Why Is There Suffering in the World?

Just turn on the TV or scroll social media, and you’ll be overwhelmed by the headlines:

Murder. Violence. Terrorist attacks. War. Natural disasters.

Human suffering is everywhere. And as pain and despair come into our own lives or the lives of those we love, we begin to ask deeper questions.

You might be in an abusive relationship. Or have a family member dying of cancer. Or you’re facing financial struggles even though you’re trying so hard to be frugal. These situations are all painful and challenging, and they lead us to ask why.

Why do so many things go wrong? Why does God allow suffering?

There aren’t any easy answers.

This is a topic that touches us on the deepest level and brings up a lot of emotions. So we don’t want to ignore that pain.

At the same time, we can be encouraged that the Bible does show us the bigger picture. And this helps us understand why the world is so broken—why there’s sometimes no rhyme or reason to our suffering.

Scripture also shows us that God understands our suffering—all of it. We are all part of a larger story—and thankfully, it’s a story that will one day end with the eradication of sin, and of all the hurt and suffering it causes.

So let’s explore the reality and the hope we find in the Bible by covering:

• Where did suffering come from?
• Common beliefs about suffering
• What the Bible teaches about suffering
• How to find hope and comfort

Where did suffering come from?

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Very simply, suffering is a result of sin in our world. The Bible teaches us that sin is the breaking of God’s law of love (1 John 3:4; Romans 13:10). Sin, then, is like the opposing force to pure, selfless love.

Sin first entered the universe a long time ago through a beautiful angel named Lucifer. As pride and rebellion grew in his heart, he ultimately opposed God and became known as Satan, a word meaning “enemy” (Revelation 12:7-9). He then came to this earth and tempted Adam and Eve, the first humans, to distrust and disobey God (Genesis 3).

Until their interaction with Satan, Adam and Eve lived in the perfect world that God created. A world without suffering. But because God values freedom of choice—which must exist in order for love to exist—He did not withhold from them the option to choose against Him. This choice was represented through a tree in the middle of the Garden, called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). He warned them not to eat fruit from that tree, but He still let them choose (Genesis 2:16-17).

Then Satan, disguised as a beautiful creature, approached Adam and Eve, tempting them to question God’s instructions, doubting His love and fairness. They were urged to eat from that tree and gain the knowledge it would bring. And even though they had been living within God’s love and remembered His warning about that tree, they were enticed with this additional knowledge—of both good and evil (Genesis 3:1-7).

As the first humans, they had experienced a perfect world and face-to-face communion with God. They represent all of humanity because they had everything in their favor…yet they still made the choice to know what else was out there—what did God know about that they didn’t?

And that’s how that choice brought sin and selfishness into our world. Every human being would have made the same choice. Sin, then, became part of our very existence as humans. We now know both good and evil, all mixed up around us, all the time.

So why did God allow this to happen?

To answer this question, we have to return to the story of Lucifer. The universe was perfect. God is good, and everything He creates is good (Genesis 1:31). That means every part of the universe was perfect, including the angels.

But because God is love, He also had to allow freedom of choice. He couldn’t force His created beings to follow Him because He wanted a relationship of love with them.

Lucifer was the first created being to choose his own way over the goodness of God’s ways.

And Lucifer wasn’t just any angel, either. Ezekiel 28 tells us that he was a “guardian cherub” (verse 14, CSB), or “the anointed cherub who covers” (verse 14, NKJV), noting his high rank.

Verse 12 tells us that Lucifer was “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (NKJV). The passage continues, speaking to Lucifer, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you” (verse 15, NKJV).

Iniquity—a word meaning “rebellion”—grew in Lucifer’s heart. He became so proud of himself that he wanted to have God’s position. He said to himself:

“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 12:13-14, NKJV).

As these ideas stayed in his heart, he began to share them with other angels, whom he won to his side. Eventually, the rebellion in Lucifer’s heart became a full rebellion in heaven. Notice how Revelation 12:7-9 describes it:

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (NKJV).

Satan (his new name describing how he had become God’s enemy) was cast out of heaven together with his angels. Jesus even said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18, NKJV).

And he ended up on this earth.

It’s true that God could have destroyed Satan and his angels right then. He could have ended it all before sin and evil spread.

Why didn’t He?

It all comes back to the fact that God is love (1 John 4:8). And as a God of love, His gift to each one of His created beings is free will. Free will is the only way that He can truly have a loving relationship with His created beings—and He doesn’t want to lose that!

Out of love, God had to allow the consequences of Lucifer’s choices to become clear over time. If He had destroyed Lucifer immediately, the other angels would have wondered, Was Lucifer right after all? They might have served God out of fear of being destroyed. They might have thought He wasn’t actually allowing full freedom of choice after all.

The other angels needed to see God’s law of love in contrast to Lucifer’s ways of sin and selfishness so that they would know God was fair. They had to understand the consequences of sin.

This way, the angels—and any created being—would be able to serve God out of love.

And the same free agency is offered to all of humanity. Because a choice exists that opposes God, it was made known to us, and perpetuated by the first one to choose it—Satan.

As a result, the earth itself became cursed (Genesis 3:17-19), and selfishness emerged immediately. Adam and Eve ran and hid from God, and they began blaming one another for their choices. Sin was already at work.

Adam and Eve soon faced another tragedy when their oldest son Cain killed their son Abel (Genesis 4:8).

From there, sin’s effects only escalated. Human beings became self-serving, proud, murderous, deceptive, and uncaring of the needs of others. Wonderful characteristics of love like empathy, compassion, peace, and joy met their opposites—selfishness, hate, turmoil, and despair.

This is what happened when people chose the way of sin instead of sticking to the way of God’s love. By the time of Noah, the writers of the Bible described the world this way:

“The wickedness of man was great in the earth, and…every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, NKJV).

God had to cleanse the world by a flood because evil and destruction resulting from sin had created a truly miserable world—so miserable in fact that the Bible says God “was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6, NKJV).

Though the flood did help slow the progression of sin, it didn’t stop it.

Sin continued to spread with its resulting evil, pain, and suffering. Today, we see this cause-and-effect relationship everywhere. We’ll look at three different ways that sin affects us:

Systemic effects of sin

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Sin has resulted in a fallen world with pain and suffering. Often, this suffering may be random or coincidental with no direct logical reason.

Sinful factors throughout history have created an environment where pain, tragedy, and suffering are always possible. The result is war, greed, pride, corruption, and a deteriorating environment.

A person might have been born into an abusive home.

An innocent country may be attacked by a neighboring nation.

Or you could end up in a terrible car accident.

In each of these situations, the one suffering hasn’t done anything to bring the suffering upon themselves. They’re all the effects of a fallen, sin-filled world.

At times, they can also be more direct attacks from the devil. More on that next.

Spiritual attack

The Bible reminds us that in our sinful world, our “adversary [enemy] the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV).

Revelation 12:12 adds:

“The devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (NKJV).

Sometimes, suffering can be a personal attack from him.

We see an example of this in the life of Job in the Bible, who experienced the loss of his children and his livelihood within a very short space of time (see Job 1-2). Then, he even lost his health when he came down with painful sores all over his body.

The devil was behind all of this suffering. He was trying to test Job to see if Job would turn from God when everything was going wrong in his life (Job 1:9-12).

The writer of the story emphasizes that Job was a godly, innocent person (Job 1:1). And at times, God’s followers today may also experience these kinds of attacks.

For example, you may experience a sudden, unexplainable illness. Or perhaps, people turn against you because of your faith. These situations are unexpected and often completely out of our control.

At other times, though, suffering can be the result of personal decisions.

Personal responsibility

Because we live in a sinful world, and we have sinful tendencies, we sometimes make choices that contribute to our suffering or cause harm to us. For example, not caring for physical health can contribute to illness. Or neglecting a friend or family member can cause hurt feelings and a damaged relationship.

Of course, God doesn’t want us to suffer. But suffering can be a natural consequence of our choices.

Think of it this way:

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably warned your child to not touch a hot kettle on the stove. You want to keep your child safe.

But what if your child chooses to touch the kettle anyway?

The child will likely get burned and experience some pain. And as a loving parent, you’ll no doubt comfort them and help treat the burn.

In the process, your child will learn an important lesson: not to touch the hot stove.

Similarly, God gives us boundaries and guidance on how to live a safe and healthy life, but when we push against those boundaries, we may sometimes learn the hard way.

If we choose to get drunk and then drive somewhere in our car, we put ourselves at risk of a car accident that harms us and others.

If we involve ourselves in sexual behavior that goes against the Bible’s principles, we put ourselves at risk of unwanted disease, mixed-up emotions, or an unplanned pregnancy.

Even so, God doesn’t want harm to happen to us.

Sin exists in our world because we let it in—so in fairness to our choice to know it, He allows cause and effect to run its course. But all the while, He will be there to comfort us and encourage us on a better path.

In fact, what we believe about suffering impacts how we’ll face it and find comfort. Our beliefs can lead us to despair, or they can give us hope. That’s why it’s so important to consider what we believe about suffering.

The following section will look at some of the most common beliefs and evaluate them by the Bible.

Common beliefs about suffering

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Suffering often doesn’t have a clear explanation. Even with a biblical framework of sin and its effects, we may still struggle to make sense of why we or our loved ones face so much difficulty. It can be easy to fall into beliefs about suffering that don’t align with the Scriptures.

We’ll look at three key beliefs:

1. Suffering is punishment for something you or relatives/ancestors did.
2. Suffering is the result of a curse or other forms of witchcraft.
3. Suffering is your fate or God’s will for you.

Here’s what Scripture has to say about each of these:

Suffering as punishment

Many believe that suffering is a divine punishment for doing something evil or wrong. Within this viewpoint, even if you haven’t done anything wrong, your loved one, relative, or ancestor may have done something you’re now paying for.

Interestingly, the Jews of Jesus’ time also had this misconception. When He and His disciples encountered a blind man, the disciples asked Him:

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2, NKJV)

Jesus made it clear that the answer was neither.

Yes, we may at times experience the natural consequences of a decision (as we pointed out with the hot stove illustration), but God is not punishing us for that decision.

And He is definitely not punishing us for the sins of others. We are held personally responsible only for the sins we commit:

“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son” (Ezekiel 18:20, NKJV).

The whole passage (Ezekiel 18:4-20) discusses how a father may choose to sin, but a son may see his father’s sin and choose to live differently. As a result, the son won’t be responsible for his father’s sin.

However, if we make similar negative decisions as our ancestors or relatives did, we may face similar consequences for those decisions.

Exodus 20:5-6 records God speaking and saying that He “[brings] the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but [shows] faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands” (CSB).

Again, we experience the consequences of our ancestors or parents when we choose to follow in their footsteps. But when we love and follow God, we experience His faithful love in return.

These passages highlight personal responsibility for our decisions.

Curses

Belief in curses and witchcraft is common in African culture. As one pastor in Nigeria points out, people, even Christians, believe that many things can be cursed: “a family, a marriage, land, a building, a place of work, even a church.”¹ They live in fear of these curses that witches claim to be able to bring upon people.²

A biblical framework acknowledges that witchcraft and spiritualism are real and dangerous.

However, many people misunderstand how they work. People in these cultures may think they can use witchcraft or spiritualism to manipulate ghosts or spirits. However, the Bible teaches that ghosts and spirits are really evil angels—those who were cast to the earth together with Satan (Revelation 12:7-9).

And the good news is, Jesus has given His followers power over demons and evil spirits (Luke 9:1). We don’t have to fear the power of witches because God is more powerful, and He has promised to protect us (Psalm 91).

You may wonder, though, Why then does the Bible speak about God making curses?

These curses are different from the demonic or spiritualistic curses we think of.

The ultimate curse is the curse of sin, which is eternal death. But that curse doesn’t have power over us when we choose to follow Christ (Galatians 3:10-13). As the giver of life, Jesus reconnects us to God so that we’re no longer under that curse of death.

The Bible also speaks about the concept of blessings and curses. In this context, the curses are not evil spells but consequences of disobedience (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Fate or God’s will

A final common view of suffering is that it’s simply our fate or that God planned for us to experience a certain kind of suffering.

This view, though, contradicts the biblical view of a loving God. The Scriptures show us a God who loves us and has done everything possible—including giving His life—to provide the very best for us. He doesn’t purposely inflict bad things upon us (Lamentations 3:33).

Yes, He allows us to experience the systemic effects of sin and the consequences of our personal decisions. He may also allow us to face spiritual attacks, but through it all, He is a God who understands our suffering because He Himself has suffered (Isaiah 53:3-6). He came to this world and experienced our suffering to be able to relate to us and help us (Hebrews 2:18).

Learn about this biblical perspective in the next section.

What the Bible teaches about suffering

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The Bible teaches that suffering is the reality of living in a sinful world, where God’s ways of love aren’t followed. As long as people choose behaviors contrary to God’s law such as stealing, lying, and murder (Exodus 20:3-17), there will always be the possibility of suffering. However, the Bible also shows us that God can take our suffering and turn it into something good (James 1:2-4).

Of course, God never wants us to suffer. But with the suffering that is already present, He can still cause good things to come out of it.

What’s more, God experiences our suffering with us. He was rejected by His people, abandoned in His most difficult moments, betrayed by one of His followers, and then humiliated, tortured and killed. And it’s because of those sufferings that He is able to empathize, comforting us and giving us hope of a life without suffering.

Let’s explore each of these points in further detail.

Suffering can bring about good in our lives

In his epistle, James tells Christians to “count it all joy” when they face difficulties or suffering. Why? Because “the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3, NKJV). His point is that suffering, which seems so bad in the moment, can still bring about good in our lives.

During the writing of the epistles (letters) of the New Testament, Christians throughout the Roman Empire were facing persecution for their faith.

James wanted them to know their experiences weren’t for nothing.

Peter sent a similar message to persecuted Christians:

“Resist him [the devil], firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ will Himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while” (1 Peter 5:9-10, CSB).

Again, good came out of their trials. And through it all, Christ was there to establish, strengthen, and support them.

Paul makes this point, too:

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, CSB).

God doesn’t waste our suffering. He wants to redeem it so that it truly becomes a worthwhile experience. Just as He did in the life of Joseph…

See, Joseph went through all kinds of suffering when his brothers, out of their sinful, jealous hearts, sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:18-28). God didn’t cause Joseph to be sold, but He allowed the sinful choices of others to run their course.

And yet, God didn’t waste Joseph’s slavery in Egypt. He helped Joseph to grow in integrity and wisdom until Joseph became the second-in-command in Egypt. Because of his God-given ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams and the position he received, he helped save the whole nation of Egypt and surrounding nations (including his family) from a severe famine. (See Genesis 41-45 for the story.)

At the end of his life, rather than being bitter about his life circumstances, Joseph was able to say to his brothers:

“You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20, NKJV).

When we look back on our suffering, we too can see how God has turned it around for good. But in the midst of it, sometimes the best thing we can do is remember He is with us. More on that next.

God is with us and suffers with us

The God of the Bible doesn’t watch us from afar when we suffer. He knows the pain of sin and its effects on this world because He Himself has suffered those effects.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, He became sin for us. What was that experience like for Him?

It was like feeling completely helpless and alone under a heavy burden (Luke 22:44).

It was like agonizing and begging God to take it away (Matthew 26:38-39).

It was like feeling the horror of separation from God (Matthew 27:46).

Isaiah 53:4-6 prophesied that Jesus as the Son of God would identify with our sufferings:

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (NKJV).

As we experience the pain of our suffering, we can know that God is there relating to our experience. He offers us hope and comfort in it because He’s been through it.

He also went through it to make a world without suffering possible.

God has a plan to end suffering

God has allowed sin and suffering to exist in our world for a reason. He’s helping us to see that His ways are ways of love, designed to keep us safe from sin and evil. Meanwhile, He’s also giving Satan time to show his true colors so that all the world will be convinced of the evil of his ways.

Then, and only then, can God fairly and justly end sin.

Though all the suffering we face right now isn’t ideal, it’s the most ideal way to a world without suffering. It’s part of God’s plan for something so much better.

Revelation 21 and 22 describe the new earth that God will one day create. The passage emphasizes that in that world, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, NKJV).

This promise gives us hope in the middle of our suffering.

In what other ways can we experience hope and comfort?

How to find hope and comfort in Christ amid suffering

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When we face suffering, it’s always comforting to know that we’re not alone, that someone else understands what we’re going through.

Christ offers us that comfort:

“For since He Himself has suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18, CSB).

We can turn to Him and know He is with us and offers us grace, peace, and healing. Sometimes, that comes directly through time with Him and His Word. And other times, He uses people.

Here are some practical ways to seek comfort:

Pray

When we pray, we connect with the God who understands us and our struggles (Isaiah 63:9).

So, what should you pray about when you feel discouraged?

You may not be ready to thank God or praise Him. And you may feel that praying for your situation won’t help.

But your prayer can be as simple as telling God what you’re going through right now. Tell Him everything that’s frustrating you and bothering you. He can handle it.

Jesus gave us an example of this when He prayed openly and honestly to His Father in Gethsemane and on the Cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 14:32-36). He wasn’t afraid to express His emotions…which leads us to our next point.

Allow yourself to grieve

Grief is a healthy response to any kind of loss we may experience, whether the loss of someone we love, the loss of health, or the loss of something else we valued.

The Bible’s examples of people who grieved give us permission to grieve, rather than hiding what we’re going through or pretending not to be sad.

Just think about the many Psalms that express sadness, frustration, anger, or desperation (Psalm 22, 42, 109) . Each one reminds us that the best way to handle our grief is to tell it to God openly and honestly.

In many cultures today, expressions of grief are discouraged, but Jewish culture (from Bible times to now) has many traditions and practices that allow for expressing and working through grief.

One such practice is keriyah, the tearing of clothing to express deep grief.³ Throughout the Bible, people tore their clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes when faced with intense emotions (Genesis 37:29, Esther 4:1, Job 1:20). Though we may not mourn in this way today, it’s a reminder to us that it’s okay to express grief as we work through it.

Seek community support

When we face difficult things, people around us can play a major role in helping us find healing and move forward in life.

After all, God created us to live in community with one another, and He encourages us through the words of the apostle Paul to “carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, CSB).

So, who are some people in your life you can reach out to? Be open with them about your struggle and how they can support you right now.

At other times, you may need more help than a friend or family member can provide. That’s when it may be wise to seek out professional counseling or mental health support. Doing so isn’t wrong or selfish. Caring for our mental health is just as important as caring for our physical health, and when we do, we’ll be more effective and a greater blessing to those around us.

Focus on God’s promises

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Reading and memorizing God’s promises can give us the courage to keep pressing on when life feels difficult.

We may not have all our questions about suffering answered, but His promises can help us to trust His goodness and power even when we don’t understand our circumstances.

Here are some promises to get you started:

“Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7, CSB).

“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, CSB).

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world” (John 16:33, CSB).

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, CSB).

The Bible helps us face suffering with purpose and hope

Suffering entered our world as a result of sin—the breaking of God’s law of love—and as long as sin exists, it will continue to be part of our lives.

If that were all we knew, our outlook would be pretty discouraging.

But the Bible promises us hope beyond this sin-filled life. Jesus is coming to destroy sin and suffering and give us a home where we can experience eternal peace and comfort!

Until then, we can face our suffering with a sense of purpose in the present and hope for the future. God has also given us ways to find comfort and healing—prayer, community, and the promises of His Word.

1. “How Christians Can Break the Stronghold of a Curse-Informed Worldview,” Christianity Today, Sept. 11, 2023. [↵]
2. Ibid. [↵]
3. “Death & Bereavement in Judaism: Death and Mourning,” Jewish Virtual Library. [↵]