If God exists, why does He allow us to Suffer?

If God exists, why does He allow us to suffer?

  • The amount of suffering that much of the world experiences is a travesty and an unfortunate state that we find ourselves in. When we search for answers as to why suffering exists, we are led to the first time that mankind disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden.
    • Genesis 3:1-19, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  (4)  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  (5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  (6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  (7)  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.  (8)  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  (9)  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  (10)  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  (11)  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  (12)  And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  (13)  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  (14)  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  (15)  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  (16)  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  (17)  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  (18)  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  (19)  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
    • It was at this point in creation that sin entered into our world.
      • Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
    • Sin did not just affect man, it affected our entire physical world.
    • Sin introduced death, sickness and sorrow into our world.
      • Romans 6:23 tells us that the “wages of sin is death”.
    • God did not want Adam and Eve to sin, but He gave them a free will to make that choice for themselves.
      • When Adam and Eve chose to sin, it thrust our world into a fallen state of perpetual death, until sin could be dealt with properly by God, and defeated.
    • The Scriptures declare that Christ is the one, chosen by God, to deal with this sin issue. This next passage shows the end game, and that sin will in time, be defeated.
      • 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52)  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  (53)  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (54)  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  (55)  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  (56)  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  (57)  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
    • God is not the cause of suffering and death, sin is.
    • Sin cannot just be swept under the rug, it must be defeated.
      • God’s plan to defeat sin is underway, but it takes time.
        • All the pieces are in place for the next step in God’s overall plan to be put in place.
          • Before this next phase begins, you need to personally have you sin forgiven in Christ.