Nov 06 2009
Why Does God Allow Pain?
It’s a question that I’ve heard and asked before. God’s nature is good, but why does He allow pain and suffering to befall on humans? We are His creation so wouldn’t we get the best treatment, all the time? Shouldn’t we be protected and safe all the time? Throughout the bible, God’s people always get the shaft. Adam and Eve learned it the hard way when they ate the forbidden fruit. Joseph was sold as a slave and thrown in jail because people were jealous and hated his righteousness. Job was stripped down to nothing and his family was killed.
There are several reasons why God allows pain:
Free Will
For the longest time, I avoided that Jim Carrey movie called “God Almighty”. I thought the title itself was a bit of a sacrilege and I heard the material was questionable. Then I checked it out myself recently, and it turned out to be a good movie after all. The one message that came from it was: God gave us free will, to do whatever we want.
Of course, free will does have consequences. If misused, it can cause catastrophe, sadness, and pain. Many times, God has given me the option to either obey or disobey Him. I’ve chosen to disobey God frequently because I thought I knew better. Doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. It takes a lot of faith. It takes a lot of grace from God.
Get My Attention
I found out that God whispers to me when times are good, and shouts to me when it’s not. Pain is God’s megaphone. I’ve been busy with my own life that I forgot about God. I forgot to set aside daily bible reading. I forgot about daily prayer. I forgot about God’s commandments.
Very often I wanted to be selfish. God then allows pain to happen so that I realize that I need to change for the better.
Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change.
Proverbs 20:30
Teach Me to Depend on God
I can’t do everything myself. I do my best to take care of my family, doing good deeds, and be a lawful citizen. But most of all, I need God to strengthen me. I need God to give me grace when I just can’t do it anymore. I need His mercy to allow me to move on after my mistakes.
Like King David correctly said:
The suffering you sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your principles.
Psalm 119:71
Minister to Others
The principle is simple:
…when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.
2 Corinthians 1:4
The pain I’ve experience does humble me. It gives me a new perspective in life. It makes me more sympathetic. I must not waste my pain. I must share how God and I dealt with it. What I learned is valuable to others. It’s wiser to learn from the experience of others. There’s no need for others to experience the same pain as I do.
