Why is there suffering?

Philippians 2:13

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

We all know Satan exists and I think many of us tend to blame him as the source for all evil, injustices and pain we go through. Satan does have a part to play in the evil in the world. However, he's only partially responsible for all our suffering. After all, he just tempted Eve but the act of disobedience itself wasn't done by the serpent but rather Adam and Eve. Mark 7:20-23, He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Take ownership of your own wrongdoings, Satan didn't force you to act in disobedience, you chose to do so. You know it in your heart and God sees the heart.

Ever since then our world was turned upside down, from perfect to fallen. We were no longer holy and so became separated from our Holy Father God. Now what are sins? Sins are pretty much acts of disobedience to God. God laid out for us the Ten Commandments in the Old testament of the bible. And a quick scan can tell us that by breaking many of such rules you are either hurting someone or putting yourself in hot soup or sometimes both. A simple lie might seem like it doesn't affect us much but what it does is make us more inclined to lie in order to escape punishments which leads to seeds of distrust in the people we lie to and eventually sever or weaken those bonds. Galatians 5:19-21 is a good list of some common acts that displease God and yet we continue to do them without much restrain or guilt after. But the list is much longer.

So there is already direct suffering being dished out by us through our sinful nature. But there is more. Romans 6:23a, "For the wages of sin is death," and this death refers to not just death here on earth but eternal death in Hell. God is loving. But that doesn't take away any of His other character traits- He is perfectly JUST and FAIR. If He wasn't He can't judge us for our sins. Now God says the wages of sin is death, not naming a particular sin but any and all sins inclusive. I hope everyone can recognize that on this earth we are all sinners but does that mean we are all going to Hell?

If you have read the other two blogs, you would know that's certainly not the case. As we believe in Jesus who died for all our sins on that cross and has paid those wages, as long as we believe in Jesus' victory over death and resurrection. John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Meaning no one can go to heaven(where the Father God is) except by believing the truth of Jesus' life. Does this mean we are free from the consequences of our sins?

No, even with God's forgiveness and grace for our every sin, we still have to suffer the consequences of them in this life. This is why God urges us to - Colossians 3:5-6, Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

For those who don't repent from their sins or show no remorse and have hardened hearts against God despite the many times He has showed you the right thing to do and the many times He has extended His grace and love to you yet you have rejected them completely: God knows everything. God knows the right time to judge. And He will send judgement to you which can take the form of anything, even war between countries. You can see this countless times in the old testament and even in the current time. God doesn't change.

More elaboration and examples can be read up on this wonderful article, The wrath of God has come upon them.

This is the reason why the wise King Solomon states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10) This fear is not being scared but rather having a respect and reverence for God such that you obey His commands rather than be foolish and incur His wrath upon yourself. It's exactly like a father and son relationship but to a different scale.

Beyond just the natural consequences of our sins, God may discipline us as well. God loves us and doesn't want us to keep sinning and running further and further away from Him and His Grace, thus He disciplines us so we can learn from our wrongdoings. This doesn't mean God is harming you and doesn't contradict with His loving nature. Afterall, if your father reprimands and punishes you for something you did wrong, do you say he doesn't love you anymore?(Hebrews 12:7) On the contrary, it's because he loves you he is teaching you something, hoping you will remember it. Suffering Builds Character. Once you overcome a trial you are changed, you gain new insights and you become stronger than before as you have learnt how to tackle such a trial and others alike.

Romans 5: 3-5, Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Not only do you grow stronger but you grow closer to God. As you can see from my own testimony on the about page, it's when we are at our lowest or in our darkest valleys when we find God's hand and presence the strongest as you tend to call for His help; He answers and fixes all our problems. All our doubts and fears are cast away. We have this assurance of victory over suffering, temptations and trials in life that God has promised Himself. Romans 8:37, Philippians 4:13, Deuteronomy 20:4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, and Jesus' very own words recorded in...

John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

And He says so with evidence as He himself led a life of suffering. He cast aside His heavenly glory and humbled Himself to be a puny human like us and experienced all that we experience, temptations and trials directly from Satan( you can find this in Matthew 4:1-11 ) and of course His excruciating torture and crucifixion; which for that moment separated Him from His own Father. He went through all this so He can show that He has overcome the pains of life completely for us and that we can too through Him. And what was the result of all His suffering and death?

God glorified Him as He resurrected. Ephesians 1: 22-23, "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." And let's not forget in Philippians 2:9-11, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

WHY DO INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE? WHY ARE RIGHTEOUS MEN DYING SO YOUNG?

It has been iterated many times that nobody born in this world is perfect, holy or untainted besides Jesus Himself who wasn't birthed via normal reproduction between humans but rather birthed by a virgin mother and the power of the Holy Spirit. Even babies that we consider innocent, are tainted and cursed by generational sin. Does that mean they do not go to heaven if they die as a baby? That is a question I cannot answer directly since I clearly am not a dead baby.

However, we can answer this question by breaking down God's consistent character throughout the bible and how His unchanging grace and justice has always been present for all. At the heart of it, God has made it clear that rejecting God's grace and gift of eternal life in heaven is a choice for all. If the deaf does not hear of Jesus' gospel, he sees it, if the blind does not see it, he hears it. If a baby cannot see or hear of Jesus' victory over sin and death; God must have done something for the baby's judgement to be made fair. I can only think of two possibilities - imputed the knowledge in us as we are still in our mothers' womb and allowed us the choice to believe in Him before our misfortune or given a pass to enter into God's kingdom for God's grace is just that boundless.

I trust fully in God's justice as God Himself made each of us while we were yet in our mothers' womb, Psalms 139:13-16, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Do you really think God would so carefully knit you and make you beautiful in His eyes only to let you go straight to the pits of hell?

Hell no! He loves you. Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

To delve deeper into the answer for this niche question, here's an informative article from an excellent site, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-happens-to-infants-who-die.

As for righteous men dying earlier than we expect, has God not made it clear in His word?

Isaiah 57: 1-2, "The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death."

St. Paul was having a conundrum deciding between life or death. Philippians 1:21, "For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better."(NLT)

It's shocking but true. For believers in Christ, we are assured of our place in heaven. To live is to live for the glory of our Lord Jesus and to die is even better as we get to live with our Lord Jesus in heaven.

There are two major differences between a believer's life and a non-believer's:

1. We do not need to suffer eternally in Hell after death.

As Jesus has paid the price, took our place and allowed us to return to the Father in heaven where there is no pain, no suffering and no crying. You will get to live with God and Jesus right in their very home. Rejoice! You are always welcomed into His Kingdom where He isn't just a heartless ruler but a loving Father and providing everything you need in life and more for we don't deserve to see His Glorious face after all we have done on earth or yet to do BUT He still chose us and wants to hug us. Earlier I mentioned Romans 6:23 but that was half of the verse, the rest goes like this, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2. We need not suffer alone.

God fights for us. God provides a way out. God will transform our pain, suffering and loss into an indomitable peace, joy and hope. God will answer your prayer. Have faith in Him for He is faithful and works according to His perfect plan and perfect timings that we cannot fathom. We won't know why things happen as they are happening but at the end of it you will look back and realize what God has done for you and how He answered your prayers. Assurance of answered prayer- John 16:24, Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Additionally, God does not just help your situation through a direct hand, His hands and feet are usually other people you meet along the way. Do not look for a giant hand stretching from the sky to lift you up from a flood when God has already sent for you the search and rescue team or a neighbor with a boat. These are things we tend to forget and take for granted. We ask God for signs when God has already placed a guide to show you the way. The closer you are in your relationship with Him, the more you notice His blessings and goodness in your life.

Isaiah 65:24, Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

So what is your answer? Will you choose to suffer alone? Or will you accept His love and rejoice even in your suffering as God assures you of His great plans for you?

Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.