This is a difficult question that many people grapple with, especially when faced with intense personal suffering or witnessing the suffering of others. According to the Bible, suffering entered the world through human sin and continues as a result of living in a fallen, broken world (Genesis 3). However, the Bible offers hope and perspective on suffering in several ways:
Suffering is the general human condition
The Bible is realistic that suffering is part of the shared human experience. Ecclesiastes 1:2 says, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” All people experience the frustrations of living in an imperfect world. We get sick, feel pain, face oppression and injustice, and eventually die. Even creation itself suffers from disorder and decay (Romans 8:20-21). Suffering is not limited to any particular group but touches all humanity. The question then becomes how we respond to it.
Suffering exposes our need for God
Times of suffering and pain remind us of our human limitations. We cannot control or fix every difficult situation. Suffering humbles us and surfaces our need for God’s intervention and comfort. The Psalms are full of cries for God’s deliverance and help in painful circumstances (Psalm 13:1-2). When we suffer, we are prompted to seek God’s strength, wisdom, and relief. Suffering creates opportunity for deeper reliance on and intimacy with God.
God uses suffering for greater purposes
Though the reasons are not always clear, Scripture teaches that God can use suffering to accomplish His sovereign purposes. God allowed Joseph’s suffering in Egypt to ultimately save his family and thousands of lives during famine (Genesis 45:5-8). Jesus’ suffering led to the salvation of all who believe in Him (Hebrews 2:10). God can bring beauty from ashes, using trials to develop Christlike character, deepen our ministry to others, and make us dependent on His grace and power (Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
God suffers with us in Jesus
We do not suffer alone. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that Jesus was tempted and suffered just as we do, so He understands what we are going through. As Immanuel “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), Jesus enters into human pain and grief. By taking all sin and judgment upon Himself at the cross, Jesus also provides the hope of eternal life free from suffering for all who believe (Revelation 21:4).
Present suffering is light compared to eternal glory
Paul encourages believers that present trials are achieving for us “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Our current sufferings are temporary and allow us to identify with Christ’s sufferings (Philippians 3:10). The coming glory of eternity with Jesus will be so great that any earthly sufferings shrink by comparison. An eternal perspective helps us endure (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
God will one day right every wrong
Injustice, tragedy, and suffering demand an answer. The Bible assures us that a day is coming when God will judge evil, restore justice, reward the righteous, and create a new heavens and earth with no more crying, pain, or death (Revelation 21:1-5). God’s plan to defeat sin and abolish suffering culminates in the glorious second coming of Jesus (Titus 2:13). Believers find hope that their current sufferings are only temporary.
Suffering tests and proves faith
Difficult times surface what we really believe about God. Will we trust Him and choose to obey, or turn away? Suffering produces perseverance and character as we rely on God’s promises (Romans 5:3-4). It equips us to come alongside others experiencing trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). James teaches that trials will refine our faith and make it result in praise and glory to God (James 1:2-3). This process is painful but spiritually maturing if we persevere.
Believers suffer differently
Unbelievers suffer pointlessly without heaven’s hope. In contrast, Paul says Christians have become “fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him” (Romans 8:17). Our suffering gains eternal significance when joined to Christ’s sufferings. We can receive victory over the pain, trauma, or disappointment by seeing it from heaven’s perspective as “light and momentary troubles” producing glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). Christians can learn to rejoice even in trials, seeing God’s purposes (James 1:2-4).
We are called to alleviate suffering
Followers of Jesus are commanded to relieve suffering wherever possible through compassion and just action. We are to “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Jesus calls us to provide for those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or in prison (Matthew 25:34-40). The church is the body of Christ commissioned to continue His ministry of healing, restoration, and redemption in a hurting world.
Prayer makes a difference
God invites us to share all our feelings and requests with Him, even those arising from times of anguish and despair. The testimony of Christians throughout history is that God hears and answers prayer. There are mysteries we may never understand this side of eternity, but we can cast all our anxieties on God because He cares (1 Peter 5:7). He holds our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8) and supernaturally brings peace (Philippians 4:6-7).
Suffering calls for persevering faith
When inexplicable suffering comes, it often requires a determined choice to keep trusting God. We may wrestle and question, but ultimately believers choose, like Job, to say “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). Hebrews 11 celebrates those who persevered by faith without knowing God’s full purposes. Their faith pleases God and will receive His commendation (Hebrews 11:39). Though difficult, persevering faith in suffering expresses deepest devotion to Christ.
God’s heart breaks for human suffering
The Bible clearly reveals God’s compassionate heart toward those undergoing pain and sorrow. Jesus was deeply “moved with compassion” at human suffering and wept at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:33-35). He felt genuine empathy for the hurting people He encountered. Hebrews 4:15 assures us that Jesus our High Priest sympathizes with our human weakness. Because God loves us deeply, He is grieved by the existence of suffering caused by sin in the world. Zephaniah 3:17 says God “will rejoice over you with singing” – He longs to bring joy and restoration where there is suffering.
Suffering prepares us for ministry to others
Those who have endured difficulties are uniquely equipped to minister to others in their pain. As 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 expresses, the God of all comfort comforts us in our affliction so that we can comfort others. Those who have suffered can empathize, listen, weep, and walk alongside the hurting in ways that others cannot. God uses our stories of sustaining grace in trials to encourage others who are struggling. Our suffering equips us for a level of ministry to the hurting that academic training alone cannot provide.
Conclusion
Suffering will remain a complex mystery this side of eternity. However, we can reject the notion that suffering happens for no purpose or cannot be redeemed. The Bible teaches God’s sovereignty over suffering. He allows it to fulfill His grand plan of drawing humanity to Christ, making us like Him, and preparing us for eternal glory. In our pain we run to the God of all comfort, realizing our dependence on Him. We gain new capacity to understand and relieve the suffering of others. While difficult to endure in the moment, suffering prepares us for deeper worship around God’s throne (Revelation 7:9-10). The day is coming when God will wipe away every tear and make all things new (Revelation 21:4-5).