This world is challenging; there is no doubt about it. The news is constantly declaring war and chaos. Positivity is at an all-time low. For many out there, it leaves questions like ‘Where is God?’ and ‘Why isn’t He doing anything?’ Even Christians doubt if God is doing anything at times.
Recently, a friend asked me if God exists, then why isn’t He doing anything? Why is He killing all these people? It brought tears to my eyes, and I struggled with the right words. I tried my best, but I felt it wasn’t enough and suggested he ask someone with more theological knowledge than me, like a minister.
I felt guilty that I couldn’t answer his questions and was ashamed to call myself a Christian.
The truth is that only God has the answers, and it is to God that we turn when we have questions and doubts. I was questioning my faith over a few questions I couldn’t answer, but God gave us the Bible for this reason. He knew we would have questions that only He could answer and that we would come to Him looking for these answers.
I am thankful my friend asked me such challenging questions. Without knowing, he is pushing me to get into scripture to find these answers and, by doing so, encouraging my faith to grow. His questions give me hope that he will someday know God as I do.
As hard as it can be to face questions like these, we must remember that for many, we are the only connection they have to God, so we must turn to God and ask Him to help us answer their questions through His Word and our own experiences. I am thankful to God for helping me write this post to answer my friend’s question because, if I am being honest, before I started writing, I didn’t know where to begin. I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the question at the time, but I am thankful to God for reminding me to take things one step at a time, start with one thing, and build up from there.
Before we dive in, I am not rushing to defend God for the suffering and pain people have gone through because I know that no amount of reasoning or explanations can make it seem right. But I will say that suffering itself does not disprove God’s existence or absence.
Where is God in this world of suffering?
The crux of this question is, where is God?
God is not confined to any space on Earth like we are. We are limited, and God is not. In 1 Kings 8:27, King Solomon (famously known for being one of the wisest men on Earth in his time) said this about God. “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”
God is too vast and powerful to be contained in the confines of this world. He is everywhere, omnipresent. King David marvels at God’s magnitude in Psalms 139:7-10 saying, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise up on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
There is nowhere we can go and not be in God’s presence; look at the story of Jonah. He tried to run from God out of fear of what God asked him to do, but God always knew where Jonah was, and in the end, Jonah didn’t need to fear anyway. The point is that even when it doesn’t feel like God is there, He is. We are never truly alone because He is always there. He is with us in every stage of life.
So where is God? He is with us. In every moment of every day, God is with us every step of the way.
If you are suffering today, know that there is hope. Whether you’ve been suffering for a long time or only a little while, God sees you and feels your pain. He sees your afflictions and grief; He takes it in hand (Psalms 10:14). Our God is one of compassion and brings us comfort in our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Whether you believe it or not, God has a plan for you that aims to prosper you and not hurt you, a plan of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). I know it may not feel like it, but that doesn’t make it any less true. You may be suffering right now, but it won’t last forever. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says everything has a season, and there is a time for every purpose. That includes seasons of pain and sorrow. Life is not linear; it’s full of highs and lows. While the lows may suck, they help us appreciate the good and average times.
Perhaps you’re sitting there thinking, well, okay, it may not last, but that still doesn’t tell me why I have to suffer. Suffering is a product of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace when they disobeyed God (Romans 5:12). It is the consequence of sin (Romans 3:10-11). When we suffer, we feel a little of the pain that Christ took for us (1 Peter 4:1).
Suffering is, unfortunately, part of life, but God can use it for good. Romans 8:28 says, “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. This verse further reveals our hope which is in God. God uses suffering for our benefit to test our faith (James 1:2-4). Through suffering, God reveals His goodness to encourage us to come to Him and spend time in His word (Psalms 119:67,71). He uses suffering to sanctify us, turn our focus inward, and help make us better people (Romans 5:3-5).
Maybe you still don’t believe God cares about us or our pain, but I can promise He does. He tells us so in John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.
God cares about His people so much that He let His Son come down to earth and be killed for our sins. Jesus suffered; he was betrayed, insulted and tortured. Jesus is part of God, so we worship a God who not only empathises with our pain but has felt it Himself. That’s why we know He speaks the truth, and we can trust that when He tells us, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” in Revelation 21:4 when we reach Heaven that it is real.
Sometimes the most challenging part about suffering is not the pain itself but not knowing when it will end. Perhaps you think you’ve suffered enough, and I’m sure you have, but our timing is not God’s timing. God exists outside of time and knows all that can and will happen. Find peace in knowing God always fulfils His promises, and when the time is right, your suffering will end.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
If you are suffering today, you are not alone, and if you want to talk, my email and dm’s are always open to you.
Wholeheartedly Faithul 
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