The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16–17
I’m sure we all know someone whose life circumstances just don’t seem fair. We might say, “they’re such a good person. Why do things like this happen to such good people?” Even within our own congregation, I can think of several I’d place on such a list.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there such suffering in the world? Why does suffering happen?
If we turn to the Bible for answers, I think we can learn a lot from three different Bible characters. Their stories are complex and their reasons for suffering differ greatly. At the most basic level, though, all three of these biblical characters have something important to contribute to our understanding of why suffering occurs.
First, there was Job. Job suffered immensely (Job 6:2-3 – “If only my grief could be weighed; or my calamity piled together on a balance scale! It would weigh more than the sand on the seashore!”) and, according to Scripture, suffered through no fault of his own. Even further, Job seemed to have been singled out for suffering because he was righteous and blameless (Job 1:1 – “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”). This was not an inconvenience that Job experienced. Life as he knew it was turned upside down and made into something that brought him intense pain, both physically and emotionally. Though Job’s friends insisted that he had done something to deserve his disasters, Job did not waver in defending his character and his heart. He was ultimately brought to his knees before God, but God never suggested that Job was responsible for the suffering that came his way. Job represents the truth that innocent people suffer but God remains in control.
So that is our first possibility: sometimes suffering simply happens. Perhaps it comes because this is a fallen world. Perhaps the actual reason for suffering is beyond our understanding. Perhaps God has a purpose for our suffering that we cannot easily grasp. Perhaps other people are responsible for our suffering. In any case, this kind of suffering comes, and it is not specifically our fault. Suffering simply happens.
The second biblical character we can learn from is Jonah. Jonah suffered too. But unlike Job, Jonah’s suffering was the consequence of his own choices (Jonah 1:3 – “But Jonah ran away from the Lord.”) Jonah’s disobedience led to costly pain in his own life—and in the lives of others as well. Jonah’s suffering was different than Job’s suffering. Jonah’s suffering was specifically caused by his own sin, his own disobedience, and his own refusal to follow God.
That is our second possibility: sometimes suffering comes directly or indirectly from our own choices. Those choices might be intentional or simply careless, but this kind of suffering reminds us that our decisions and actions have consequences for ourselves and for others.
Lastly, I’d like to look at Jesus. Jesus’ suffering is incomparable. What is most remarkable about Jesus’ suffering is not only that He freely chose it, but that it was the result of doing what was right. Jesus followed the call of His Father—and His obedience led to immense suffering. This was the exact opposite of Jonah’s experience: suffering not because of sin, but suffering tied directly to obedience.
That is our third possibility: suffering caused by righteous, God-honoring choices. We can see other examples of that kind of suffering in the Bible—Daniel, Paul, and Stephen come quickly to mind—but Jesus is the supreme example.
So why, exactly, does suffering come to us? By looking at our biblical examples, we can determine it could be that our suffering is simply something that happens in a broken, fallen world. In some cases, what happened to Job may happen to us. It could be that our suffering is a result of our bad choices. In some cases, what happened to Jonah may happen to us.
Or it could be that our suffering is the result of our faithful obedience to God. In some cases, what happened to Jesus may happen to us. The Bible tells us that as believers, we should expect persecution. If that is truly the cause of our suffering, we can embrace it joyfully—because that kind of suffering is a godly and noble thing.
Despite our reason for suffering, we need to cling to God. Focusing on God may help us change our ways and limit our suffering or may help us understand that we are right where God wants us at that time.
Respectfully,
Pastor Vic
PRAYER – Lord God, there is so much that we do not understand. We struggle to make sense of suffering. Even though we know better, we want to believe that our faithfulness will lead only to good things. But we know that faithfulness can lead to sickness, loss of family, persecution, pressure, and even death.
Help us to trust You in times of suffering. Help us to minimize those situations where our poor choices lead to suffering. In other situations, give us the courage to be faithful even if suffering is the result. To use the words of the apostle Paul, help us to be willing to suffer with Jesus. Amen