Why does God allow pain and suffering?

This is a question that everyone at one point of another will face. As we grow we inevitably will face times of trials, pain, and even despair. Often times when we face this point in life we wonder where in the world God is? We don't understand and we may come to a point of questioning whether God truly loves us or even if he is truly there. Pain in a consequence of the sin that entered our world a long time ago but believe it or not even through our pain God can transform it into an amazing blessing. 

First we need to understand that not all pain is bad. Pain alerts us to danger. A toddler knows that when he puts his hand on a hot over that it hurts, because it hurts he learns not to do it anymore. That pain caused him to change his actions to protect himself. If you would never feel the pain of danger the state of you body would be in total disaster rather quickly. So let's look at it on a bigger scale. A person that is suffering from an addiction will eventually come to a point of despair, they may reach a point of just giving up. But often times it was this pain that helped them to get the help they needed to beat their addiction. Maybe it was the wake up call needed to stop the cycle they were in. In that way that empty, hurting, and helpless feeling they suffered with, actually made them see that they needed to change their way of life.

Suffering and pain also reveals our true characteristics. How do we respond when things are falling down around us, when someone slanders your name, when you lose a job because of a lie someone else told, when we are given a bad diagnosis?  We may think in all the good times that we possess great qualities such as strength, empathy and compassion, love, trust, etc. How can we possibly grow in those good qualities if we have no need to practice them.

When we are in great suffering, are completely frustrated, and are out of options then we tend to turn to the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, Paul reveals that he has “a thorn in the flesh”. Now we don’t know EXACTLY what that thorn was which actually works out wonderful because we can apply what Paul suffered with and his reaction to any kind of pain. Paul learns something amazing about the suffering in His life that God chose not to remove - he learned, "God’s grace is sufficient for us and that His power is perfected in our weakness. This left Paul completely humbled and boasting in his weakness so that Christ could better show His greatness to Paul and through Paul's life.

Sometimes there are things we need to learn which we would never learn any other way than through our suffering. We must also remember this, anything that drives us to God is good and God allowing us to have need for Him is a wonderful blessing. Paul learned through his weakness a better understanding of God and His awesome goodness and Paul rejoiced!

Another reason for our suffering is to equip us to be supportive and empathic toward others suffering as we had or do. That is a mighty blessing to the person who is suffering. On several occasions I have suffered tremendously and during several of those times, one in particular, God sent someone to reach out to me who had suffered in the exact same way. Through the pain that person endured, they were able to save me much more heartache by giving me the best encouragement and advice. I felt compelled to listen to her and respond to her because she knew exactly what I was feeling. Her advice actually saved my marriage. What a fantastic blessing!

As Christians we will even be called to suffer for God. 1 Peter 1:5-7 states, "This inheritance is kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." Your testimony to the world of how Christ has conquered the suffering in your life or how your faith has not faulted while enduring suffering may be the avenue the Holy Spirit chooses to bring a person or several people to Christ. Of course also we will endure spiritual warfare in a world that is pulled by both focus of our loving Father and of Satan and his desire to separate us from God as he is. Because we are living in a world will evil forces there will be opposition. However, we can take comfort in the verses of 1 Pet. 1:5-7 in that this world is but a speck of time, our inheritance is waiting for us in heaven, it will not perish, and it's worth lasts for eternity.

So while we are in a moment of pain, instead of asking God, "Why He is allowing this to happen?" Why not ask God what God is trying to tell you or teach you during that time. The lesson He has for you is a lesson that has eternal value. You must remember that our response to our suffering can create a positive effect on our life and others. We may not always understand what God has up His sleeves but through past sufferings we can trust that God will carry us through it and bless someone because of it.