Commentary

Why does God allow Christians to suffer?

11 Comments

From Stan at Birds of the Air blog.

Excerpt:

The oh-so-common question hangs out there all the time: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” My canned answer is, I believe, true — “They don’t. There are no good people.” — but I have to admit that it’s unsatisfying. I mean, aren’t Christians “justified” — declared righteous? Sure, Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” but it’s also true that “For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). “Okay … sure … we are not good, but we are declared good, so, Stan, how about a genuine answer?” Can we actually provide an answer to the question? I think so.

First, I need to be careful here. God has specific reasons for specific things and I would not want to try to delve into His specific ideas because, well, He hasn’t seen fit to share them with me. So I won’t be doing specifics. On the other hand, the Bible is not mute on the subject. So let’s go with what we can know. We know, for instance, that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. It naturally follows, then, that “bad things” are not, in the final analysis, bad. So remember that what we’re talking about is the unpleasant, the uncomfortable, the painful — suffering — but not bad. Still, what’s good about suffering? Well, here’s a list of things I found in my Bible. You check yours and see if you have any of these, too.

He has a list of six possible reasons, and here is my favorite:

3. Your individual troubles provide a platform from which you can comfort others. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort, too” (2 Cor 1:3-5).

This is a big one for me, because I am such a good risk calculator and non-conformist that I avoid a lot of suffering simply by not doing anything dumb just because other people are doing stupid things. But once in a while, the opportunity comes along to suffer for righteousness sake. Then you have to take that opportunity to serve and the benefit you get is that your heart softens to others who are hurting, but who are accountable and repentant. What good is it to make good decisions if you don’t then turn to others who want to follow Jesus and help them?

The best reason why God allows suffering, I think, is so that we can follow Christ by imitating him in self-sacrificial love. It is hard to love someone self-sacrificially, especially when they neither recognize nor approve of the sacrifice that is being made to love them, but they just treat it as an entitlement, or worse – as a unnecessary brake on their selfish pursuit of pleasure.

I was once chatting with the brilliant and complicated ECM about whether I would allow myself to be eaten by ferocious lions for my faith, and I told him that although I would hope to be faithful, that physical courage was not one of my strengths, and I would probably cave. I just don’t like violence or the sight of blood. I didn’t grow up that way. But I did say this. I don’t get the opportunity to die for my faith every day. But every day I have the opportunity to die a little to myself by saying no to the temptation to just dump my faith and do whatever I want to be happy.

There is no shortage of time and money for me to pursue pleasure. And sometimes, I look around at what has happened to me (chastity, loneliness), and I wonder where God is. Doesn’t he know that I want to be husband and father? Why did he create me in this miserable time of feminism, socialism, and statism? There is a temptation to want to forget the obligations of that vertical relationship and just make myself happy here and now. But I think that part of the Christian life is being the friend of Jesus even when things look bleak.

And things will never be perfect. There is no way to go back in time and fix the troubles that I have had struggling to be faithful in a world that doesn’t want authentic Christianity. There were no Christians to comfort me and encourage me when I was younger, and there still aren’t many who help now. Those days are gone forever. And the only thing left for me now is to stand up again, spit out blood and teeth, pick up my sword and shield, and get back on my horse. And that is going to happen every day until I die.

That is what it means to be a Christian. You won’t get your way. You wont’ be happy. You won’t be like everyone else. You are always going to be different. Life is not going to be perfect. People are not going to like you for being a Christian. Especially not in the church! But when you suffer all of this, you will know what it feels like to follow and imitate Jesus, and that makes the friendship closer.

I think it’s important to be smart about faith. When I entered my relationship with Jesus, I knew that there would be challenges. I resolved to avoid sin as much as I could, to avoid peer pressure, to work hard, to save money, and to study apologetics. Obviously, no one is perfect. But I wanted to be ready for everything that life might throw at me. I expect to be challenged. I expected to suffer. I have prepared by becoming stronger and stronger. There will be no retreat. No surrender. I will go down with this ship. Faith is a very meticulous thing. You plan it out, and you plan on what you need to do to keep the faith. You don’t wait for the last minute and then hope to succeed by magic. Dig your trenches. Erect your fortifications. Protect your supply lines. Prepare your reserves for a counter-attack.

1 Peter 3:14-17:

14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”

15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

17It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Here’s my best post on the problem of evil, if you want more.

And my best post on why self-denial as part of a friendship with Jesus is the condition for going to Heaven.

11 thoughts on “Why does God allow Christians to suffer?”

  1. “And sometimes, I look around at what has happened to me (chastity, loneliness), and I wonder where God is. Doesn’t he know that I want to be husband and father?” I have read before of your thoughts on loneliness and not finding the love of your life. I hesitated in sharing my thoughts on this as I don’t want to sound “know it all-ish” or to presume to know the will of God, but…I think you truly underestimate the good and the impact you are having in the world (I’ve seen readers around the world on your site) in sharing the Word, defending the Word and helping the lost find Christ and helping those of us who know Christ to defend the Word and giving us the tools and courage to share our love of Christ as well. As a husband and father, you would not have the time to devote to your site or to learning and sharing what you have learned with us. I know about loneliness. For at least a decade I prayed every night for God to please just let me die in my sleep. But looking back I now see the purpose of the loneliness in my life and thank God for not answering my prayer (letting me die). I am now married to the noblest man in the whole world and have the gentlest hearted, sweet daughter a mother could ask for. I guess I am trying to say, have faith. I believe God is using you where He needs you and will fill your needs for love and companionship when the time is right for you and Him.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Wow, thanks for writing that Tina. I realize I am expendable and that God has something for me to fill these longings eventually. In any case, I’ve made friends through my writing and that has helped.

      Like

      Reply

  2. I was feeling pretty poor yesterday and read a psalm that really helped – Psalm 77. The psalmist cries out to God in his misery, asks if the Lord is going to reject him forever, and wonders if His lovingkindness has ceased forever. Then he realizes that he is only speaking out of his grief because God is great and holy. He remembers all the things that God has done for him and his people, and then the psalm ends, abruptly. I think, however, that this is the psalmist’s answer. God is not only powerful and holy, but He loves His people and takes care of them. While this realization did not remove the psalmist’s suffering, it did remind him that God had not left him, and He was going to take him through his suffering.

    Like

    Reply

  3. a) He allows it because He decreed it in eternity (Is. 46:8-11).

    b) To show us that His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).

    c) Because it’s a gift from Him, just like faith ( Phil. 1:29).

    d) It’s where He refines His people (Is. 48:10).

    Like

    Reply

  4. Many things came to my mind when I was reading this. But I am afraid I might not sound coherent if I were to write all of ’em in a flow. So I am going to try and split them into points.

    1) About being willing to die for one’s faith:
    I have to agree with you about denying myself a little everyday so God can rule my heart and soul. It takes a lot of courage and will to deny ourselves but every single time I feel I lack that strength, I remember Philippians 4:13. If it’s something God wants of me, He will give me the strength to do it.

    As for dying in the literal sense for one’s faith, my parents have taught me from a very young age to be willing. They’ve always told me stories of martyrs, people who are willing to go through every single suffering they’ve went through again for the love of God. It really isn’t that far-fetched to think of being persecuted for the sake of Christianity in my country. I admit it’s not that likely either in the place I live, but anything is a possibility. My parents have always told me one thing: “If it is the fear of pain which would make you cave, just remember that no matter how traumatic it can be, it WILL end. But caving means suffering that same pain for eternity. If you cannot suffer pain for a few hours, days, months or even years, how will you suffer for eternity without reprieve in sight?” It is a scare tactic but it is the undeniable truth.

    2) About questioning God’s intentions and motives:
    I will be honest here and admit that may be I haven’t suffered enough to ever question God. Or may be I have. Part of me is proud that no matter what the circumstance I have never questioned God in my entire life. Part of me works towards humbling me in saying may be that I haven’t really been tested so badly in life so far. I have been severely depressed, pained, helpless in my life and honestly none of this is because something happened in my life but because painful things happened to people I truly love. Sometimes I feel that is a thankless position, when you know it isn’t your life to make amends. You are pushed to the sidelines, forced to see your loved ones suffer and try to keep working so that they don’t lose their faith. It frustrated me when they lost their faith, when they accused me of lack of understanding, dismissed me as being young and inexperienced but I knew I had to be strong and reasonable so they don’t turn their backs to God. Being strong for others is what builds faith. I’ve been mocked that I won’t hold on that strongly to God if I were in that situation. I’ll be the first one to admit I can’t and don’t understand everybody’s problems. I might know and try and even feel the pain but understanding a human heart is something only God can do. I will admit I am not the problem solver for everyone ’cause I know given a similar circumstance I would react differently because I am made different and unique. I am not saying I will be strong at all times but again it is a bible verse (John 6 :68) which makes me realize that I really don’t have much of an option but to stick with Him. That and the fact I always try being true to my namesake. He doesn’t like people questioning God, neither do I.

    3) About happiness and getting our way:
    I don’t believe we never get our way. We do when what we want on some rare occasion is aligned with the will of God. That’s how miracles happen. I have experienced many, one of ’em being the restoration of lost faith of the one I cared for deeply. Christianity does allow us to suffer but there is so much happiness to be found in it as well. The knowledge that God loves me so much that He died for me gives me so much joy. There is no greater happiness than the knowledge of being loved.

    4) About being expendable and self-sacrifice:
    The imitation of Christ is indeed about self-sacrifice. But even the best imitation doesn’t equal the love and sacrifice of Christ. We cannot deny we all do want those heavenly riches. All our sacrifices are based on the fact that we’ll be rewarded. Christ’s only reward was that of saved souls. And remember, no matter how great your suffering, the most horrible and biggest suffering that can ever be endured by any single person on this earth was endured by Jesus for our sakes. So no matter how painful our sufferings, we are not the ones made expendable by God. We are not doing God favours by enduring the sufferings that entails being a Christian, we are showing our gratitude.

    Sorry for the long comment!!! I tried, I really did!

    Like

    Reply

  5. First, I would like to say that I agree with Stan at Birds of the Air in that good people don’t suffer because, who is good here on earth? Anyway, I agree too that it’s not the best answer to the question of why there is suffering.

    Second, Wintery, the rest of the post was phenomenal! It was very encouraging to me and I know it was/will be for others. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here on your blog. I wish that I had known you growing up because I would most likely had been a Christian then. I grew up with the “Blab it, grab it” *cult* christianity (if you can call it that) and so I didn’t believe in Christianity. I was kind of sure that God created the universe, but I still wasn’t a strong believer in that because I lived for pleasure and nothing else. Then, a friend in college told me about Walter Martin and here I am today.
    Thanks again Wintery for all the work you do on this blog.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your comment.

      The thing that really helped me was listening to this lecture by Walter Bradley:
      [audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1701569/WalterBradley_UGA_1997_GiantsInTheLand.mp3" /]

      Here are a couple of different versions of the same lecture:
      [audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1701569/WalterBradley_GiantsInTheLand_Shortest.mp3" /]
      [audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1701569/WalterBradley_GiantsInTheLand_Shorter.mp3" /]

      Like

      Reply

  6. I am tired of suffering. I would rather be dead than to be lonely and suffer any longer. I have had an unanswered heart desire close to 30 years and my year are limited now. It would be better to leave this body than totally tick God off.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Yea Right Cancel reply