the effects of today.

• But none of this was a surprise to God.
• For He had a plan to redeem and restore His creation by sending Himself, in the person of Jesus, to cover the penalty of sin which is death.
• If God is good and merciful, He has to be just and deal with sin.
• If we doubt the goodness of God in our suffering, we need to look to the cross.

The Judge of our sin became the Justifier and paid the price: the guilty go free. None of us deserve God’s goodness and mercy. We receive it by His grace displayed most incredibly at the cross. Suffering will one day end for those who trust in Jesus. There is a glorious day ahead where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain ( Revelation 21:4 ).

Why did God create us?

Dear Faculty, Why did God create the world if we are all going to die? Sincerely, Theophilus Dear Theophilus, That is a great question that goes right to the heart of who God is. God is fully good, fully loving, fully beautiful and absolutely true and these characteristics continually flow out of him.

Within the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – three persons, one substance), the relationship of love, grace, goodness and beauty is so full that it overflowed through the act of creating a beautiful and good world. God brought the world into existence and as the capstone of this good work, he created people in his image so that they could share in his overflowing love, grace and goodness through their relationships with the Trinity.

God did not need the world or need people because God has no lack. Instead, God is so full of all that is good, that it overflows and spills out of him. His very nature is to share his goodness, grace and love. He created people out of love for the purpose of sharing love.

People were created to love God and each other. Additionally, when God created people, he gave them good work to do so that they might experience God’s goodness and reflect his image in the way they care for the world and for each other. They were created without flaw or sin and God intended that they live this way eternally.

When God created people he also gave them free will so that they could freely share in his love. They were not robots who had no choice. Instead, God gave people the opportunity to either receive and live in his love or to reject him. Giving people free will dignified their choices and recognized the image of God within them.

1. After creating them, God told the first humans that there was one boundary they could not cross in order to live in fellowship with him.
2. However, the first people chose to cross that line and disobey God’s instruction.
3. In doing so, they severed their relationships with God and each other and ushered sin, decay, corruption and death into the world.

The perfect world was now broken. However, God is good, and God is light. God did not want people to live in brokenness, darkness and separation. So, he set about making the broken world right so that people could be forgiven, healed, restored and made whole.

• Jesus Christ, fully God, became fully human and showed people how to live in God’s kingdom.
• The kingdom of God is anywhere the presence, rule and influence of God reigns in the lives of people.
• After three years showing people how to live in the kingdom of God, Jesus then willingly gave his own life as a sacrifice to pay for the sin that people had ushered into the world.

After three days, Jesus rose from the dead, demonstrating God’s ultimate power over death and conquering the power that sin had held on the lives of people. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, people can now live in restored relationship with God and they can love others with the love God gives them.

1. People can live an abundant life in the presence of Jesus and participate in God’s mission of bringing healing, wholeness and restoration to the world.
2. Life in relationship with Jesus increasingly becomes marked by joy, love, peace and light.
3. Eventually, yes, people still physically die.
4. However, because Jesus conquered sin and death through his crucifixion and resurrection, followers of Jesus will experience eternal life with Christ after their physical death.

The body may die, but the soul lives on eternally with Christ. Indeed, God’s goodness, healing and wholeness have the first and the last word. Interested in having a question answered by Dear Theophilus writers? Send them all to [email protected] with “Dear Theophilus” in the subject line.

Does God put you in bad situations?

Accept God’s Grace You can be confident that God will not allow anything to happen to you without His permission. He will not let any ‘bad thing’ happen that will not ultimately bring more good than destruction. (See I Peter 4:12–13, Isaiah 55:8–9, Job 1:6–12, Genesis 50:20, and Psalm 121:1–8.)

Why do bad things happen with good people?

Yalova, northwestern Turkey, August 17, 1999, following the 7.6 magnitude İzmit earthquake. Source: Sadik Gulec | Shutterstock “We could bear nearly any pain or disappointment if we thought there was a reason behind it, a purpose, to it.” — Rabbi Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People.

• My wife Karin is a much more practically-minded, down-to-earth person than I am.
• So when she was diagnosed in 2005 in her late thirties with a very aggressive life threatening cancer, she never dwelled on questions like ‘Why did this happen?’ or ‘Why me?’ When people asked her if she struggled with such questions or if she felt a sense of cosmic injustice, her characteristically matter-of-fact reply was “Why not me?” Karin and I had experienced adversity and big life challenges before, but nothing like this.

Not that we were really surprised to be facing such a crisis: neither of us had illusions of immunity to the kinds of adversity we had all too often seen hit others. Like me, Karin worked in a helping profession, so we had both witnessed much tragedy in our work, as well as among friends and relatives.

Severe adversity seemed almost overdue for us. It seemed obvious to us that there was no reason we should be exempt from misfortune and tragedy. For several years following the diagnosis, we expected the worst and lived with tremendous uncertainty. Thanks to a whole lot of dumb luck, and some remarkable medical breakthroughs, we made it through—though one is never really out of the woods with cancer, and we have had more scares in recent years.

In the initial phases of her illness and treatment, the time of greatest uncertainty and vulnerability, I found myself grasping for reassurance and desperately wanting to believe that everything was somehow cosmically ‘meant’ to turn out favorably. But my clinical work as a psychiatrist had honed an ever-present awareness of the power of denial and wishful thinking as defense mechanisms,

• I had seen how these get deployed by people facing serious threat and uncertainty—all the more so when those people’s fates are being arbitrarily determined by random and trivial factors that seem to mock the significance of their lives.
• I realized that I was still trying to come to terms with the full extent to which randomness rules our lives.

I have since become very interested in how my patients grapple with the randomness of adversity and the lack of control over its outcome. I have frequently observed how people divert their precious time, energy and resources into measures that merely create the illusion of control, such as obsessive diets, ‘alternative’ therapies, and superstitious rituals.

Searching for reasons 1 As a meaning-seeking species, we tend to process events in terms of what they mean to us: is it good or bad for us? And it is a human habit to infer deliberate intention to events in self-referential ways. We are also a story-telling species. Our brains have a natural proclivity for coherent stories—grand narratives with an overarching point and a satisfying end: things must happen for specific reasons, they must have a point.

Our brains are not satisfied with randomness. “Why did this happen?” and “Why me?” are therefore natural and common questions asked by many people when faced with a sudden adverse event, such as a diagnosis of cancer. “What did I do to deserve this? Did I do something to cause it?” Many people are inclined to wonder if they are being punished by God for some past transgressions, or to ponder if there is some intended mysterious plan or higher reason for their misfortune, perhaps some intended lesson in their suffering.

In my psychiatric practice, I have observed that the belief that life events are somehow intended can have powerful effects on motivation, both positive and negative. This belief is a double-edged sword: it can be reassuring and comforting but can also lead to disillusionment, anguish, and feelings of abandonment by God, under conditions of cruel adversity.

Theodicy The theological problem of trying to explain why evil and suffering exist in the world is referred to as theodicy. The central quandary is this: “Why do terrible things happen in a world governed by an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God?” How can God simultaneously possess all three of these qualities and yet allow bad things to happen to good people, and with such frequency and such savage intensity? As the Nobel laureate physicist Steven Weinberg commented, “If there is a God that has special plans for humans, then He has taken very great pains to hide His concern for us.” 2 Rabbi Kushner’s proposed solution, in his now-famous book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, was to drop the belief in God’s omnipotence: “I believe in God.

• But I do not believe the same things about Him that I did years ago, when I was growing up or when I was a theological student.
• I recognize His limitations.
• He is limited in what He can do by laws of nature and by the evolution of human nature and human moral freedom.” 3 Kushner went on to propose: “Let me suggest that the bad things that happen to us in our lives do not have a meaning when they happen to us.

But we can redeem these tragedies from senselessness by imposing meaning on them. A better question would be “Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?” 3, 4 The scientific or non-theistic perspective: there is no cosmic purpose or design From a scientist’s point of view, Kushner’s God (or any version of God, actually) is superfluous, an unnecessary addition to the scientific explanation for the existence of the universe and everything in it.

The single most fundamental conclusion of modern science is this: The universe has no inherent purpose or design. Yes, as counterintuitive as it is, it is indeed fully plausible that the universe and all the complexity and life and consciousness contained within it could in fact have emerged and evolved entirely spontaneously and unguided.

How precisely this could happen—how such astonishing and ‘clever’ complexity could have arisen and developed out of fundamental randomness and simplicity (and perhaps ultimately out of nothingness!), is what science is actually all about. It’s not personal Once that unambiguous conclusion from science is fully grasped, then the mystery of why bad things happen to good people simply evaporates.

It becomes obvious that bad things happen for the same reason anything happens: the same laws of nature that underlie all causes and effects. There is nothing special about the causation of things that we humans judge as “bad.” The question of why bad things happen to good people can be reframed (as Karin’s response to the question posed to her implied): Why would bad things not happen to good people? Or, more simply and crudely put, “Sh*t happens.” Adopting a secular worldview entails recognizing that meaning and purpose are human attributions and that events do not have inherent purpose—unless of course the event is caused by intentional human action (or the purposeful behavior of some other animal).

The belief that life is random is unsettling, but it can be emotionally liberating. Accepting randomness frees people from excessive self-blame, and in so doing also empowers them. The Universe Has No Purpose, but We Do Once we come to terms with the universe’s indifference, we realize more acutely that we have only each other to rely on.

There is much we can do to alleviate each other’s suffering when adversity strikes. Our support and empathy toward our fellow human beings in their time of need helps them not only materially but demonstrates to them that they matter and that what happens to them has an emotional impact on us. When we act kindly, it also gives meaning to our own life, as we see that we matter to others.

As a therapist, I often emphasize the personal impact that a suffering patient is having on me in the therapeutic relationship that we form. Some of my cancer patients are facing less lucky outcomes than Karin, and the psychotherapeutic work turns from reassurance or tolerating uncertainty to defining their legacy—how their life has mattered to all the other lives they have touched.

• I try to express gratitude to them for sharing their life experience with me and for teaching me profound lessons about the human condition.
• I also assure them that I will pass on the lessons I am learning from them to other patients as well as to my students.
• In the ordeal of Karin’s cancer, we were the grateful beneficiaries of very much kindness and caring.

This experience confirmed our faith in people. We all know that there are unfortunately also many uncaring, selfish people. And more disturbingly, there are too many callously brutal people in the world for anyone’s comfort. But fortunately, most people are caring, and the overwhelming majority are capable of caring when they can be taught to relate to other people’s predicament and perspective.

The universe has no purpose, but we do. We give value and meaning to life. People can and do care, even if the universe doesn’t, References 1. Parts of this article are taken from: Ralph Lewis, Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If The Universe Doesn’t (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2018).

Why Does God Allow Suffering? — Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermon

The book is a deeper dive into questions of purpose, meaning and morality in a random, purposeless, godless universe. Among other topics, the book also discusses in more depth how people cope with adversity, contrasting religious and secular coping strategies and beliefs.

• The book provides an accessible understanding of the insights from disparate, cutting edge scientific fields that lead today’s scientists to confidently state that the universe, life and human consciousness are the wondrous products of fundamentally random, unguided processes.
• See this YouTube video link for an engaging Power Point presentation in which Dr.

Lewis explains how a family health crisis focused him on coming to terms with the outsized role of randomness in life, and to wrestle with the question of whether the scientific worldview of a fundamentally random universe is nihilistic. He summarizes how science has come to view the universe and absolutely everything in it as the product of entirely spontaneous, unguided processes, and why this is actually a highly motivating realization for humankind.

Or see this link for a very brief video providing a synopsis of the book.2. Steven Weinberg, Dreams of a Final Theory (New York: Pantheon Books, 1992), p.251.3. Rabbi Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (New York: Schocken Books, 1981).4. As I’ve stated elsewhere, in my psychiatric clinic I am not in the business of changing people’s religious worldviews, unless they ask me to help them do so and if it’s appropriate and helpful to do so.

I am primarily in the business of helping people to function better and to be less distressed. Quite often, this actually leads me to actively try to strengthen people’s ties to their religious faith and reconnect them to their religious community, especially if that is their main support system.

When needed, I offer consoling religious ideas to help patients whose faith has been shaken by cruel adversity and who are asking “Why did this terrible thing happen to me when I’ve tried so hard to be a good person?” I say things like “I’m not a religious person myself, but there are some wise metaphors that my religious family, friends and colleagues have shared with me which you might find helpful and consoling.” One consoling religious metaphor that can help a suffering person retain faith depicts our experience of the world as if viewed from the back of a tapestry.

We see a tangle of fabric that appears random and purposeless. But someday, perhaps in an afterlife, God will show us the front of the tapestry in all its beauty and grandeur: in that moment, the pattern and purpose of all those seemingly random strands of our lives will suddenly be revealed to us.

1. We will understand our role and the reasons for everything—the purpose of it all.
2. Another religious view on the question of why bad things happen to good people, which I share with such patients, is this one: The mystical belief that the world we inhabit is just a narrow part of a much larger transcendent reality.

In this little world in which we live, it was necessary for God to give way or contract his power and presence to make space for free will and allow humans to help shape the universe—God created humans as partners in the process of trying to perfect the world.

• According to this view, God may nevertheless still be at each person’s side comforting them and giving them strength during times of adversity (an idea also invoked in the famous “Footprints in the Sand” poem).
• A similar, more elaborate idea is expressed in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), according to which only partial aspects of God are contained within this universe—less powerful aspects of the perfect, greater God.

According to Kabbalah, the separation of the less powerful, fragmented aspects of God from the transcendent, perfect God occurred during the act of creation of the universe. The transcendent essence of God is referred to in Kabbalah as Ein Sof, meaning “without end,” infinite, and it is said to transcend the universe.

The partial, immanent aspects of God that we are said to experience in our world are sometimes likened to mere sparks of the ultimate transcendent light, trapped within the material of creation. From this perspective, reunification with the infinite essence can only be enabled by humans’ fulfillment of God’s commandments and by achieving the eventual repair ( tikkun ) of this imperfect world.

To be clear, this is not my own worldview, but I offer it here to help my religious readers, like my religious patients, to reconcile the faith that is so important to them, with the deeply troubling problem of evil.

Why is God letting this happen to me?

God Doesn’t Love Suffering – “God doesn’t love your suffering. He loves you.” God doesn’t love your suffering. He loves you. He will walk with you through the darkest valleys and will never ever leave you. When God brings trials into your life, don’t question his love or turn away.

• God is doing something breathtaking in you, for you, and through you.
• Because the Lord is with you, and because the Lord loves you, everything that happens to you is filled with divine purpose.
• Every trial you endure has passed through God’s loving hands.
• And one day, when your faith becomes sight, you will thank him for every difficulty.

: If God Is with Me, Why Did This Happen?