We come face to face with suffering every day of our lives. We see wars, conflicts, natural disasters, and other forms of suffering in the world. Why does God allow such horrors to happen? This is a good question and one that is on the lips of so many people. How can a loving God allow us to go through pains and suffering every day? To get a definitive answer to this question we need to search the pages of Scripture. The short answer to the question is suffering entered the world as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve. As they rebelled against God subsequently sin and death came. The consequences of Adam and Eve’s actions are one day all mankind will die and be judged for their sinfulness. The origin of evil is a mystery. However, the Bible faces up to its reality, influence, and consequences of sin.

Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden sin has been part of the world. The Bible tells us that sin got so bad that it grieved God that He made man in the first place. There was only one obedient man and his family that walked with God. You see the subject of suffering is less to do with God and more to do with sinful mankind. Noah and his family were upright and served God faithfully, which God did not forget. God decided to do something to combat the sin in the world. God decided to cleanse the earth of sinful mankind by causing a world-wide flood. Only Noah and his family survived the flood. God instructed Noah to build an ark to preserve Noah and his family. God also commanded Noah to take one male and one female of every kind of creature on the ark with him, so after the flood the animal kingdom could replenish the earth. The ark that Noah built was about 450ft long and 45ft high. After the flood God made a promise to never again wipe out mankind with a world-wide flood. He set a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise and covenant.

Many atheists and mockers of God say, “Where was God on such and such a day?” Or “Where was God when such and such an event took place?” Christians can respond to the question with, “God does not owe us anything.” God would be perfectly just and moral in sending the entire human race to Hell and damning us all in the blink of an eye. God is not obliged to stop suffering. We deserve nothing but the wrath of God. However, due to God’s grace and mercy towards sinners He does not give us what we justly deserve. Christians can say, due to the mercy of God poured out from Heaven calamities and suffering would occur more frequently. If atheists consider evil as an argument against God’s existence, how do they account for all the good in the world? The Bible says that the good things of life are clear evidence of God’s existence. Many people view God as though He is there to grant our desires and wishes whenever we want. Well this life is not the “God will fix it show.” God acts according to His will and His desire. What happens on earth is ultimately God’s decision, not mine and not yours. It is the god of this world that causes suffering, who is Satan.

The story of Noah and the ark was a picture of what was to come in the future. We read in the New Testament that instead of sending a flood upon the earth God sent His Son. God saw fit to send Christ into the world to save sinners. He died the death we rightly deserve so we might be made free in Him. Jesus Christ, the Son of God has the power and authority to reconcile sinners to God, the Father. We can be sure of one thing which is if sin had not entered the world then evil and suffering in every form would be unknown today. Suffering, evil, pains, ageing, disease, death, wars and conflicts are the direct consequences of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s commandments.

Many times in life and perhaps in the lives of countless Christians God has allowed suffering to teach us a truth or to cause us to trust in Him more profoundly. The life of Job is a good example. We should not view sufferings and trials always as a judgement from God. True, sometimes they are a direct judgement of God, but not every time. We do God a great dishonour if we view trials always as a punishment. In the case of Job God used them to show the devil the faithfulness of Job and the power of God. In the lives of the Protestant martyrs God used their suffering to show the strength of their faith.

Take William Tyndale and other Christian men and women who died in unbearable pains and anguish. The last words of Tyndale were, “O Lord, Open the King of England’s eyes.” The Anglican minister George W. Briggs wrote, “Christ is this world’s true light, it’s captain of salvation.” Due to the presence of Christ in the lives of His martyrs they had a peace in their hearts, nothing like the world can ever know. I’m sure as they stared death in the face, they had a confidence of the passing from this corruptible world to an incorruptible heavenly kingdom.

Today, we live in a society whereby people think they can tell God what to do and what is just and unjust. God is on the throne, He wears the crown, not us. God does not operate on the personal views and opinions of His creation. If God was to deal with every kind of suffering and evil, where would you suggest he starts? Many would demand that God deal with mass murderers, terrorists, rapists, child abusers and the worst of society. I wonder how many would say liars, the proud in heart, those who commit adultery, the unkind, and the selfish. You see as the list goes on everyone would be on the list of sins at one point. Everyone causes suffering in one form or another. The truth of the matter is all people cause suffering when we reject God and His ways.

When we condemn God in our hearts for allowing suffering to occur and demand Him to sort it out, we are in affect asking Him to deal with ourselves. You see the truth of the matter is, we are unjust. We think as sinful beings that someone else’s evil is not as bad as ours. We commit the sin of pride. God is just. He has appointed a Day of Judgment. God will one day judge the world in righteousness. God is just. God has created Hell. There is a warning here and a lesson to us alive today of God’s justice and punishment of evil doers. The evil and wicked will not go unpunished. God sees all things. He knows all things. Men such as Adolf Hitler will answer for their evil. Justice will be done because God is a God of justice. The Bible does teach that one day all suffering and sorrow will cease to exist. The Bible teaches that those who are in God’s Heavenly kingdom are free from pain, suffering and sorrow. God is calling us to repentance today and to trust in the Gospel message. We are in an age of grace.

The Bible tells us that Christ suffered once for sinners, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous. Christ suffered so all those who come to Him for salvation will not suffer eternal punishment for their sins. Sure, there will be sufferings and sorrows in this fallen world, but in the world to come there will be no more suffering. This is the hope of the Christian. It is a new hope, a future hope, an eternal hope. The Bible teaches that the wicked have their part in the lake of fire and the righteous have their part in the joys of Heaven. My question to you is this, if you were to stand before God today where would you spend eternity? Will you be in Heaven or Hell? It is my hope and prayer that the one who reads this today will experience God’s grace on earth and God’s eternal Heavenly Kingdom. It fills my heart with sorrow to know that many people die in their sins and spend eternity in Hell; what a sad reality. Do not stand on your pride today, humble yourself and ask God to be merciful to you. I pray that God will open your eyes to the truth of the Gospel and that He will draw you nigh unto the Saviour. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Call on Him today.