Making Sense of a Suffering World

Suffering has been my bedfellow as far back as I can remember. I am unable to recall a day in my life where I didn’t have some type of pain or suffering. Physical problems and suffering have been part and parcel of my life since I contracted the polio virus when I was only 14 months old. It was three years prior to the mass distribution of the vaccine that began to make this dreaded disease obsolete.
I’m sure if you could go to the beginning of human history, mankind has wrestled with the questions of, “Why is there so much suffering in this life?” “Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?” “If God is so good how could He allow evil to exist?” “How can you say, God will not give you more than you can handle?”
Recently I read that Lee Strobel, a noted Christian author, scholar and lecturer, sent out a questionnaire that asked numerous individuals, “If you could ask God just one question, what would it be?” The number one question that came back was, “Why does God allow suffering and evil?”
I will be doing my best in the pages of this book to answer that question experientially and theologically. I will be sharing the lessons I’ve learned from a lifetime of suffering. I will rely on relating various personal stories and examples of what I’ve had to suffer, while drawing parallels to scripture and theology, to clearly share practical down to earth answers for this all important topic of suffering.
There are foundational truths laid down in the Bible that have guided Biblical scholars and theologians to establish building blocks for the faith. We live in a broken world. A place where man’s free will caused him to sin and a perfect world became corrupted. God had a backup plan already established to offer redemption and salvation to mankind through the sacrificial death of the Second Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. Christ came to earth, born of the Virgin Mary to become the suffering Messianic Lamb of God. Finally the focal point of history revolves around the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
You may know definitely you are a genuine follower of Christ. You may call yourself a Christian and be unaware of what that exactly means, or possibly you’re not sure where you stand with your faith or beliefs. You may even be an agnostic, which means someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in God, some type of Supreme Being, or one true religion. You could even call yourself an atheist who is someone who believes there is no god, no supernatural realm, nor any other reason for our existence other than random chance.
Whatever you classify yourself as; I have written this book from the vantage point of an educated and trained Christian minister. I endeavor to lay out an apologetic for those who believe in God and the Bible to help them come to a clearer understanding of why God allows suffering.
However if you are unsure about your faith in God or convinced that there is no God nor any redemptive reason for suffering, I hope you will gain a better understanding of what the Bible teaches on the subject of suffering in the pages that follow and reconsider your position.
It could be your life has been filled with suffering or maybe you’ve been stuck in an extended time of suffering, or it might be something bad happened to you recently, whether through an accident or illness, this book is for you.
Suffering in life must be accepted as a normal experience everyone will have to face at one time or another. It’s what you do with the suffering that makes the difference.
What usually happens when suffering occurs?
You can feel sorry for yourself and say, “It’s not fair, why did this have to happen to me?”
You can be pessimistic and say, “Something bad always happens to me. I don’t ever catch a break like other people do. I might as well give up and never think my life will get better.”
You can get mad and angry. You can yell at God and call Him, “unfair and uncaring.” You can take it out on those closest to you who are your family and friends.
You can become withdrawn and quiet, desiring to hide from the outside world and shy away from others who care about you. You may desire to turn off the lights, close the curtains, pull the blankets over your head and cry, “Woe is me.”
Many handle suffering in various kinds of ways, mostly negative in nature.
I encourage you to embrace your suffering. Accept that it happens and is a natural part of life. Realize that most of the time spent on this planet has to do with suffering.
This book is written to help you understand and make the most out of the suffering and times of hurt and pain. God uses suffering as a powerful tool to develop, character, compassion, humility, faith, perseverance and even prepare you for how you may serve God in Heaven, just to name a few of the most positive traits.
It is my prayer that you will be, encouraged, enlightened and educated enough to find answers for, “Making sense out of why God allows suffering.”
So get ready to discover the vast scriptural details in the lives of the Biblical characters, the truths God revealed to them in the Bible that deal with suffering and what they were inspired to say about their trials and tribulations.
Along with that you’ll see the way suffering has influenced my perspective and how my faith in God and His Word has prepared me to live a blessed and productive life that even brought me to, “Knocking on Heaven’s door.”