By Pastor Stephen Hess –
This summer one of the events that dominated headlines was the catastrophic flooding in Texas. Flash floods killed at least 135 people in the Hill Country region, with most deaths occurring along the Guadalupe River. One of the most tragic stories was the destruction of Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls situated along the river. During the floods at least 27 campers and counselors died, with many victims being among the camp’s youngest attendees.
In the wake of such suffering, many people ask: Where was God? Why would God allow devastating floods to destroy so much property and take so many lives? Why would God allow such young girls to perish? These questions point us to even larger questions that people have asked about human suffering for generations: If God is loving and all-powerful, why does he allow suffering? Since such suffering exists in the world, does this imply that God does not exist?
There are no easy answers to these questions, and we should be cautious about responding to complex problems with simplistic explanations. Years ago, I remember listening to an interview with Tim Keller where he was asked about the problem of suffering. Keller did not pretend to have all the answers to such a perplexing question. However, he did make two observations that have stuck with me to this day.
The first observation is that when it comes to the problem of suffering, removing God from the equation doesn’t help solve the problem. In other words, if we conclude that the presence of suffering in our world means that God does not exist, we are still left with the problem of suffering. In fact, the absence of God makes the problem even worse because if the material world is all that exists, then our suffering is meaningless and purposeless—it is simply the result of bad luck and random chance. Without God we don’t even have the right to be outraged by suffering because all standards of right and wrong, good and evil, cease to exist. On the other hand, if God does exist, then it is possible that our suffering has a greater purpose as part of his plan, even if we don’t always understand that purpose or plan.
The second observation is that the Bible presents a God who is not removed from our suffering. In other world religions, suffering is denied, or if it is acknowledged, God is distant and removed from it. However, the Christian faith teaches that God cares about our suffering. In fact, he cares so much that he sent his one and only Son into the world to suffer for us by dying on the cross and bearing the curse of sin that we deserved. Christ did this not only so that we could be saved from our sins but so that we could one day live forever in a new creation where there is no more suffering.
What this means is that God is not removed from our suffering. From a Christian perspective, we do not always understand why God would allow tragedies to happen like the flooding in Texas, but we can rule one thing out: It can’t be because God doesn’t love us. God proved his love for us by sending his Son to die for our sins, and therefore if we have any doubt that he cares about our suffering, we need only look to the cross.
There will still be many unanswered questions during our lives as to why God allows certain things to happen. But disbelieving in God doesn’t make it any easier to face suffering. We only have the strength to face suffering when we look to the God who suffered for us and trust his promise that one day every tear will be wiped away and all things will be made new.