Causes of suffering

The ultimate cause of suffering is sin

Genesis 3:14–19 NASB95

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

It need not be the result of particular sins:

Job 1:1; Jn 9:1–3

Job 5:6–7; Ro 5:12–14

Suffering as a result of human wickedness

Murder

Genesis 4:8 NASB95

Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

See also Ge 49:5–7; 1 Sa 18:10–11

Injury

Matthew 26:67 NASB95

Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him,

Hatred

Psalm 109:3 NASB95

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause.

See also 2 Sa 13:15; Tt 3:3

Jealousy

Genesis 37:4 NASB95

His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

See also Ge 4:4–5; Ge 16:6; Ge 21:8–10; 1 Sa 18:8–9; Mt 27:18

Persecution

John 15:20 NASB95

“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

See also Je 38:6; Da 3:4–6; Da 6:7; Mt 5:10–12; Mt 10:35–36; Re 6:9–11

Cruelty

Psalm 71:4 NASB95

Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

See also Jdg 1:7; Ps 54:3; Am 1:13; Mt 2:16–18; Lk 10:30

Rioting

2 Ki 7:17; Ac 16:22

Warfare

Jeremiah 50:22 NASB95

“The noise of battle is in the land, And great destruction.

See also Ge 14:1–2; Ge 14:11–12; Ex 13:17; Jos 6:20–21; Jos 10:22–26; Jdg 1:4–7; 1 Ki 22:35; 2 Ki 17:5–6; Zec 14:2; Lk 21:20–24; Re 6:4

Injustice

Ezekiel 9:9 NASB95

Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of perversion; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’

See also Ge 39:19–20; 1 Ki 21:11–14; 2 Ki 21:16; Ps 58:1–2; Ps 64:6

Oppression

Ecclesiastes 4:1 NASB95

Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

See also Ex 1:11; 1 Ki 12:1–4; 1 Ki 12:12–14; Ps 12:5; Jas 5:1–6

Adultery

2 Sa 12:9; Mal 2:14

Theft

Matthew 6:19 NASB95

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

See also Ge 31:19; Job 1:14–15; Job 1:17; Job 24:2

Broken relationships

Job 19:14–19; Ps 27:10; Pr 16:28; Ac 15:39

Suffering as a result of misfortune

Accidents

2 Sa 4:4; 2 Ki 1:2; Lk 13:4

Sickness

Genesis 48:1 NASB95

Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

See also 2 Ki 20:1; Job 2:7; Ps 42:10; Mt 8:6; Ac 28:8; Php 2:27; 2 Ti 4:20; Jas 5:14

Hunger and want

Ge 12:10; Job 30:3; Is 5:13; Mt 25:42–43

Natural disasters

1 Ki 22:48; Job 1:16; Job 1:18–19; Is 29:6; Joe 1:4; Zec 14:5; Mt 24:7; Ac 27:18–20

Suffering through old age and death

Ageing

2 Sa 19:34–35; Ps 71:9; Ec 12:1

Bereavement

Ge 23:1–2; Job 1:18–19; Lk 7:11–13; Jn 11:33–35; Jas 1:27

Suffering through anxiety

Proverbs 12:25 NASB95

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

See also Dt 28:65–67; Lk 21:26

Suffering through foolishness

Psalm 107:17 NASB95

Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

See also Jdg 11:34–36; Pr 10:1; Pr 11:15; Pr 14:1; Pr 23:29–30; Lk 15:17

Suffering through Satanic activity

The influence of Satan

Genesis 3:1 NASB95

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

See also Job 1:12; Job 2:6–7; Lk 13:16; 1 Jn 5:19; Re 2:10; Re 20:7–8

Demon-possession

Mt 8:28; Mt 12:22; Mt 15:22

Suffering brought about by God himself

All suffering comes within his will

Jn 9:3; Eph 1:11

Some suffering is for his immediate glory

John 21:19 NASB95

Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

Jesus Christ’s suffering produces salvation

Isaiah 53:10 NASB95

But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

See also Ac 2:23

Christian suffering produces good fruits

Ro 5:3–4; 2 Co 1:9; Heb 12:11; Jas 1:2; Jas 1:3

God’s people must be disciplined

Hebrews 12:7 NASB95

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

See also Ex 32:35; 2 Sa 12:13–14; Ps 119:67; Ps 119:71; Pr 3:11–12; Heb 12:8–11

The wicked must be punished

Romans 6:23 NASB95

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

See also Ge 6:5–7; Jn 5:14; 2 Th 1:8; Re 9:4; Re 20:15

Suffering accepted voluntarily

By Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:21 NASB95

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

See also Is 53:3–5; Is 53:10; Lk 9:22

By his people

2 Corinthians 12:15 NASB95

I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

See also 2 Co 4:10–12; Php 3:10; Heb 11:35

For the good of others

John 15:13 NASB95

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

See also Ro 5:7; Phm 18