The age-old question of why God allows suffering in this world has baffled theologians for centuries. But could the cause of our woeful predicament be found by simply looking in a mirror? Suffering came into this world because of choice and choice always wins. Suffering is the byproduct of sin which gained entrance into this world via temptation from a nefarious cherub who subtly seduced humanity. Offering free will to humanity, is the greatest risk God ever took and we are living with the consequences of that risk. Despite our bad choices, God always provides a means of escape. It is time to set the record straight. Join Carl now…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, today I will discuss one of the most difficult topics that a minister can ever talk about and that is ‘suffering.’ One of the complaints of some Christians is that sometimes Word of Faith ministers are often zealous and even callous toward human suffering because for some, suffering is the consequence of a lack of faith on the person’s behalf. Now, I will say that I’m a person who believes in the power of the spoken word and the word of faith certainly, which is mentioned in the book of Romans and Timothy, but we do need to be balanced in our theology. Some Word of Faith ministers have no doubt offended people down the years because of their curt response to some people’s ailments, stating that if only the person had more faith they wouldn’t be suffering so much. Yet Jesus never did this friend and He was our shining example of a man having both compassion and empathy toward people and we should harbor this same attitude toward others as well.
Suffering friend is certainly something we have all experienced at one time or another and some more than others, whether we have faith in God or not. The question commonly asked is, “where does all this suffering come from?” Well, we humans are partly responsible for it unfortunately. In the book of Genesis, it describes Yahweh God who created an earth which He called ‘good,’ but because Adam and Eve agreed with Satan their tempter, four curses fell open the creation as a consequence i.e. the earth, the serpent, man and woman. I say partly because iniquity or the mystery of iniquity, resulting in the iniquity force, started with Lucifer who had already fallen from grace long before he tempted our ancestors.
But why does God allow suffering? Well because of our disobedience unfortunately. We had a part to play in its inception you see. But does God cause suffering or is He the source of it? Well like I said before, He is not the source of it but He certainly allows it, just as He allows free moral agents to make good and bad choices each and every day. God allows suffering partly because He allows free will. Without choice we the human race would be mere robot’s incapable of reciprocating God’s love back to Him. If God gave man the power of choice, then man can use it against God. God will allow what humanity allows barring a request to supernaturally intervene, which is where prayer comes in to the equation. But like I’ve said before God doesn’t necessarily approve of everything that He allows. Remember the kingdoms of this world are not fully in Christ’s hands because this is a future event yet and spoken of in Rev 11:15.
When people are badly wronged by others, and suffer terribly because of it they have two choices. They either forgive the person and allow God to heal their heart or they become angry and bitter asking the question, “how could a loving God have allowed this in the first place?”…Friend, we have all asked this question at one time or other. The truth is faith requires us to believe in a good God, in spite of some unanswered questions along this journey of life. This is the true essence of faith friend. We can experience suffering and learn from it and then help others who will go through the same thing as we have or choose to become bitter and give up on God altogether. Some people out there have experienced terrible trauma and suffering at the hands of others and God allowed it because He allows free will in this earth.
There is protection however for those in the Kingdom of God as we cry out to Him and stand upon His promises, yet we don’t always understand why some people suffer more than others. Nobody has all the answers friend and I certainly don’t pretend to either. We need to have compassion on suffering people and encourage them as best we can, should God give us the opportunity. I personally was fortunate to have good parents, even though they were agnostic at best, they were moral people, they provided for me and my brother and I have no complaints. This did set me on a firm foundation to function successfully within a secular society albeit I was as spiritually blind as a bat. Yet there are people out there who’ve experienced terrible things in this life, especially as children growing up and if that is you friend there is still hope for you.
Not everything in this life comes from God friend, we are warned in scripture to resist evil, to stand our ground, to submit to God and resist the devil. All things do not work together for good as some Christians surmise and the context of Romans 8:26 is prayer not the random circumstances of life. No friend and God is not in control of everything, otherwise He’s doing a terrible job at it. However, having said all that, we do have a choice to trust God during our suffering and this is precious in His sight. The scripture says, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV), “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” But here’s the kicker, we are not thanking God for all the circumstances or trials that come our way but in spite of them. We thank God and keep our focus on Him, so that our heart is right as we press on through difficulties. We don’t give thanks to God for any evil that comes our way because He’s not sending it in the first place.
Another facet of suffering and mentioned frequently in the NT is persecution because when you receive Jesus Christ, you have a target on your back as far as the enemy is concerned. 2nd Timothy 3:12,” Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Yet the Apostle Paul is talking here about being persecuted by other people because of our stand for Christ, not suffering in our physical body. No-one is to receive suffering in their physical body because Christ took this suffering for you on the cross. You therefore have a right to healing in this lifetime and you need to fight for it. Isa 53, Matt 8:17, Ps 103, 1 Pet 2:34 and several other passages clearly reveal God’s healing promises for us.
You see, suffering falls into several categories. Physical pain and illness, Emotional stress, Spiritual suffering, and finally physical death in some cases. Another aspect of suffering which could be perceived as positive in some ways is how we respond to suffering. As the scripture attests, “A haughty or prideful spirit comes before the fall” (Prov 16:18). So are some of us suffering because we have been prideful in certain areas of our lives? Are we suffering with stomach ulcers today because we’ve worried too much down the years and it’s now manifesting in our physical body? Are we suffering because we are foolish?
In the book of Proverbs especially, there are many warnings to the self-prideful fool who doesn’t seek God’s wisdom in decision making, and applying God’s wisdom can definitely help us to avoid some suffering but not all of it. There are many ways we can suffer….we can suffer because of the actions of other people, we can suffer trying to do things outside of God’s timing and cause consequences that we have to live with, or we can suffer because we try to change things that only God can change. But we suffer overall from living in a cursed earth with an invisible rogue cherub and his demons’ forces working against us. Clearly there are many reasons why we can experience suffering in this lifetime, need I go on.
Jesus did not say we would float along in this life on a bed of Roses but suffering is an inevitable part of living in this world. Think of it, Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was the most monumental and joyous occasion of all history yet at the same time Herod killed thousands of first-born babies throughout the region in an attempt to thwart God’s plan. He failed but this did not prevent the loss of life for many infants and Jesus knew that and had to live the knowledge of this.
The most common ailment of suffering is of course sickness and disease. And sickness came into this world along with death because of our sin. We do know that personal sin can open the door to sickness but that’s not usually the case in my opinion. We live in a fallen world and our flesh is subject to decay. Yet there is not one case in scripture where Jesus ever connected a specific sin with sickness or disease, but he did say in John 5:14, “Go and sin more lest a worse thing come unto thee.” so clearly by opening the door to the devil through willful sin; worse things can come upon us, including suffering.
Now, some ministers falsely teach that sickness is for God’s glory and they use the story of Lazarus to prove this. At the time Lazarus was getting sick and would eventually die, yet Mary and Martha confronted Jesus with the sickness of his friend in Jn 11:4 and Jesus responded by saying, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Yet Jesus knew of course that Lazarus was going to be raised from the dead and his friend would be fine in the end. It was not the sickness that was for God’s glory in this instance but the resurrection of Lazarus that would soon follow 6 days later. God didn’t make Lazarus sick. Sickness came to Lazarus as it comes to each one of us because it’s ever present in the earth but God was glorified in His resurrection.
When it comes to this topic of suffering, I’m very very cautious friend. Some Christian denominations embrace a concept that God sends all things both good and bad upon us because suffering draws us closer to God. But Acts 10:38 says,”How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
The oppressor friend is Satan and never God. God can comfort us during our affliction but He’s not sending it to us, otherwise Jesus would be opposing His Heavenly Father by healing sick folk. I’m very cautious in saying that God brings suffering of any kind because He does not. He may allow some discomfort in a situation or circumstance to cause you to lean on and trust in Him more during the difficulty which may develop personal growth in you but this would never be sickness because sin is the source of sickness and Satan steers its course.
And while we’re on the topic, just a quick word on Job. Some people say, “I’m just another Job”, but friend this is the most ridiculous comparison ever. Firstly, Job was blind to the presence of Satan, you are not. The New Testament reveals strategies to overcome him. You are covered in the blood of Christ, Job was not. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit; Job was not. Job had no authority over the devil as his life was likely pre-Mosaic meaning that the law of God hadn’t come yet, so all he had was sacrificial offerings to provide a temporary covering, which he did often. Job said that God slew Him yet he said this in error.
No friend, it was Satan who was trying to slay him and he allowed fear to reign in his life also. Let me give you a secret, don’t compare yourself to anyone in the Old Testament as this was an entirely different dispensation. God’s revelation to man was progressive, leading to an end point and that end point was Jesus Christ. The Old Testament was the journey and Jesus was the destination. We are intimately acquainted with the destination having so many truths and weapons at our disposal which Job was not privy to. To say that you’re another Job is a cop out friend and offensive to Christ’s death burial and resurrection. Snap out of that today please and get acquainted with God’s word so that you can overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of your testimony.
In closing, suffering can cause some people to become very bitter and it can only work for good if our faith is used to overcome it or we can learn from the experience and help others who might go through the same thing. However, like I said, some people can develop wonderful attitudes through it all and be humbled by tragic circumstances, which can change them for the better. For example, when I would preach to inmates within the Colorado prison system, several men would look me in the face and say, “preacher I would never have met Jesus Christ unless I was locked up in here.” The truth is they were running with the devil but were humbled greatly and finally had time to consider their mortality, discovering life’s true meaning through faith in Jesus Christ. God will see you through this trial friend, just hold fast to His word and praise Him in spite of it.
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