I am glad to find others wrestling with the hard questions. As American Christians we tend to think God has promised us a rose-strewn path filled with health, wealth, and happiness. Granted these things are promised, but Scripture defines them different than we do.

Having experienced lengthy 'dark nights of the soul', I have come to understand the power of 'why?' However, God in His grace has not left me there. You touched on at least part of the answer - not 'why' but 'why not'? Nonethless, comfort only comes as we begin to see God's reasons - at least His ultimate reasons - for bringing suffering into our lives.

Furthermore, we must understand more than just God is grieved with things which happen in the world. For, if He is only grieved it implies He is helpless. After all, if I am grieved over something and it is in my power to stop it - why don't I?

Thus we get down to the heart of the issues. Why do we suffer? I recently wrote a post entitled "Promised Suffering" which addresses some of these thoughts. In fact, I have written several posts on suffering. It is a theme which God keeps looping back through my life.

As He continues to open His word to my understanding, I expect I will write more. Since suffering WILL touch us all in one way or the other, we should wrestle with this subject. Otherwise we will not be prepared when we walk through our own valley of the shadow of death!

Wow....this is a tough one Justin. I have seen some life...and I have seen people suffer. I think my issue is can it be that easy.....? I expect a fight....I really struggle with this issue. I little boy dies in my arms....he is with God...that simple. I take care of a women who's life is now broken because of someone else. It makes you scream.....WHY!! I wish I could have the calm that everyone speaks of...but I have a fighters heart. weak christian.

I read a great book in the midst of my own suffering a few years ago by Phillip Yancey, "Where is God When It Hurts"... and he came to similar conclusions; where I tend to land on the suffering and God "dilemma" is asking questions may be the best thing for you in the middle of your suffering, Job asked, Jesus asked, why not me and you... but I think the key to suffering well and pointing our own souls to Christ in those moments is not being caught up with weather we get OUR answer or not... I found asking the questions to be very fruitful and more importantly found that when I asked really hard and serious questions of God, He showed me that he was with me in those moments when sometimes he seemed to be totally absent and certainly not answering my deepest longings... I guess I mean to say that as we suffer, its essential to ask the questions, but don't get caught up in looking for the answers, because you might actually miss the fact that THE answer, our Christ was with you the whole time, even when it hurts!

The other thing I would like to add is this... my faith was nothing until I was rocked to the core of who I was with the worst pain of my life. My life and faith changed when I stopped thinking God would get offended at my questions, and began to ask the things that seemed to be darkest in my soul... there is no faith like the faith of a man/women who has been tested and on the other side of grief and pain, praises God, no matter what the results!

"[Job] by standing on his own in the midst of suffering, without the benefit of soothing answers, gained powerful new strength. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel has said, 'Faith like Job's cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken.' "Where is God When It Hurts - P. Yancey"

Peace
Tony

This is really insightful and something that I needed to hear. Thanks for sharing this Justin!

Good post!
I agree with you - knowing God cares eases the sting for me.

But I still want to know why ... but I probably won't.
So what do I do ... I try to live life "doing what I can, with what I have, where I am." (Roosevelt)

Huh, I haven't quite thought about it like that, that God weeps with us. Often I just think of Him as the strong, masculine type who watches us cry and never joins in; but I simply just missed the "Jesus wept" on this one!

And not to be a smartface, but John 11:35 is not necessarily the shortest in all of Scripture. It all depends on the which translation you're looking at; in the NIV and NLT, Job 3:2 is the shortest. :)

Chadley ... I should have clarified. It's the shortest in the original language :)

John 11:35: ἐδάκρυσεν1 ὁ Ἰησοῦς.

Aha! Well I did not know that! :) you were right all along haha!

This is a question I have been dealing quite a bit lately. I was in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and ended up being a gatekeeper for a emergency triage unit. I carried the dead and dying, saw the grief and anguish firsthand. Trust me when I tell you my theology was shaken. But, I did know in that moment that God was weeping and suffering alongside us. And it did make it a little better.

In the end, though, we need a better answer than we make not know, or this might make it better....I have friends who do not follow Christ that began a journey of prayer while I was stuck there, and this is the first hurdle they are jumping in their new faith walk.

I am just thinking out loud here, but they want to get together and talk about this, and I am struggling with what to say.