If there is a God why is there so much suffering?

"If There is a God why is there so much suffering  suffering?" Is a controversial question that is asked by many but what they don't realise is that God does actually exist but He's a reality ONLY to those who have accepted, believe, obey and trust in him. Only people who genuinely know who God is by knowing, reading and obeying His word can comprehend His nature.

Following the "In the beginning- Genesis 1" blog post ( please it read first if you haven't in order to get a full understanding), we saw God's perfect plan and His intentions for the world  especially for humans. The last verse of Genesis chapter one (the creation) says "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." God created a world that was perfect, where there was light, no pain, no death and no struggle because it was all good and His presence was there. Reading on, in Genesis chapter two verse seventeen; “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬ where God says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

By giving Adam and Eve a choice, God gave them the ability to exercise free Will. Free will to either Obey and Trust in Him or choose their own path/destiny by eating the fruit. God did not want to force us to obey Him or limit us to doing the very things He created us for which was to serve him by loving others, showing kindness, showing mercy to others and doing the very things that pleases him. Rather, He wanted us to do all these (to Love Him) out of our own free will. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:27. Using their free will, Adam and Eve opened the door for evil to enter the world and jumped out of the perfect state which God had placed them in. And in so doing, opened the world to sin and suffering, a consequence we are still experiencing now. As stated in Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

This tells us that for all of us suffering is inevitable however the end results for those who are in Christ are different to that of unbelievers. This is because for those in Christ there is always hope because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37. Romans 8:28 also "tells us that all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." From these two as well as many more scriptures in relation the promises made to those who experience suffering, they are all subject to "those who love the Lord". 

That brings us to the story of Job. A man who was described as  “blameless and “upright,” who feared the Lord and shunt evil" Job 1:1 and yet he still faced a lot of pain and suffering and lost everything he had. However, after he had endured all that suffering "the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." This also tells us that good people are not exempt from suffering. 

Sometimes God also uses suffering to test our hearts, help us grow spiritually and to strengthen our faith and in the end we are rewarded for our endurance. ^"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."  James 1:12.
Following the story of Job, we see that God allowed Job's suffering as a way to test and strengthen his faith. This is seen throughout the Bible as God used various trials and tribulations to test and strengthen the faith of people who had chosen to follow His will for their-lives.

Verse to remember:
"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." James 1:13-14