This is a question that many have wrestled with. For those dealing with suffering, it's also a very personal question. And while the Bible doesn't give us all the answers, it does give us some insight.
The Bible makes it clear that evil and suffering were not present when God created the world. In Genesis 1:31, we read, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
It wasn't until Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God had forbidden that sin and suffering entered the world. In response to their sin, God brought a curse upon the world. Death and disease and trouble and tribulation would now be a part of life. The world is not as God originally intended it. It is under the curse of sin, and because of that curse, we experience pain and suffering.
Thankfully, that's not the end of the story. God is sovereign over all suffering and evil, and nothing
happens without God expressly allowing it to happen. And even though we can’t know all that God is
doing through suffering and evil, we can be sure of one thing: God uses the pain we experience for both our good and His glory.
As it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
A day is coming when all suffering and evil will be brought to an end. When Jesus comes back, He is going to destroy sin and Satan and suffering. Death will be eradicated and the Lord will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. There will be no more sorrow or sadness. That is our ultimate hope.
Learn more through additional resources on suffering.
