CHRISTIAN FAITH - WHY GOD ALLOWS SUFFERING?

Making the top of hard questions people ask about God, “If God is real, If God is loving, If God is good, then why is there so much suffering and hardship and persecution that we see going on around us?”

Tough question and even tougher answer to swallow especially if we are currently in the state of suffering. It may sound simple but sin. Sin is the reason why there is suffering and hardship. Any parent who truly loves their child, children, will eventually allow them to “Suffer” or “Fail” knowing that we can't keep them from everything and when they do fail, they do suffer, actual deep down and possibly long-term learning takes place. God loves us enough to allow us and to give us the gift of Free-Will. We have the choice to follow or reject, just like a child who rejects their parents’ instruction and learns a hard lesson, God does the same. And like any loving parent, He is there with open arms, to not only welcome us back but to love and comfort, like the father in the prodigal son parable.

The Christian Walk or Christian Faith is not a easy walk. While the plan is simple and not complicated, the process through which faith and relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit can be complex, intricate, and most of time contains hardships. Jesus Himself said in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” You will have tribulation, you will have suffering in this world but guess what, let your heart rest easy because I have overcome this world, this suffering, this tribulation.

And while suffering may be a difficult pill to swallow, we can grow and learn through the process of suffering, trials.

As we being this journey this morning, let us pray.

WHY WE SUFFER – WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM SUFFERING

1 Peter 5:10 – And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I. Suffering Teaches Us Patience.

A. We need to learn how to be patient.

God allows afflictions – He does not cause the suffering.

1 Peter 5:8-10 – Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

He allows suffering so we will learn to wait for His will

Wait for His way to be revealed.

Trust Him

James 5:7-8 – Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

v10-11 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Psalm 37:7-9 – Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

Proverbs 16:32 – Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and better is he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

B. The Lord disciplines us when we become too busy with our own affairs

Deuteronomy 8:5 – Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

Hebrews 12:6 – For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

v11 – For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 12:1 – Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 13:24 – Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Psalm 127:2 – It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

He wants first place in our lives

He wants us to depend on Him and not on self

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”

Luke 10:38-42 – Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 12:29-31 – And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

II. Suffering Tests Our Faith

1 Peter 1:6-7 – In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

A. Suffering tests the quality, depth and caliber of our faith.

During suffering faith either gains or wanes. We use it or we lose it. It grows or it goes

Job 2:9–10 – Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

James 1:2-4 – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Philippians 1:29 – For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,

B. Suffering is allowed by God in order that we may be made perfect, stablished, strengthened, and settled

It reminds us of God’s Power, God’s Dependability,

1 Peter 5:10 – And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Psalm 34:19 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

v12 – Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Romans 5:3-5 – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

2 Corinthians 4:17 – For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Isaiah 43:2 – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

III. Suffering Trains for Service.

Hebrews 5:7-9 – In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

A. We need to look for a purpose in suffering.

God has a reason for what He allows.

He may be preparing us for a new or different work.

Isaiah 40:29 – He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Psalm 119:71 – It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

Hebrews 12:7-11 – It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Just as He did for Jesus

Isaiah 53:3 – He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

B. We are enabled to help others after we have experienced what they are going through

It equips us, prepares us for ministry and service

Romans 8:28 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose

Galatians 6:2 – Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

IV. Suffering Testifies to Others.

1 Peter 4:16 – Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

It testifies to God’s Power – His Power is on Display -

A. If we endure suffering patiently, we can encourage and help them know that God can help them also in time of need.

Colossians 1:24-25 – Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

B. If we glorify God through our suffering, we encourage others to put their faith in Him

1 Thessalonians 1:6–8 – And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

It is proof to others of God’s Power and Dependability and Love

V. Sufferers Triumph Through Christ.

John 16:33 – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

2 Timothy 2:11-12a – The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;

A. Christ suffered for us on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sins. He was victorious

It conforms us to His identity

Hebrews 9:28 – so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

1 Peter 3:1-17 – But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

2 Timothy 3:12-15 – Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

It conforms and shapes us to His Image

B. Christians who suffer can be confident that Christ shall reward them with the crown of life and they shall reign with Him

It sanctifies us

Hebrews 13:12 – So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 – To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:17–18 – and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

1 Peter 4:1-2 – Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

v12-13 – Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Philippians 3:8-11 – Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

There are many reasons why there is suffering in the world and why believers suffer. Job was an upright man of God, Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” The devil asked to test Job for his faith believing that Job was superficial, I believe God allowed Job to be tested so that his faith would be strengthened and established as well as testifying to others. Remember what his wife said in Job 2:9, “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” And 36 chapters of bad advice from friends that God affirmed Job’s faith.

Some have suffered like Job and not been restored like Job was but have still held firm with their Godly integrity intact, using their suffering to help others, testify to others, and drawing deeper with their relationship with God.

How do you use suffering – look at suffering?

Have you separated from God, gotten mad at God like Job’s wife or have you drawn closer to God and allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort, mend, and heal?

Instead of asking “Why God” can you change your question to “What or How?” “What can I learn from this?” “How can I use this for your glory God?” “How can this make me a better person?”

Job was a better man, more upright and with more integrity after the suffering than before and he drew closer to God – have you?

How have you received His Discipline?

How do you see His power revealed in your suffering?

Why is suffering tied to patience?

How has suffering developed patience in you?

When has the Lord allowed trials in your life to get your attention?

How has suffering strengthened your faith?

How can you use suffering to get closer to God?

How can you use your suffering to help others?

How has suffering prepared you to do something for the Lord?

How does your suffering help others?

Let us Pray.