Why does God allow suffering?

 There is so much suffering in the world that some people find it difficult or even impossible to believe in a God who cares for us or is interested in us.


Stephen Fry has stated clearly that it’s a good reason for atheism. He questions how one could respect a God who creates a world filled with misery, stating that such a being would be "capricious, mean-minded, and stupid." Fry argues that if a God exists, He is "quite clearly a maniac" for allowing pain and suffering in the world. (!) So Fry believes that rejecting the notion of God can lead to a simpler and more fulfilling life.


But it’s not a new question. It’s been with us since the dawn of human existence, and many centuries ago (maybe 4000 years ago) the problem was highlighted in the story of Job, which is one of the books in the Bible. People like me who trust in the Bible as the main way in which God speaks to us today can learn a lot from this story. (Spoiler alert: I’ll summarize the story here – but it’s better to read the story in the Bible for yourself).


Job is a good man, who suffers the most appalling disasters in quick succession. He has disasters to his property, his family and his health. The prevailing view at the time was that suffering is a punishment from God for sin. Job’s friends are so shocked by his suffering that they sit silently with him for a week before they dare say anything at all. Then they try to convince him that he must have done wrong to bring this upon himself. But we’re actually told in the first chapter of the book that these disasters are brought about by Satan, God’s enemy, with God’s permission, to prove that a good man will not give up on God even when suffering great disasters. Job, of course, doesn’t know why he is suffering and he pleads with God for an answer. God doesn’t give him an answer to his question, but states his almighty power and makes it clear that Job has no right to know the answer but must simply trust that God knows best.


The story of Job does have a happy ending (described in cahpter 42), but the lesson for the reader is that anyone who wants to be part of God’s kingdom must trust that God know best and that he will not always explain why he allows suffering to happen. And we have no right to know. We are challenged to trust in God without expecting our maker to justify his actions or inactions.


As I write this, there is a lot of tension in the world. There is a war in Ukraine, and a war in the Middle East centred mainly on Gaza. Christians are being massively persecuted in Northern Nigeria, in an under-reported but lengthy conflict. There are growing tensions between the democracies of the Western World and the autocratic regimes of Russia, China and Iran, with the threat of escalation into warfare. All of this could cause even more suffering. Is God ultimately in control? In another book of the Bible, Nehemiah, we can read of the way in which God controlled in a very detailed way what was going on in the great empire of Babylon and Persia (modern day Iran). It’s a reminder that even when there seems to be chaos, God is indeed ultimately in control.


A final thought: although God does not give us any cut-and-dried explanation of the reason for suffering, what he has done is to come alongside us and experience it himself! He knows what it is like! As Jesus hung on the cross, the Son of God suffered pain, humiliation and death, whilst God the Father endured the agony of His Son enduring this. The 18th century hymnwriter John Newton in his hymn ‘Begone Unbelief’ was moved by this to write

How bitter that cup

No heart can conceive

Which He drank quite up

That sinners may live!

His way was much rougher

and darker than mine

Did Jesus thus suffer

And shall I repine?