Choosing Peace and Trust in Times of Suffering

Reimagining God in Suffering

Let’s begin with a question we’ve all wrestled with: "Why would a loving God let this happen?"* Whether it’s personal tragedy, illness, or natural disaster, we often feel lost, wondering if God caused or allowed suffering for a purpose we cannot see. It’s a very human question. Jesus addresses this head-on in Luke 13:1-5, where people tell Him about a tragedy, Pilate’s brutal murder of Galileans. The crowd assumed those victims must have done something wrong. Jesus, however, challenges this destructive thinking:Luke 13:1–5 (CEB)

Jesus makes it clear: Suffering is not God’s punishment.

Those tragedies are not the result of divine judgment or sin. This passage reminds us to shift away from blaming God or even others for suffering. Instead, we are invited to grow spiritually, to trust God’s loving presence and find acceptance as God’s beloved children, regardless of our circumstances.

Addressing the Harmful Interpretations

We often hear phrases like, "Everything happens for a reason," or "God doesn’t give us more than we can handle." These words might be well-intentioned, but they imply that God controls every detail, even the bad things. These phrases, my friends are not in the scriptures we hold dear to our spiritual lives. These phrases may sound religious but they derive from fictional novels and a Hollywood worldview that doesn’t know a hermeneutical lens from a hole in the ground. When we say these things to someone who’s suffering, it can deepen their pain and even push them away from believing in an all loving God.

So, what if we embraced a different understanding of God? What if God’s role is not as a controlling puppet master but as a God of uncontrolling, ever-present love. Summarizing Thomas Jay Oord, in his book “The Uncontrolling Love of God”, he says:

"God's nature is uncontrolling love, and that love does not override the freedom and agency of creation. Instead, God necessarily works with us, within us, and for us toward good in all circumstances." Thomas Jay Oord

This means God does not cause suffering, disasters, or harm. Instead, God works alongside creation, always persuading, always inviting us toward goodness, healing, and peace. Paul captures this beautifully in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: "My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness. So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (CEB)

He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.

God’s grace empowers us, not by erasing suffering, because God can’t do that, but by giving us the strength to persevere and trust that we are still deeply loved and valued as God’s children. Paul emphasized how our attitude is transformed in Christ when he wrote in Philippians 4.8, “From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.” Regardless of the trifling or overwhelming life events, God will guide into peace and empower our faith to press on to take the next step.

A Farmer’s Faith Journey

Let’s meet Jim, a farmer here in Ohio. Last summer, a terrible drought devastated his crops. Jim had worked tirelessly for months, and day after day, the rain never came. By August, it was gone. Jim was told by friends, “Maybe God sent this to teach you something.” Frankly, those impulsive and unacceptable words crushed him. What kind of God would ruin someone’s livelihood to teach a lesson? That type of belief justifying a lack of rainfall that resulted in a loss of income is stupid, inconsiderate, and and flat-out wrong.

One day, Jim came to church, sat in the back pew, and heard these words from Jesus: “Do you think they were worse sinners? No… unless you change your hearts and lives, you will perish just as they did.” For Jim, it clicked: God did not cause the drought. God was there, in his neighbors who brought food, in his wife who prayed with him, in his own heart as he found the strength to try again.

Jim stopped blaming God and started trusting God’s goodness.

Through his suffering, Jim learned to see God’s love in the care and support of others. He reflected on these truths while hearing the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" sung in worship: The opening words captured his spirit: When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Jim realized that peace isn’t about the absence of suffering; it’s about knowing God’s love sustains us through it all.

When I preached at my mom’s funeral, it was a very tough thing to do. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to make it through talking about mom while leading a worship service of praise to God. As I stood up in front of everyone, at the funeral home, I started telling about God’s goodness in the middle of a trial. I mentioned how mom went through so many health problems resulting from the cancer that took her life, yet never lost her joy in the the life that she was able to live. Towards the end of my sermon, this hymn illuminated in my spirit and, like Jim, I was able to say, “It is well with my soul.” I wasn’t okay with the circumstances but I was well in my faith and my life.

A Family Facing Illness

Now, let’s think of Sarah, a mother whose teenage son was diagnosed with cancer. She wrestled with questions: "Why would God allow this? Did I do something wrong?" A well-meaning relative said, "Maybe you just need to pray harder." Sarah felt judged, as if her faith wasn’t enough to save her son.

But through prayer, counsel, and introspection, Sarah discovered a different truth: God was not testing her, nor punishing her son. God was present in every loving moment, in the nurses, in her church family, in her son’s laughter, even in his pain. Sarah turned to 2 Corinthians 4:16-17: “Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison.” This stockpiling, my friends, is the continued development of our faith in the God who suffers with us. It is the increasing assurance that nothing can break God’s foundation of love and mercy, especially when it feels like our human foundation is not only cracked but tumbling down like the walls of Jericho.

2 Corinthians 4:16–17 (CEB)

So we aren’t depressed. But even if our bodies are breaking down on the outside, the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day. Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison.

Sarah found comfort in the hymn "How Firm a Foundation”: When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall by thy supply. This hymn became Sarah’s prayer. She trusted that God was with her, not able to remove the pain but journeying with her through it all.

Accepting Ourselves as Children of God

Friends, our worth and identity are not determined by the suffering we experience. Suffering doesn’t make us better, it doesn’t make us stronger, it just confirms we are a human being experiencing the journey of life experiencing all the emotions. When I was a hospice chaplain, one of my mantras was “time doesn’t heal all wounds but it’s what we do with the time that can heal our wounds.” We are not defined by pain, loss, or hardship, but as disciples of Jesus, we are defined by the unshakable truth that we are children of God, deeply loved and held.

Suffering doesn’t mean God has left us or that we’re to blame. Sometimes, it just happens, no matter what we do. Other times, we get caught up in someone else’s problems, and sometimes, we hurt ourselves. Yet, none of this takes away from the fact that we are called children of God and loved by God. Instead of blaming God or ourselves, we are invited to embrace the peace and trust that comes from knowing God’s love is constant and unconditional.

Even Jesus, in His suffering, shows us this path. In Luke 22:63-71, as He is mocked and beaten, Jesus does not retaliate. He remains grounded in God’s love.

Jesus shows us that trusting God is about staying faithful and loving, no matter what.

Prayer focus

Now, I don’t know what you all have been through in your life. I’m sure there have been very rough times, times that you didn’t want to pray to God or didn’t know what to say. Here is a prayer that I want us all to say out-loud together. Take this prayer with you and don’t be afraid to say it daily, or whenever needed, as you seek peace, comfort, and healing in the midst of past, present, or future suffering. Pray this with me out-loud and loudly and make it yours:

Loving God, I come to You in my pain, confusion, and fear. I know you do not cause my suffering, but you are always with me in it. Strengthen my faith to see your love at work, in my neighbors, in myself, and in the beauty of your creation. Teach me to trust you when life feels uncertain, to embody your peace when the world feels chaotic, and to show compassion to those who are hurting. Help me accept my identity as your beloved child, no matter what comes my way. Through Jesus Christ, my Savior, I pray. Amen.

Final Encouragement

Family, as you go into this week, remember: God is not the cause of suffering, but God is always the source of love, hope, healing, and peace. Let us live into that truth and offer God’s peace to one another. Amen.