theodicy

Suffering Reveals Who God Is

Suffering Reveals Who God Is

What we mean by this is that suffering reveals things about God and His character that we wouldn’t know or experience otherwise. There are certain aspects of God’s character that would be unknown apart from an experience of evil and suffering. How would we know that God is compassionate if we never had a need? How would we realize that God is both just and justifier if there never was the evil of sin? How would we experience the comfort of God if we never felt loneliness, pain, or grief? How would we know that God as healer if there were no hurts?

Pain Is a Megaphone

Pain Is a Megaphone

“Pain insists on being attended to.” What an insightful statement. Pain is something that cannot be ignored, and God knows it. We are lulled into a deception about our own sinful condition, but God uses pain and suffering to wake us from our stupor—“to shout” to us. In other words, God allows for suffering and evil to get our attention so that He might draw us back to Himself. For in reconciliation with Him is the promise of healing and the wiping away of every tear.