What About Suffering and Evil?
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The Problem We Cannot Ignore
Suffering crashes into our lives, demanding answers: Why is this happening? Where is God in this? These aren’t just abstract theological questions—they are personal, raw, and timeless. From Job’s cries to Jesus’ words on the cross, humanity has wrestled with the mystery of pain.
Job’s story disrupts easy explanations. Though blameless, he lost everything. His friends suggested he must have sinned, but Job refused to accept their reasoning. Instead, he demanded answers from God. Yet, when God responded, it wasn’t with explanations but with a reminder of the vast mystery of creation: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4). God didn’t justify suffering; He invited Job to trust.
Even more startling, God took responsibility for Job’s suffering: “You incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.” (Job 2:3). This challenges the belief that suffering is just human sin or the devil’s work. If God allows it, we must ask: Why?
God Created Everything—Including Evil?
Many Christians struggle with the idea that God, in His sovereignty, created a world where suffering and evil exist. Isaiah 45:7 declares: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” Even Satan is a created being, fully under God’s authority.
Why would a loving God create a world where suffering is possible? Perhaps because transformation requires it.
The Pattern of Transformation
Scripture presents a recurring theme: suffering is not the end of the story—it is the beginning of transformation. Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24). Paul echoes this in Romans 5:3-4: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
This isn’t a call to minimize suffering. It’s an assurance that pain, when surrendered to God, is never wasted. Jesus didn’t avoid suffering—He entered into it fully, trusting that God would bring resurrection from death. And He did.
Necessary Suffering and Sacred Wounds
Some suffering results from our choices. But there is another kind—necessary suffering—that strips away illusions, humbles us, and opens us to deeper transformation.
Richard Rohr puts it this way: “If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.” Unhealed wounds perpetuate cycles of harm—hurt people hurt people. But when we allow God to redeem our suffering, our wounds become sacred.
Even in His resurrected body, Jesus bore His scars. Instead of erasing His wounds, He showed them to His disciples as proof of love and victory. Likewise, our scars can become sources of healing for others. Survivors of abuse become advocates. Those who grieve can comfort others. Pain, when transformed, becomes redemptive.
The Failure of "Fighting Evil"
Many Christian traditions emphasize fighting evil. Yet, Jesus never called His followers to battle. Instead, He taught them to trust in God’s deliverance: “Deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13). Paul, in his writings on spiritual warfare, doesn’t call for attack—only to stand firm in faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd, not a warrior. And he describes us as His sheep, who need his care and his willingness to even die for us. His victory was through surrender, not violence. Yet there is no need to fear because of the Good Shepard taking care of us.
The World, the Flesh, and the Devil
Evil operates on three levels:
The World – corrupt systems and structures.
The Flesh – the ego’s hunger for control.
The Devil – the deceiver, fueling division and fear.
Most traditions focus only on personal morality (the flesh), ignoring systemic injustice (the world) and the deeper deception at play (the devil). Jesus confronted all three. He resisted worldly corruption, crucified the false self, and exposed the devil’s lies.
Evil is not just about bad choices; it’s a whole system we unknowingly uphold. The solution? A transformed mind (Romans 12:2). Jesus calls us to resist conformity, die to the ego, and stand firm against deception.
The Scapegoating Mechanism
Humans have a long history of blaming others for their suffering. The ancient Israelites even ritualized this in the Day of Atonement, where a scapegoat was sent into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people (Leviticus 16). This instinct—finding someone to blame—continues today in racism, religious division, and political scapegoating.
But Jesus exposed and dismantled this cycle. He became the ultimate scapegoat—not because God needed it, but because humanity did. He absorbed violence, refused to retaliate, and instead forgave: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).
The cross reveals that scapegoating doesn’t work. It only perpetuates pain. Jesus’ response? Love, even in suffering.
The Call to Trust
Perhaps the hardest truth is that God allows suffering. Job, David, and even Jesus wrestled with this mystery. Their laments fill Scripture: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Yet, faith is not pretending to understand. Faith is trusting the One who does.
Paul begged God to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” but God replied: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Suffering is never meaningless. It refines, transforms, and prepares us for a greater hope.
One day, Isaiah 14:16 says, we will look at the enemy and ask, “Is this the one who made the earth tremble?” In other words, suffering will one day make sense. Jesus said, "You don't understand now what I am doing, but someday you will." (John 13:7)
Until then, we lament, we endure, and we trust.
Because if things are not yet made right, then this is not yet the end.
