How can I trust God when I’m suffering?
The thought of my affliction and my homelessness are wormwood and gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
How can I trust God when I’m suffering? The Bible doesn’t give us easy, pat answers to the problem of suffering. But it does acknowledge both the reality of pain and the presence of God in the midst of pain. When we suffer, we may not have the answers we desire, but we can know the presence and compassion of God.
How can I trust God when I’m suffering?
I expect you’ve heard this question before, surely from others, perhaps from your own heart. One of the hardest things in life is to remain faithful to God in times when God seems distant and uncaring, times when suffering is painful, even unrelenting. In times like these, we ask, “How can I trust God when I’m suffering?”
To be sure, there are no easy answers to the problem of suffering. Christians believe in a loving, gracious, all-powerful God. We also affirm the reality of suffering. Thus, we can feel caught between affirmations that seem irreconcilable. For centuries theologians and philosophers have sought to come up with acceptable solutions to the problem of suffering and evil. Some believe they have succeeded. Others are not convinced.
Furthermore, it’s one thing to wrestle with the problem of suffering from a safe philosophical distance and quite another thing to do so when you’re experiencing great pain, either in your own life or in the lives of those for whom you care. Even the best philosophical responses to the problem of pain can fail to satisfy our souls when our bodies are aching or our hearts are breaking. People in pain understandably ask, “If God loves me and God is good, why is God letting me go through this horrible situation? Why doesn’t God do something?”
Though the problem of pain is not easily dismissed, God has given us resources to help us when we wrestle with suffering. I will mention one of these.
One of the most helpful resources God gives us when we suffer is the Bible. Though this book does not give easy answers that we suppose might satisfy us, and though the Bible does not provide philosophical proofs, it does offer insights, testimonies, and experiences that guide us in our thoughts and comfort us in our pain. For one thing, the Bible testifies to the fact of suffering. We see this in Lamentations, of course, but also in so many other biblical books. Scripture teaches us that suffering is not imaginary, but rather an inescapable part of existence in a world broken by sin. If you read the Bible, you cannot help but recognize how it affirms the reality and pervasiveness of suffering.
The Bible also affirms that suffering is not part of God’s intentions for us. Though God can certainly use suffering for good, God did not create the world as a place of pain. Genesis 3 reveals that pain comes after human beings sinned, thus shattering God’s broken world. Romans 8 shows that suffering is part of the “groaning” of this world (Romans 8:18-23). So, when we witness or experience suffering, we rightly sense that something is not right with the world. Moreover, we rightly long for the day when God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). In the meanwhile, however, tears are an unavoidable part of our lives. They accompany the suffering that fills our world.
Scripture also offers words of assurance when we hurt or doubt. We rightly receive for ourselves the promise once given to Israel: “[D]o not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). As Jesus said to his first disciples, he says to us today: “[R]emember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The presence of God in the midst of our suffering doesn’t necessarily reduce our pain, though sometimes God does heal broken bodies. But the presence of God in our suffering does help to redeem our pain, even if it doesn’t remove it.
May the Lord give you this grace when you’re going through difficult and painful times!
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