We live in a world of suffering. If we are going to be engaged in the world in which we live, we have to be experts in suffering. We must understand the nature and purposes of suffering, learn how to live with and through personal suffering, and know how to minister with love and compassion to those who are suffering.

There are all kinds of suffering. Perhaps you’ve experienced rejection by someone you’ve loved, grief over a death, regret and the consequences of sinful choices, abuse, the loss of a job, the hurt of a child’s rebellion, or disability, handicap, illness or other physical pain. No wonder that when Jesus looked at people He was moved with compassion. He saw that they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd.

Yet we suffer because God has ordained and prescribed suffering. Romans 8:20 says the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it.

In the garden of Eden God said to the woman, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children.” To the man, He said, “In toil you will eat.…By the sweat of your face you will eat bread till you return to the ground.” And about Creation, He said, “Cursed is the ground because of you.…Both thorns and thistles it shall grow.”

The way was blocked to the tree of life, and death entered into the world. Consequently pain and suffering are the rule, not the exception.

One of the most natural questions people ask is “Why?” Why did this happen? Why did it happen to me? Why now? We need to be careful when we ask the why question. It’s not an inappropriate question, unless we ask it in a way that challenges or questions the love, wisdom or power of God. As Christians, we are called upon to trust God even when we suffer.

It can be helpful for us to consider the several reasons we can find in the Bible for why God allows suffering. Here are seven.

To draw people to saving faith.

A casual reading of the gospels reveals that pain and suffering were common circumstances used by Jesus to redeem His people. He not only made the lame man walk, He forgave him of his sins. Perhaps you became a Christian because you were in great distress and sought the Lord.

To draw believers closer to Himself.

If a person already knows Christ and is suffering, their pain can be the means for them to seek God in ways they never have before. When my daughter Katie went through 7 years of intense pain and suffering with severe back issues, one of the greatest benefits to her was the nearness of God. People love the Psalms because they demonstrate how to have intimacy with God in the middle of great hardship.

To judge and punish the wicked.

We cannot ignore the reality of pain and death as a means of God judging the world. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah stands as a vivid picture of the reality of hell. Reread the story of the worms eating King Herod in Acts 12:20-23 and you’ll be reminded of how painful judgment can be.

To discipline believers.

Believers do not come into judgment (John 5:24) because Christ has taken their judgment upon Himself. But God will—and does—discipline His children, because He loves them (see Heb. 12). Did you know there are different kinds of discipline?

Some discipline is designed to correct. This is what we most often think of as discipline. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.” Sometimes God will send us discipline to drive sin out of our lives. God sent great troubles into the life of David because of his sin. These problems in his family and kingdom were designed to bring David back to God. Psalm 32 and 38 describe the pain brought on by God’s discipline. Without Psalm 32 and 38, there would be no Psalm 51, which records the fruit of discipline as David confesses his sin.

A second form of discipline is designed to prepare you. “Consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (Jas. 1:2-4). Tom Landry once said the job of a coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order for them to be what they’ve always wanted to be. This is the idea behind the discipline of boot camp in the military. It is to prepare men to defend their country.

When God brings difficulties and trials and hardships into your life, He often is preparing you to run the race with endurance and to make you fit for greater works in His kingdom. Trials force you to trust God and to pray and cling to Him instead of yourself.

A third form of discipline is to teach. Psalm 119:71 says, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” When parents require their children to do their homework before they go outside to play, they are imposing discipline upon them. The children are not being punished or rebuked; they are experiencing discipline so they might learn. You learn about God when He disciplines you. How do you learn of God’s power, or see Him answer prayer, or know that He will never leave you or forsake you, unless you suffer and then see Him acting in your suffering?

Discipline, in all its varied forms, is designed by God to make you holy.

To sensitize you to the needs of others.

Second Corinthians 1:3-7 is a fascinating passage. It teaches that God comforts you in your affliction so that you can comfort others in theirs. Is it possible God would bring suffering into your life for no other reason than to prepare you to help someone else? Would you be willing to suffer if that was the only reason? Jesus suffered and died for the sole purpose of saving you and others like you from your sin.

To build a testimony to the world of God’s grace in your life.

The world is watching you. How do you endure, how do you pray, what is your faith like, how do you treat others, do you have hope, and where is your strength? Others don’t know how to suffer. But when they see Christians suffer with grace, they are often moved. Consider the soldier at the foot of the cross. After watching Jesus suffer, he proclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!” The way you handle your suffering will speak to the world about the reality and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To prepare you for heaven.

Romans 8 talks about suffering. It tells us that when we groan (suffer) it makes us long for heaven. If you are getting older, or if you have been in great pain, you have likely contemplated the surpassing value of heaven. Paul teaches that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is coming. He said that to live is Christ, but to die is gain.

So, what do we do when we suffer? We must learn to trust God. Christians talk a lot about obedience to God, and of course we should. But when it comes to suffering, we are called to trust Him. Jerry Bridges wrote about this in his book Trusting God. He made an interesting and important point when he said, “It’s just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him. But it is easier to obey God because His will as revealed in the Bible is rational and reasonable. The circumstances in which we must trust God are often irrational and inexplicable. Trusting God is worked out in an arena that has no boundaries; we don’t know the extent, duration, or frequency of painful, adverse circumstances. When we disobey God, we defy His authority and despise His holiness. When we fail to trust God, we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness.”

Suffering often brings fear, hopelessness and weariness. But God does not leave us alone in these matters. Fear is conquered by the presence of God. To Joshua He said, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Hopelessness is conquered by faith in the promises of God. In Psalm 42, the psalmist is preaching to himself, exhorting himself to believe the promises of God. He’s singing the psalms at night on his bed. And it gives him the hope he needs to go on. Weariness is overcome as we wait on God, persevere in the things He asks us to do, and open ourselves up to the faithful ministry of the people of God as they help us bear our burdens.

My prayer and hope is that you will find the power and sufficiency of God’s grace in your sufferings. If you are currently suffering, do not despair. Cling to Christ in your pain. If you are not suffering now, come alongside someone who is. Such people are all around you. Point them to Christ. Help lift their burden. God has designed suffering for His glory. May we see it and give Him thanks.

—Dave Long