ANSWERING SKEPTICS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY GOD ALLOWS EVIL

If God is creator and sovereign over His creation, He must be greater than anything in it, even evil. If so, why doesn’t He destroy all evil and suffering in the world? Why doesn’t He bring justice and healing everywhere? How can a loving God allow terrible things to happen to people? Why does He permit drought, famine, war, crime and persecution? Can He be a good, loving God and allow evil to happen?
Suffering is not because God is not good, for He is good (Psalm 34:8). Also, suffering is not because God is unable to stop it, He is all-powerful (Isaiah 40:25-26). He proved His goodness by leaving heaven to come to earth and go to the cross to pay for the sins of every one of us. Then He came back to life. We cannot doubt His goodness nor His power. Still, He allows suffering. Why?
God did not create evil. Nothing can be the source of its opposite. A good and holy God would not be able to create evil. Evil and sin exist because first some angels, then human beings, used their God-given free will to choose disobedience over obedience to God (James 1:13-15).
God did not create evil, but He allowed it so we could have a free will. He uses evil for His ultimate good. He temporarily tolerates certain short-range evil, in order to achieve long range good that we cannot understand. God never allows pain without a purpose. My parents took me to a doctor when I was young, even though I wasn’t sick. The doctor would give me injections against dangerous diseases. I couldn’t imagine why they would let a strange man hold me down and stick a painful needle in my arm. But I knew they loved me and trusted that knew something I didn’t know. That’s how we must respond to painful things that happen to us which we don’t understand. He has reasons we can’t comprehend.
What about suffering that happens to God’s people who are living in obedience to Him? Why does that happen? It’s not punishment (Romans 8:1). God allows it for a reason. With Job His reason was to show Satan and his demons, angels, and all mankind that Job chose to remain faithful despite what happened (Job 1-2). Hosea went through a terrible marriage in order to show the people God’s unconditional love and what God went through loving them. Suffering also teaches obedience, as was true of Jesus who needed to suffer to learn obedience (Hebrews 5:8; 2:10). It does bring us closer to God and cause us to lean more on Him, as Paul learned through his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). God uses suffering to bring us closer to Christ (1 Peter 1:7-8; Isaiah 49:2) and learn to trust Him more (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).
Watching God bring us through trials and tribulations helps us see God’s power at work (John 13:16; 16:33; 1 Peter 1:13). As we trust Him more, His Spirit is free to work within us to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 4:8-11) and help us grow in Him (John 15:1-8). In addition, we are better able to help others who suffer after we have been through it ourselves (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
I don’t know why suffering happens, but I do know God is in sovereign control over it all and I also know that what He does is ultimately for a good reason. By very definition, God is omnipotent and in control of everything. We know God is also full of compassion and love. He’s proven His love for mankind by leaving heaven and coming to live on earth with us so He could ultimately die on the cross to pay for our sins and make a way for us to be with God in heaven for all eternity. Love is the guiding force behind all God does. Knowing that God is in control and that He is motivated by love in all He does is the rock we must hang onto when we don’t have answers for the ‘why’ questions that keep popping up in life. Don’t look at the circumstances around you and try to understand God in light of them. Instead, look at our faithful God who proved His love on the cross, and face your trials with faith in the One who died for us. Don’t try to understand God’s character based on His actions. Instead, try to understand His actions based on His proven character of love and goodness. His character has been proven, but the reasons for His actions is something we won’t understand until later. So, based on His character and His actions in the past we can and must trust Him despite whatever happens now. That’s what Job did and what we must do as well.
How do you reco9ncile a God of love who allows suffering and evil?
Pray now and ask God to bring someone into your life this week that you talk to about suffering and evil in the world.
The next blog in this series is about the existence of Satan.. For more proof about God, Jesus and the Bible, email me at jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org or download it at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/india/articles/ You can also access my book “Why We Believe” at https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/download/india/Books/english_translations/Why-We-Believe.pdf

cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
ChristianTrainingOnline.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling)
Copyright © 2024