Why does God allow suffering?

Question

I am always hearing people ask this question. The truth is... it is because of ourselves we suffer! Why not blame the government? After all, death row is often overlooked, and people are set free after they murder someone else. Why are people so angry at God, when they should actually look at themselves and see that they are the reason for their own problems. Suffering is not overlooked, and rest assured that ALL wrongdoings will be righted one day. ALL suffering will end for those who have proclaimed faith in Christ.

Answer 1

Yes! Amen! There is suffering in the world because of sin. There is sin in the world because mankind has a free will and have chosen sin and therefore need a way to be brought back to God. That way is through Jesus Christ. Repentance and trust is the only way! Suffering cannot be gotten rid of as long as there is sin in the world and there will be sin in the world until the end of the world when all unrepentant sinners will be sent into the lake of fire along with the devil and all his demons.

Answer 2

First of all God allows suffering b/c he allowed free will of all mankind. We choose what we do in our lives b/c of free will. Secondly, suffering gives us a chance to offer it up in communion with the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the cross and to glorify God himself. There's a reason for all suffering and if people would stop blaming God and take a look at themselves, they might better understand suffering. Lastly, if they keep blaming God for all of the suffering they will really learn what suffering is in the afterlife.

Answer 3

The source of all suffering is human sin. Had there been no transgression in the Garden there would have been no suffering. However God can still use suffering to bring about good for those who love him. My translation of Rm 8.28 "And we know that in all things God works together with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose, to bring about good". This translation is based on the original Greek using ancient manuscripts which include theos (the nominative voice used for the subject of a sentence and the word here for God) together with synergei ( a third person singular active indicative verb meaning "works together with") which although present in all translations of the Bible is not used properly until theos is inserted. So God working with Christian believers can, I repeat, can take human suffering and turn it around.

Answer 4

Well, I think you're partially right -- it is ultimately because of ourselves that we get what we get in life. But we also have to look at it from an angle of whether we deserve life handed to us on a silver platter and our own halo and special cloud reserved for us in heaven when we die. Even Israel, God's chosen people, went through some very hard times in their relationship with God, and were not spared disasters, sometimes at the hand of God himself.

If we look at God as having a responsibility to love us, then we are setting ourselves up for major disappointment. He owes us nothing, we can never merit heaven on our own, we don't get any points for good behavior where we can control God and keep him under our thumb. So how can we blame God for all the bad things we see happening around us? If anything, we deserve worse, and Jesus himself told people time and again what kind of perfection was required to gain heaven on our own. It was simply impossible. Unless you can do some word-twisting to make man into an innocent being or neutral before the Lord, in which case you'll have to accept one of the other answers for your truth. Look, Job got a megadose of suffering in his life, and when he declared his innocence before the Lord, did he get an apology? I think not, Job got hammered with where he really stood, and we can take a lesson from that. I know where I stand, or rather kneel, when it comes to what I deserve save for the grace of God.

Answer 5

Sometimes through suffering God wants you to move up in his blessings.
When you do not forsake Him during your suffering, surely you will come out even greater than before, you will operate on a more higher level of His blessings.

Answer 6

It is not that God allows suffering; but that He will help you change circumstances into blessings if you read and obey His Word. The enemy, the devil, is the one who causes all the pain, suffering in the world. As long as we stay in the enemies camp and not God's then God can not change things for the better. We, ourselves, can shedule our circumstances, or call upon God and have scheduled blessings. God doesn't say we won't have problems; but He does say He will help us get through them as we trust and obey Him.
Weigh the scales: One side Hurt, Pain, Suffering- Other side: Love, compassion, Positive Results- Um....which side would be picked -do you think. As for me I Pick God's.

Answer 7

i think in a greater potential yet i do no longer have confidence this greater potential has something to do with allowing suffering. i think of all human beings ought to make experience of suffering and soreness using fact it certainly sucks. human beings thank God whilst issues go properly and rattling Him whilst issues go undesirable. particularly of thanking the persons of their lives and the coolest possibilities they made. whilst something is going undesirable or we see suffering happening we ought to continuously seem on the chain of events that contributed to the suffering or settle for that good and undesirable issues will happen at cases for no reason. i think we are all related and the concepts we make effect human beings we don't additionally be attentive to. It has no longer something to do with God it has to do with us.

Answer 8

Please believe me when I say I have spent a lot of time dwelling on this, talking to other religious people, pastors, counselors and God himself. There IS AN ANSWER.

God did not promise that we would not suffer here on earth. He did promise that if we called out to him, he would help us through the bad times. (remember footsteps)----luce

Answer 9

Well, I believe in Christ and still suffer but only for a while in this toilsome world. Suffering exists because in it we find compassion. We brought it on ourselves in the beginning by disobeying and it is one of the many prices paid. But since God is good and just He gave way for comfort during suffering (Him and those who love us) = compassion.

Answer 10

Life is a test and if everything were fair, what kind of a test would it be? Suffering is offset by happy times and it also helps us to learn and grow.