Chapter 25

Suffering is not exclusively a modern problem. People have been suffering ever since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden. But our attitudes about it have changed over time. For example, during the early Christian period two plagues swept through the Roman world. Surprisingly, pastors made a case for Christianity during these plagues. Both Christian teaching and Christian behavior during the plagues made Christianity attractive to many Greco-Romans. Christians used the plague as an opportunity for evangelism and service. The same cannot be said in our current era. If anything, suffering tends to drive many people from Christianity. You already know the classic argument, “If your God is good, powerful, and wise, why does God allow suffering?” It is a good question too. How could the Christian God see so much suffering in the world and do nothing? Is God that cruel and heartless? If there is an answer to this question, it is not in an abstract argument but in an actual person. Jesus Christ—his incarnation, life, death, and resurrection—is the Christian answer to suffering. What do you learn about suffering in these passages? We begin with the Psalms before exploring other biblical texts.

Psalm 13, 36, 42, 73; John 11:1-44; Romans 5:1-5; II Corinthians 4:7-12; Hebrews 12:1-11.

There are two parts to this—one more personal, and one more relational. First, using the Psalms as examples, turn your experiences and emotions into prayers to God. The psalmists turned prosperity into prayers of gratitude, awe into prayers of praise, and suffering into prayers of anguish and lament. Try for one week to turn your emotions and experiences into prayers to God. Second, use suffering as an occasion to build deeper relationships. It is true that every person on the planet will endure some kind of suffering, and it will always be unique to that person, which can lead to loneliness and isolation, even though the experience of loss—like illness or death—is in fact universal. It is easy to collapse in on the self and assume our suffering is worse than everyone else’s. Different, yes; but worse, no. There is a community of suffering all around us. That community can serve as a rich resource of support and prayer. Which is why it’s so important to reach out to the community of faith in our suffering. We discover that we are not alone. Identify a friend who has or is suffering and meet with that person. Share your stories of suffering with each other. What do you share in common? What is different? How can you support each other? How can you seek God together? Then pray for each other.

What did you learn about suffering from the Bible study, the chapter, and the spiritual exercise? Did you learn anything new? Were you challenged in new ways? What questions do you have? What new steps of faith might you need to take?

Romans 5:1-5

II Corinthians 4:7-12