Introduction
We’re in a series called “The Big Questions of Faith,” and today we face one of the hardest:
• Why is there suffering?
• Why would a loving and merciful God allow it?
This isn’t just a question for theologians - it’s a question for all of us.
Whether you’ve
o lost someone you love,
o faced illness, or just
o watched the news,
suffering is real and close to home.
And as followers of Jesus, we not only want answers for ourselves, but so we can walk with others who are hurting.
Let’s be honest: there are no easy answers.
But God does not leave us without hope, comfort, or purpose in our pain.
1. Suffering Is Not a Sign That God Doesn’t Love Us
One of the most common — and painful — misconceptions about suffering is that it must mean God has turned His back on us.
We might think, “If God really loved me, He’d protect me from all harm.”
Or worse, “Maybe I’m suffering because God is punishing me.”
But the Bible tells a very different and far more hopeful story.
From Genesis to Revelation, the people most deeply loved and used by God often endured intense suffering.
Their pain was not a sign of God’s absence, but often the very context in which God worked most powerfully.
Think of Joseph —
• betrayed by his own brothers,
• sold into slavery,
• falsely accused, and
• imprisoned.
Yet God was with him in every dark moment, and in time, used his suffering to save many lives.
And David, anointed by God as king, yet hunted like a criminal by Saul for years, hiding in caves, clinging to God in desperation.
Think of Job, who lost his children, his health, and everything he owned. His friends said that that he must have done something bad for God to me mad at him.
— yet he remained faithful, even in his confusion and grief.
And above all, think of Jesus — God’s own Son.
Fully loved by the Father. Sinless.
Yet He willingly walked the path of suffering and death.
He did not come to avoid pain, but to enter into it — for us.
Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be “a man of suffering, familiar with pain” and called Him “The Suffering Servant.”
From a biblical perspective, we must reject the idea that if God loves us, He will never let us suffer.
That assumption simply doesn’t hold up.
Many of the Bible’s greatest stories — and greatest truths — are forged in the fire of suffering.
So if you are suffering, it does not mean God has abandoned you.
It certainly doesn’t mean He loves you any less.
God’s love is not proven by a pain-free life.
It is proven by two profound truths:
• His presence with us in our pain — He does not leave us to suffer alone.
• His willingness to suffer for us — on the cross, Jesus bore our sin, our sorrow, our grief. That is love.
When you suffer, remember:
God is not far off.
He is the God who steps into our pain, walks with us through it, and one day will wipe away every tear.
2. God Gives Us Freedom.
One of the foundational truths of the Bible — and of being human — is that God created us with free will.
He didn’t make us as robots or puppets, forced to obey Him or love Him.
Instead, like a loving and wise parent, God gave us the ability to choose —
to choose love, goodness, trust, and relationship.
That freedom is a gift.
It’s what makes real love possible.
Because love that is forced isn’t love at all.
For love to be genuine, it has to be freely given and freely received.
That’s how God loves us —
and that’s how He invites us to love Him and others.
But here's the hard truth: real freedom also includes the possibility of choosing the opposite —
choosing selfishness, pride, cruelty, and rebellion.
Much of the suffering in our world comes from those kinds of choices.
Sometimes it’s the hurt we cause ourselves.
Other times (often) it’s the pain we experience because of the actions of others.
God does not desire this suffering — it grieves Him deeply.
But He allows it because He allows us to be truly free.
As one writer puts it, “God allows people the freedom to choose for or against Him and others, which is necessary for the full experience of love, joy, and goodness.”
We may wish God would step in and stop all evil — but to do that, He would have to take away our freedom.
And if He removed our freedom, He would also remove our ability to truly love.
We would become programmed beings —
not people made in His image, capable of choosing, growing, forgiving, and loving deeply.
Love always involves risk.
The risk that love might not be returned.
The risk that people might use their freedom to harm instead of help.
But God saw that risk — and
• still chose to create us,
• still chose to give us freedom,
• still chose to love us.
And here’s the incredible part:
God doesn’t just give us freedom and walk away.
He enters our broken world, meets us in our mess, and offers to redeem it.
He helps us use our freedom for good.
And ultimately, He promises a day when evil will be no more — not because He takes away freedom, but because He fully heals and restores all things.
3. God Works Through Suffering to Draw Us to Himself
Suffering can shake us, humble us, and remind us that we’re not in control.
It can strip away our pride and self-sufficiency, and drive us to seek God more deeply.
- Suffering
* can deepen our relationship with God, as we turn to Him for comfort and strength.
* It can teach us humility and compassion for others.
* It can equip us to help others who suffer: “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others” (2 Corinthians 1:4).
Paul, who knew suffering firsthand, wrote, “And we know that - for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Not that all things are good, but God can bring good out of all things.
4. God is not distant from our pain.
In Jesus, God took on flesh and experienced the worst of human suffering-betrayal, rejection, torture, and death.
The cross is God’s answer to suffering-not an explanation, but a demonstration that He is with us and for us.
“The cross and resurrection of Jesus become God’s own response to evil in this world… If the cross of Jesus Christ shows us that our God shares in our suffering, then the resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that God’s triumph over evil is assured.”
Jesus doesn’t just sympathize - He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, and He promises resurrection on the other side.
5. Suffering Is Not the End of the Story
The Bible is clear: the pain and evil of this world are not the final word.
God has promised a day when He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4)
Suffering is real, but it is temporary.
God’s victory is certain.
6. Our Response:
- Suffering is not a time to turn away from God, but to turn toward Him.
Worship can change our perspective, reminding us that God is bigger than our circumstances.
Let Suffering Stretch Your Faith
Ask God to use your pain to draw you closer to Him, and to make you more compassionate toward others.
- Be open to how God might use your story to bring comfort and hope to someone else.
Remember the Hope of the Resurrection
Hold on to the promise that suffering is not the end.
Jesus has overcome the world, and one day all things will be made new.
There’s a well-known illustration of a boy who survived a dangerous alligator attack.
The boy had scars on his legs from the alligator’s teeth, but he also had deep scars on his arms.
When asked about them, he said, “I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.”
His father had grabbed his arms and held on tightly, refusing to let go even as the alligator tried to pull him away.
The scars on his arms were a sign - not of abandonment, but of his father’s love and determination to save him.
- Just like that boy, we all carry scars –
* some from the pain we’ve suffered,
* some from God holding on to us through the hardest times.
Sometimes our suffering leaves marks, but those marks can be reminders of God’s love and presence in our lives.
God doesn’t promise a life without struggle,
but He does promise never to let go of us, even when the tug-of-war is fiercest.
Let’s pray:
“Lord, we don’t have all the answers, but we thank you that you are with us in our suffering. Help us to trust you, to comfort others, and to hold on to the hope that you are making all things new. Use our pain to draw us closer to you and to each other. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Video song
If you’re suffering today, don’t suffer alone.
Reach out for help.
Let others walk with you.
And if you know someone who is hurting, don’t shrink back –
step in, listen, pray, and be the hands and feet of Jesus.
And for all of us:
let’s be a community that doesn’t run from the hard questions, but faces them with honesty, faith, and love.
Let’s be people who, even in our pain, point to the God who suffers with us and for us –
and who promises that one day, suffering will end.
If you want to talk or pray about your own suffering, or how to help someone else, please reach out after the service. You are not alone.
