Religion & Theology Speech Presentation: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

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Why Does God Allow Suffering?
Pain and suffering have always been a part of man’s life since time immemorial with many questioning why innocent people have to endure so much pain in life. The Old Testament is full of examples of how innocent people such as Job endured suffering and the same is true even in the present world where we have witnessed world wars, genocides, massacres and emergence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer that have had some devastating effects on people. Through these events, many loved ones have been lost while those who remain behind have to live with the painful memories forever. Interestingly, in all these, God often seems to be silent, causing many Christians and non-Christians alike to question the necessity of allowing this suffering. Based on this therefore, this paper seeks to answer the above question using a number of Biblical scriptures that shed light on the issue.
God allows suffering because through it, our faith is tested, which teaches us to persevere and eventually the perseverance leads to spiritual maturity and completeness. In James chapter 1:2-4, the scripture says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. This scripture starts by encouraging Christians to be joyful in the face of trials because pain and suffering helps us to persevere. From this it is clear that through trials and suffering, we learn the value of endurance, which confirms our faith in God. This is because when most people suffer, they tend to depend solely on God and His word and through this they learn endurance. In verse 3, this perseverance brings about maturity and enables us to be complete. Maturity and completeness in this case means that we can become more like Jesus Christ who is considered spiritually mature throughout the Bible. We become complete in such a way that we do not lack anything that a Christian needs to survive in this world. Finally, the above scripture also considers the attainment of maturity as being more valuable than the lack of pain and suffering. Therefore, it is evident that suffering is an important and necessary part of every person’s life and it should be received with joy because of the benefits that come after enduring it to the end without interfering with the process.
Another reason for suffering is that after persevering the trials, it offers the Christians a sure path to building godly character and hope. According to Romans chapter 5: 3-5, we have to embrace our suffering with great joy because “suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.” This therefore means that God allows suffering because through it, He enables us to develop the proven character that He wishes us to have. Ideally, this kind of character is only achieved through testing, which is done by pain and suffering. From this, Christians can view suffering as God’s way of reshaping and molding us to be exactly the way He intended us to be. Passing through this suffering can be compared to going through the Refiner’s fire that cleanses all impurity leaving us polished like gold. Once the godly character has been formed, we then find hope in the knowledge that we can depend on God and trust in Him to guide our lives according to His plans. In verse 5 it is noted that “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” This verse further reassures people about the fact that they can depend on God fully after attaining the expected character and also enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit, who makes our requests be known to God.
Apart from the mentioned, God also allows suffering because it confirms that Christians are conscious of His presence and the need to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 2:19-21, the Bible reiterates the importance of enduring unjust or undeserved suffering for God’s sake rather than our own sakes. To support this, the author notes in verse 19 that “For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” Notably, most Christians have been in situations where they have been exposed to harsh treatment even when they did not deserve it. According to the scripture when this happens and they endure the mistreatment for doing what is right, then this brings such people closer to God and this action is highly commendable. Enduring suffering also shows that Christians are committed to emulating Christ, who had to put up with a lot of unfair treatment in his ministry. This truth is revealed in verse 21 that says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Suffering is therefore a part of the Christians’ calling However, it is important that people suffer for doing good but not evil because in the latter, the suffering is deserved while in the former it shows submission to the will of God. Concerning this, the scripture says “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?” (vs.20). This implies that enduring unjust suffering is a commendable thing before God.
God allows suffering because persecution is part of godly living. This fact is confirmed in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 which states, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” From this, it is evident that Christians need to expect persecution and suffering from their walk in Christ. Even Christ himself was crucified because of his unwavering faith in the word and promises of God. The apostle Paul too was awaiting his death when he was writing this letter to Timothy. The other apostles apart from John were also not spared from facing this same fate as they were martyred because of their faith in Jesus. All these indicate that godly living requires one to be ready to face challenges, willing to deny his or herself for the sake of pursuing God’s will without compromise just like Jesus. In the world today, many preachers have reverted to teaching young Christians about the prosperity gospel whereby they are made to believe that being a Christian guarantees one to enjoy peace and many earthly blessings. However, through his scripture, the Bible reveals that there is a spiritual enemy in the world who is always seeking to destroy God’s children and therefore, anyone who believes in God through Jesus Christ is bound to face persecution. Based on this, it therefore means that God allows suffering because through it, believers confirm their faith in Christ and their willingness to stand for the truth even in the face of persecution.
The other reason God allows suffering is that even though suffering is an inevitable part of life, believers have a hope and chance to overcome trials and tribulations because Christ already overcame the world. John 16: 33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take h...