“What kind of God allows suffering?”
That’s the question a young woman asked me in high school. She had just lost someone she loved to cancer. Like a deer in headlights, my eyes wide, I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. It’s hard to explain why a good God allows bad things to happen.
In seasons of grief, anxiety, illness, exhaustion, and pain, questions eat away at our faith:
- If God is loving, why does pain exist?
- What does the Bible actually say about suffering?
- And how can we cling to Him when life hurts?
The Bible doesn’t avoid these questions. It meets us in them, pointing us toward a God who is present even in the midst of our suffering.
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
Scripture teaches that suffering is part of life in a broken world, but it’s never outside of God’s awareness or presence (Ps. 139:7-12).
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus tells His disciples He will soon no longer be with them. Confused, they wonder what He means. Jesus explains that He’s returning to the Father for their good—because then they will receive the Holy Spirit.
But then, He says something heavy:
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned, the fall birthed brokenness into creation—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. No one is exempt.
Still, Scripture doesn’t give us every answer. It gives us depth: God’s presence in what we can’t fathom (Ps. 139:6). Even Job, after profound loss, says, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3, NIV).
So, what can we know?
3 Scripture Verses About Suffering
These passages show how Scripture describes suffering, endurance, and God’s sustaining presence.
1. 1 Peter 5:10
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Peter doesn’t minimize suffering—he expects it. But he also says that suffering is temporary. God isn’t passive in our pain; He’s actively restoring us through it.
2. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
“We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Notice how Paul describes that the effects of suffering are real, but they don’t get the final word. Scripture doesn’t eliminate our hardships; it propels us through them. God never abandons His people.
3. 2 Corinthians 4:17
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
Here, Paul reframes suffering in the context of eternity. What feels like a heavy weight now is real, but a speck compared to eternity.
Together these passages tell one story: suffering is real, painful, and temporary—but it can be endured because God sustains us through it.
Biblical Examples of God’s Presence in Suffering
Scripture also reveals this truth through the lived-out realities of Lazarus, Job, and Elijah.
- When Lazarus died, Jesus wept with Mary and Martha (John 11). He knew He would raise Lazarus back to life, and yet He still entered their grief and sat with them through it.
- When Job lost everything—his health, home, and family—he cried out in confusion and agony. Yet in the wrestling, he directed his hope toward God: “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15).
- When Elijah told God, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4), God didn’t rebuke or ridicule him. He met him in his exhaustion with rest, food, and care.
Joni Eareckson Tada reflects this reality:
“He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace… Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.”
Where Does Suffering Come From?
Scripture points to more than one source of suffering—and offers a way to endure each with courage and hope.
1. Some Suffering is the Result of Sin (Ours or Others)
All sin comes with a cost (Rom. 6:23). Sometimes it’s tied to our own choices; other times it’s the result of someone else’s. Either way, pain spreads further than we anticipated.
But this isn’t the whole story. Jesus rejects the assumption that all suffering is traceable to personal sin (John 9:3). As C.S. Lewis observed in The Problem of Pain, suffering cannot always be reduced to a moral equation. We live in a broken world where free will carries real consequences.
2. Some Suffering Comes from Following Jesus
Jesus is clear: following Him isn’t a path free from hardship, but through it. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).
For the early disciples, this became reality. Ten out of the 12 were martyred for their faith. Today, this often looks like rejection, mockery, betrayal, misunderstanding, or loss. First Peter 4:12-13 tells us not to be surprised by suffering, but to rejoice. Not because suffering is pleasant, but because it doesn’t get the final word.
3. Most Suffering Comes Simply from Living in a Fallen World
Most suffering doesn’t come because someone “earned” it. It comes as the result of living in a fallen world or walking through a broken story we didn’t choose. God’s ability and decision to heal aren’t contingent on our prayers or performance—but Scripture shows us He doesn’t abandon people in their suffering.
Find Hope and Courage In the Midst of Suffering
Scripture doesn’t just explain suffering; it gives us a path to endure it.
1. Suffering Doesn’t Get the Final Say
The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Pain exists, but it doesn’t win. “If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Rom. 6:5).
2. You’re Not Alone in Your Suffering
From Job to David to Paul and Jesus, you’re not alone in your suffering. Pain isolates, but 1 Peter 5:9 reaffirms that grief is a shared experience. Tell someone. Talk to God. In sharing your burdens, you’re fulfilling the Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).
3. Suffering Teaches Us Our Need for Comfort
Paul calls God “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3-5). But we only understand that comfort when we’re in need of it. “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Ps. 119:50). Suffering becomes the place where God’s nearness isn’t just believed but felt.
4. God Doesn’t Waste Suffering
In the midst of pain, we don’t want to hear that God has a purpose; we want relief. But Jesus often gives us His presence instead—and He shows us what suffering looks like in an honest relationship with God.
In Gethsemane, He’s brutally honest about His suffering. He tells His closest friends. He begs God for another way: “Take this cup from me” (Matt. 26; Mark 14, NIV). Yet He submits: “Not my will, but yours.”
Jesus doesn’t rush past His suffering; He enters it, names it, and then moves through it with purpose.
Isaiah calls Him a “man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3), and Hebrews says He was “made perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10). Because He fully entered human pain, there’s no suffering we face that He doesn’t understand.
Our suffering is never easy to navigate, but it can deepen dependence on God and shift our perspective toward eternity.
5. God’s Character Doesn’t Change When You Suffer
When pain persists, temptation wants us to believe God doesn’t care—if He did, why aren’t we healed yet? In these moments, focus on what you know: God’s character doesn’t change even when our feelings do. He’s forever compassionate, present, and faithful even when our future is unclear.
God takes no pleasure in our pain. “He does not afflict from His heart or grieve the children of men” (Lam. 3:33). But He’s “merciful and gracious” (Ex 34:6), slow to anger and abounding in love—even when our future feels uncertain.
Will Your Pain Become a Place of Hope?
I still think about that girl from high school. I didn’t have an answer then, and honestly, I still don’t have one wrapped with a bow. But I do know the One who gives us hope amid suffering. God never promised us a pain-free life (John 16:33)—He promised us Himself.
When Paul pleaded for God to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” God answered with His presence: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Suffering will shape, break, remake, and change us beyond our control. But it will not have the final word. Paul writes that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Rom. 5:3-5)—not because pain is good, but because God is still present in it.
And what if the pain we’ve endured transforms us to know and love Him more?
Additional Resources to Help Stand Strong Despite Suffering
Suffering doesn’t resolve neatly, and knowing that pain has purpose doesn’t always make it easier to bear in the moment. These resources will meet you where you are, with courage drawn from Scripture, the comfort of prayer, and the reminder that you were never meant to endure this alone.
- What Mary Magdalene in the Bible Can Teach Us About Courage
- 5 Prayers for Comfort When Life Hits Hard
- Four Inspiring Bible Verses about Perseverance
Through the Desert
In whatever wilderness we find ourselves, Lina AbuJamra invites us to discover the way through the desert. This study reveals insights from the stories of God’s people, from biblical times to the modern day, that assure us of His faithfulness.
Your God Knows
Your God Knows by Lisa Whittle is a powerful six-session Bible study on the book of Nahum that reminds us that God is ever-present, always working, and forever faithful, no matter how weary or abandoned we may feel. The sovereign God understands our pain—and will one day make all things new.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
