At one time or another, every believer struggles with the questions, “where is God when I’m hurting?” and “if God loves me, why does He allow me to suffer?” These are difficult questions. Thankfully, the Bible isn’t silent on this topic. God’s Word fully acknowledges human suffering, and doesn’t minimize it.
Let’s look at some examples of people in the Bible who suffered greatly, and see what we can learn from their experiences.
Utter despair.
In the book of Job, the following verse really grabbed my attention:
God hates me and angrily tears me apart. He snaps his teeth at me and pierces me with his eyes.
~Job 16:9
Wow, Job. Tell us how you really feel!
He goes on…
But it is God who has wronged me, capturing me in his net.
~Job 19:6
With a strong hand, God grabs my shirt. He grips me by the collar of my coat.
He has thrown me into the mud. I’m nothing more than dust and ashes.~Job 30:18-19
Clearly Job felt unloved, abandoned, and abused by God. He had a valid reason for feeling this way. Virtually every good thing in his life had been taken from him in the blink of an eye.
King David also had times in his life when he felt that God had forsaken him.
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.~Psalm 22:1-2
O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?~Psalm 13:1-2
Then there’s the Psalm writer, Asaph. He wondered why he had nothing but trouble and pain, while the wicked men around him prospered. Read Psalm 73:1-16, and you can feel how he struggled to make sense of his suffering.
Can you relate to these three guys? Has God ever seemed distant, cold, and uncaring? Have you felt abandoned or even mistreated by God? I have. But our perception of the situation isn’t the reality. As we’ll see shortly, God does care, and He has not abandoned you, nor me.
The importance of a proper perspective.
Before we look at how God ultimately dealt with the pain and suffering of Job, David, and Asaph, let me offer an important reminder concerning who we are in relation to God.
When we’re suffering, it’s tempting to think, “God, You’re not being fair!” But be careful. When Job voiced that complaint, “you forget your place.” was the essence of God’s reply (see Job 38-41).
We must recognize and acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of God. He is the Creator, we are merely His creation. His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
~Romans 11:33
We don’t always know why God allows us to suffer. When that’s the case, the smartest thing we can do is pray humbly, “God, I don’t like this, and I don’t understand it, but I trust that You know best. I trust that You will see me through.”
That’s what Job, David, and Asaph did.
Glorious hope.
We’ve looked at three men who endured great suffering. Now let’s look at how they went from despair to hope:
Job
Job ultimately accepted that he was ignorant and foolish to question God.
“I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
~Job 42:6
Job realized that God had reasons for allowing him to suffer that were beyond his ability to comprehend. Eventually, “the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning (Job 42:12).”
David
As for David, let’s revisit Psalm 22. It begins with, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” but ends this way:
Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.~Psalm 22:23-26
David realized that though he had felt abandoned, God had never left him. God had not ignored him, nor turned his back on him. As a result, he praised the Lord, and his heart rejoiced with everlasting joy.
Asaph
Finally, Asaph ended Psalm 73 this way:
Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.~Psalm 73:21-28
Here’s what we can learn from these three examples:
- It’s ok to cry out to God when we are suffering and tell Him how we feel.
- We should humble ourselves, and remember that our suffering has a purpose, even if we can’t see it.
- We should trust that God is faithful and will see us through.
So, if you’re suffering right now, I encourage you to trust God, and lean on the following promises from His Word:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
~Deuteronomy 31:6
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
~Romans 8:18
God is with you. He’ll get you through it.
