Resources by Topic: Suffering and Evil

The devastation of tragedy feels just as real for people whose faith endures suf­fering. But because they know that others have suffered and learned to trust God anyway, they can apply that trust to God as they face their own disasters. 

Following is a modified version of my letter to someone who was experiencing intense physical pain and contemplated suicide. I share it because, though we are a small ministry without the capacity to give ongoing counsel, no doubt others may find themselves tempted to end their life and need to find hope in Jesus, or know someone who faces a similar struggle.

In her journal she kept during her cancer years, Nanci quoted Charles Spurgeon: "Oh, that we may know our God—His power, His faithfulness, His immutable love. He is one whose character excites our enthusiasm. Oh, that we may know our God by familiar fellowship with Him."

God refines us in our suffering and graciously explains why: “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this” (Isaiah 48:10). For emphasis, God repeats the reason.

Ruth Wood, reader of our magazine Eternal Perspectives, shared this wonderful follow-up to an article we included in the latest issue about God’s Heart for the Elderly and Infirm. What she wrote is remarkable and powerful, demonstrating a miracle of grace that took place in her dad’s life.

G.K. Chesterton’s character, Father Brown, said, “We are on the wrong side of the tapestry.” How true. We see the knots, the snarls, and the frayed underside. But God is on the right side of the tapestry—the side He is weaving into a beautiful work of art.

Before my mother would make a cake, she used to lay the ingredients on the kitchen counter. One day I tasted the individual ingredients for a chocolate cake. Judging by the taste of each component, I never would have believed cake could taste so good! In a similar way, the individual ingredients of trials and apparent tragedies taste bitter to us.

Psalm 107 begins, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this.” The psalmist details the sufferings of God’s people, wandering in desert wastelands, without homes, hungry, and thirsty.

There’s a common saying: “God won’t give you more than you can handle” or “…more than you can bear.” Certainly, God gives us things which we can’t handle by ourselves. But He also promises that He is sufficient and able to sustain and strengthen us.

God knows everything, including every contingency, and He knows what is ultimately best in ways we cannot. God can see ultimate purposes and plans that we can’t.

People choose Hell when they turn their backs on God. He gave us the gift of choice, to choose to know and love Him. To Him, that was worth creating us, and even sending His Son to die for us so that we could eternally know Him and be with Him forever. That is the very opposite of selfish.

Randy was on a panel speaking about suffering and walking through the difficult things in life. He answers several questions and shares his experiences and truths from Scripture 

In this audio clip, Randy Alcorn explains why how we think about God’s goodness and love is so important when we face times of suffering and crisis.  

It seems a comfort to know that your friend didn’t appear afraid. I’m sure that was a gift to both of you that you were able to pray with her and remember that Jesus is more powerful than anything or anyone else in the universe.