“I know that you can do all things;

    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

    things too wonderful for me to know.“
Job 42:2-3

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“If God is in control of all things, why does He allow evil to exist?” If you have asked that question, you are not alone. For thousands of years, people have wrestled with this dilemma. Many have drawn the conclusion that God must be either all-powerful or all-good but not both; if a good God was truly in control, evil would not even exist.

It’s hard for us to reconcile our good, all-powerful God with suffering and the apparent triumph of evil. For many of us, this isn’t just an intellectual exercise. We’ve been gutted by the loss of a loved one, burdened with a difficult diagnosis, or forced to witness the suffering of someone dear to us. Is God in control? If He is, then why do such awful things happen?

The book of Job offers us a picture of what it looks like for a believer to wrestle with the problem of evil. Job was tormented by suffering and loss. He did not know why he was subjected to such agony—and he never learned—but one thing that never wavered was his belief that God was in control. He struggled to understand, and voiced a desire to speak with the Almighty.

Job never received an explanation for why God allowed him to endure so much pain. Instead, the Lord simply reminded him that He is God, that His ways are too high, wise, and wonderful to comprehend. So wonderful, in fact, that our very same all-powerful God took on flesh, suffering alongside us to eradicate pain and sorrow altogether and make all things new.

We are not given an explanation for why suffering exists. We are, however, given an answer to our pain. C.S. Lewis summed it up beautifully in Til We Have Faces: “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Do you struggle to reconcile God’s sovereignty and His goodness?
  • Does knowing that God reveals Himself as suffering alongside us influence your perspective?
  • How does knowing that God will one day destroy death and suffering give you hope?

 Church Reading Plan: Isaiah 50; Revelation 20