Why does God allow suffering?

We have been told that we are grieved by various trials in order that our faith might be purified and proven (1 Peter 1:6–7). We are even told that such suffering is necessary for our spiritual growth. In the midst of our difficulties, we can be confident that God is continually working in us to refine our trust in Him. Peter’s repeated emphasis on Christian (1 Peter 3:14–17) makes it clear that the persecution we experience, simply for confessing Christ, is the kind of suffering God uses to strengthen our trust in Him.

Before we go too much further, we must define our terminology. 

Sickness, death, natural disasters, etc. What is a working definition of a trial? A trial is anything that takes us out of our comfort zone, changes our plans, and forces us to look to Jesus. These are trials, but we must be clear that these should not be considered persecution. No one forced me to take a pill that gave me cancer. Having cancer is a trial. James 1:2-3 "Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." 

I’ve never been tortured or put on trial for my faith. The persecution I’ve had to endure in this world is minuscule compared to what the heroes of the faith went through. But whatever persecution I have known in my life, the heaviest weight of it has come from the false church, that part of the church that does not believe the gospel and has no heart for worship." R.C. Sproul

Persecution is totally different. Matthew 5:10-12 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Persecution is a direct result of unbelievers showing their hatred for God. Persecution can come in many different forms. For some it could be getting bullied at school because of our faith. For others, it is being killed or imprisoned for their faith in God. 

This brings us to our title question. Why does God allow suffering? Suffering is a direct result of sin. Because everyone is born with the curse of sin, we are born enemies of God. This curse has saturated our being to the point that some people begin hating believers simply because they believe. God tells us to love others. Love, in no way means that we should be accepting of their sin. Love means being a light to the world in spite of who we are.

Any and all trials are a direct result of sin. Sickness and death are in existence because of sin. Persecution is hard to read about, but it happens everyday in some parts of the world. At the end of the day, all trials and persecutions are put in our path to grow our dependence on God. 




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