A well to do, God-fearing family endures the loss of their 17-year old daughter in a car accident while she was going to the beach over the spring break holiday. A humble family of four experiences the trauma of losing their unborn 4-month old child to a miscarriage. A woman is raped in front of her children, scarring her children for life over the brutality they witnessed. A young mother and wife is told she has only months to live because cancer is eating her life away – she dies six months later. Physical and mental suffering is everywhere. One of the causes of suffering is physical pain, but physical pain can sometimes be surpassed in intensity by mental pain. Anyone who has suffered from the death of a loved one, financial devastation, etc. can relate to mental suffering, and in most cases would trade places with those suffering from physical ailments.

People often suffer through acts that bring about suffering – the law of cause and effect. For instance, if a person lies and gets caught there will be a certain amount of suffering. People who have temper problems and cannot control their anger will eventually, possibly even daily, suffer for their tantrums and outbursts. Of course divorce is a problem resulting from a failed marriage that brings suffering, and the list could go on and on. It is important to realize that in this category of causes for suffering it is not just one person who suffers for a lie or a divorce. Many people suffer as a result of one person’s problem, and that suffering is more often than not passed down through the generations for all to deal with.

Humans suffer. Suffering is as inevitable as death, and it happens to everyone, so everyone can relate to it. The fact that suffering exists so universally has caused many to ask "why?" How do Christians cope with and explain the problem of human suffering in light of what the Bible teaches? Some conclude that if God were a God of love like the Bible teaches, He wouldn’t allow suffering the way He has. Some have even rejected their faith in God because of their suffering. The need that exists today with regard to human suffering is to know why God allows it and what to do with it. People want to understand suffering because we want to know why God allows it – if in fact He is so full of love for us. Christians need to understand suffering as a way to witness to those who have rejected God on the grounds that he allows suffering to His beloved children. Is there an answer to this problem that has plagued mankind for millennia? One will never find the answer that brings an end to human suffering, but investigating the problem can bring about peace and comfort and bring one closer to God through the process. This is man’s ultimate need – drawing close to God – and looking at God’s Word in relation to this problem can do just that. In the end, it’s really about perspective and a healthy understanding of who God is, who man is, and what their main purposes are on this earth for the brief time we have been given.

This article will first address the life of Job in the Old Testament and the suffering he endured. Second, a brief section will be given to the Epistles of Peter so as to understand suffering in the New Testament. Third, there will be an examination of God's role in our suffering and how He receives glory for it. Finally, some suggestions on the lessons and benefits of human suffering will be dealt with. There are many biblical texts and even more problems to feed through those texts that address this universal problem of evil, which is the root of human suffering, that all humans endure. We will see what these texts mean, what they say about God, man and God’s relationship to man, and what this means to all humans. We will answer the question, "So what?" so that we can not only understand what the texts say but what we can do with them in terms of our own personal suffering we endure day to day.

Suffering has been around as long as humans have been around. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve suffered because they disobeyed God’s instructions concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them not to eat of it, but they chose to anyway. It was at this point that sin entered the world, and when sin entered the world suffering was right there as a consequence. Adam and Eve caused the entire human race to enter into sin, thus reaping human suffering of all kinds. This means that the origin of the problem of such sins as lying, anger, and divorce (to use only a few) is the universal sin of man. Sin causes suffering in a direct and indirect way. The earth is corrupt, deteriorating, and cursed because of man, making it evil and as a result, painful (Genesis 3:14-19; 4:1-15; Romans 8:20-22). Thus, there is suffering all over the planet. Sin is evil, and evil causes suffering, so it can be concluded that because there is sin, there is suffering in the world.

Each book of the Bible is replete with human suffering. There is suffering for sin, and there is suffering for no real reason at all. There is suffering from Genesis to Revelation. Exodus contains the death of the firstborn of Egypt, Joshua is about war, the Books of Samuel are full of death, war, and disappointment. The prophets predict total destruction – and their fulfillment has come and gone to a large extent. Suffering just goes on and on throughout the Bible. God’s Word shows how and relates how sin has run rampant throughout the human race and brought about suffering in great abundance. The important point here is that suffering begins in the Bible – it’s origins are unmistakable, so when attempting to learn the answer to the question "why?," one must go to God’s Word to draw their conclusions.

In order to understand human suffering one must go to the Book of Job. As Andersen has pointed out concerning Job, "The problem of suffering, human misery, or the larger sum of evil in all its forms is a problem only for the person who believes in one God who is all-powerful and all-loving." All the questions such as justice/injustice, good/evil, sovereignty/freedom, innocence/guilt, and blessing/cursing – as they relate to God, man, and Satan, are all presented within the same context in the Book of Job.

Many through the centuries have heard of or read this great masterpiece on human suffering. No matter what one’s opinion of Job is, or what one’s religion is, Job deals with the question that all humans ask: Why do people suffer? Job is a book, one might say, the book, to look to for answers in the question of why humans suffer. This story of "undeserved suffering" serves as a useful model for anyone experiencing difficult times in their lives. The answer to the age-old question is not specifically given in the book, but the reader is given a clue as to the dealings of God with his most faithful followers through the example of Job. One of the truths that stands out is that no matter what man thinks about his fate as given to him by God, it is not always due to the life men live.

Given the old age of the Book of Job it is extraordinary that it is still so relevant today. Job is a righteous man who seeks God and fears God with all of his heart. He has a large family and many riches. God has blessed him abundantly. The beautiful thing about Job at the outset of the story is that he recognizes God’s grace and mercy in his life, and he gives all glory to God.

The scene changes in the book from introducing Job and his life to a scene in which God is speaking with the angels and Satan in heaven. This is an important part in the book because it gives only the reader, not Job, a behind the scenes view at what is taking place. God challenges Satan to consider his servant Job. He reminds him of how righteous Job is; an extraordinary concept coming from the Almighty. Satan takes the challenge because he is convinced that Job is only faithful to God because God has provided him with so much. A belief held generally throughout the ancient world was that a man’s destiny was shaped by his behavior – if he was good then good things happened to him. This is known as the doctrine of retribution. In this view there is no such thing as the righteous suffering or the wicked flourishing, but from here Satan begins to torment the righteous Job without actually touching the man himself.

What is amazing is the suffering that begins to flood into Job’s life as a result of Satan's power. It is displayed here in a way that is frightening. In Job 1:14-15 Satan by stirs up the Sabeans, and they attack Job’s oxen and donkeys and kill his servants. Only one escapes, and he informs Job what happened. In verse 16 Satan calls down fire from heaven. In verse 17 Satan, just like he did with the Sabeans, stirs up the Chaldeans, and they destroy Job’s camels along with the servants who attended them. Finally, in verses 18-19 Satan causes the wind to blow so hard that it collapses the house Job’s children are in, and they all die.

It appears that Satan wasted no time from the time God released him to test Job and the time Job began his suffering. Satan’s display of power was obviously very effective. So Satan’s power, as displayed in this narrative, is supernatural, quick, and extremely potent, for it devastates Job’s life. The reassuring thing the reader can see in light of Satan’s power is that "nothing happens to us that is not ultimately controlled by the knowledge, love, wisdom, and power of our God of all comfort" (2 Cor. 2:13).

Following this awesome display of power by Satan, Job still has not cursed God. To add insult to injury, however, Job has three friends who travel from far away to be with him through his agony. When they begin to speak to him it becomes evident that they know nothing about what God is doing in Job’s life. They continually tell Job that he is suffering due to some sin – a concept that Job vehemently denies, much to the chagrin of his friends. Each friend takes turns berating Job, and when it becomes obvious that they are getting nowhere, a young man named Elihu steps in and intervenes.

In chapter 32 of the Book of Job Elihu joins in the discussion regarding Job’s current state. He is angry at Job’s older friends because he, like Job, is not satisfied with their solutions to Job’s problems. Elihu identified with Job as a fellow sufferer and not just a pious man of religious faith in a God who gives good things to the righteous and bad to the wicked. "He helped Job realize that a relationship with God is not founded on nor maintained by his insistence on loyalty, purity, or righteousness, but is wholly on God’s grace." Elihu seemed to believe that suffering was an effective means God used to keep Job from false theology. Job knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing, and God was showing him that the righteous can suffer without having committed any specific sin. Elihu appears to have understood this.

Elihu believed that God loved Job and that He was not Job’s enemy. Consequently, Elihu believed that God desired a deeper relationship with Job (33:26-30). Rowley says,

Elihu saw that suffering is not limited to man’s wickedness. Suffering to Elihu was more than blaming the Sovereign God for inflicting pain on humans, rather, he seemed to see it as one of God’s many ways to communicate with His greatest creation, namely, man. And he did communicate with Job through his suffering. Job was profoundly influenced by the counsel of Elihu. With the help of Elihu, Job’s confrontation with God became a revealing and healing experience, and he realizes that it is not only safe, but actually necessary to relinquish his insistence on his loyalty, his purity, his righteousness. Job was no longer obsessed with his problems and the perceived injustice of it all. His defensiveness and verbal abuse ceased. His pride in how righteous he was came to an end. Following Elihu’s speech he was ready to let go of his own false theology. This is only one of the many reasons God intervenes in the lives of His children even today.

The Book of Job and its presentation of the suffering of an innocent man serves as a dependable, useful story for the believer of any generation in dealing with the problem of good and evil co-existing in the world. Though God’s reasoning for Job’s suffering is not spelled out specifically when God speaks to Job in the end, His point is well taken by the reader – not Job, but God is clearly at work in the suffering of Job as an individual. The story of his suffering, however, is arguably more for those who read it and not necessarily for Job’s own good, though he learns a thing or two through the ordeal. What the book is telling its readers is that there is not always a logical reason for humans to actually see and understand for the suffering. God does inflict suffering directly and indirectly for many different reasons: judgment, discipline, refining, and more, but Satan is behind much of human misery.

On the surface the answer given to Job in the end by God is unsatisfactory. What happened to the three men whose advice Job shunned? They were forgiven, but where did they go, and what did they do with the information God gave? What about Elihu? He was not rebuked but seemingly ignored. Did these men hear God’s voice when He spoke to Job? The answer appears to be in the affirmative, but was anyone given any real answers to why all of it occurred? It appears that only the reader can see behind the scenes and understand why God did what He did in the life of Job. The answer to the questions and to the complaints can only be seen in God’s justice and in His sovereignty. Difficulties come into the lives of all men and women. God does not show favoritism, and He does not apologize for the way that He sovereignly rules.

We have now seen suffering in the Old Testament. Now let’s look at suffering from a New Testament perspective in the Epistles of Peter. As part of the inspired canon of scripture the NT addresses suffering from the perspective of the Christian and how it relates to his relationship with God. It is necessary to investigate NT suffering in order to make every attempt to understand why God has not kept His chosen people, the church, from any and all suffering.

The issue of suffering for the Christian and non-Christian alike is as applicable today as it was during the time of Job.

All people suffer at some point in their lives – some more than others. For the Christian, at one end of the spectrum are those who die for their faith and become martyrs. At the other end of the spectrum are the everyday Christians who live their lives in such a way that they suffer for what they believe and/or the daily sufferings which are common to man (i.e. death of a loved one, sickness, etc.). Some would consider these sufferings as simple tests of faith for the Christian instituted by God in order to mold and make the person He desires for them to be. For the unbelievers these types of trials are simply nuisances and/or ways to curse a god they may or may not believe in. For the Christian, trials are to be, as James says, "considered pure joy…because the testing of faith develops perseverance." Trials, which often produce sufferings, produce greater faith. However, just because a person suffers as a Christian does not mean they are not totally without fault. As we have seen from Job’s account, many godly people suffer even when they have not sinned, but suffering is one of the results of sin.

Peter’s epistles address Christians and give encouragement to them for the suffering they will endure as a result of their faith in Christ, but these letters are not to be construed as letters given to support the idea that Christians are sinless, that would be ludicrous. It must not be forgotten that suffering comes as a result of sin dating back to the beginning of man’s creation. Peter writes in lieu of the fact that humans suffer – he just writes and gives encouragement for the times Christians do suffer.

In Peter’s first epistle he writes to the downhearted, and he writes in order to give encouragement in times of trial and disappointment. First Peter is not about giving false hope on the premise of logic, rather, it provides the believer with solid teaching based on the unequal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who "suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (2:21). This is a letter of hope in the midst of suffering and testing because Peter shares that suffering is Christ-like in that Christ Himself endured suffering for a purpose. To suffer for the sake of Christ, in Peter’s eyes, was something that is to be rejoiced over so as to have been counted worthy.

In Peter’s first epistle he addresses his comments toward people who were living in what is today northern Turkey. These people were living as aliens in foreign lands because their true home was in heaven. Their many trials and sufferings had to do with their new-found faith in Jesus Christ. This is parallel to Job because he too suffered due to his devotion to God. The sufferings of Christ are related to their own sufferings as an example (1:11; 2:21; 4:1-2; 5:1). Now this brings up an interesting point in the life of the believer today because not all Christians suffer for their faith in Christ – certainly not the way Peter’s audience suffered for their faith. It must be remembered that Peter’s audience did not live a "Christian friendly" society like the United States, and they needed encouragement in this area of their lives. Of course today, many Christians do suffer and die for their faith in Christ outside of the U.S., so this issue in Peter’s epistles is still very relevant today.

This letter gives a tremendous example of Jesus Christ as the one to look to in times of suffering. Jesus’ cruel punishment for crimes He was innocent of and the suffering he endured as a result of this shows His followers what they too may face as they live out their faith in a world that hates them. Most importantly, this epistle shows that Christians today may also share in the things of Christ through their suffering. This is key! In 4:12 suffering is to be sought after; in 4:19 suffering represents the will of God; in 2:23 and 3:9 suffering is to be endured patiently just as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (5:38-42); in 4:13 suffering is not only to be endured but to be had with a spirit of rejoicing. Furthermore, Peter points out to his audience that others were suffering for their faith (5:9). He goes on to point out in passages like 1:6-7; 2:19-20; 4:14 that there is value in suffering, namely the strengthening of faith. Of course this leads one to ask a very important question here. Does it always lead to the strengthening of faith? Unfortunately, many have fallen away from the faith due to their suffering. The issue here is that suffering has a purpose, and if that purpose is to weed out the unbelievers from the believers then this might be a great illustration of why God allows human suffering. That being said, the exhortations in the midst of suffering in Peter’s epistles are of a practical nature throughout the book, and they precede any doctrine that may be found. This is what permeates the book giving the reader a sense of hope and security in what they are experiencing.

The second epistle of Peter is much shorter than the first and has a much different style. This epistle has even come under a great deal of attack concerning Petrine authorship through the years and whether or not it should even be canonized. All that aside, this epistle has many strong words against false prophets as well as encouragement to the believers that Christ will indeed return again. Dr. Kenneth Gangel says the epistle could well be titled "The Believer’s Conflict in the Latter Days." Though there is a theme of victory at the beginning and end of the epistle most of the in-between is focused primarily on how to live when all the trials and tribulations come upon them in the end times. Suffering exists today, and its future is inevitable too. Peter tells of false teachers, fallen angels, decadence in society due to immorality, blasphemous scoffers at Jesus Christ and the promise of His coming, and total disregard for Scripture. In all, this epistle encourages its audience to not only endure these hardships but to remain faithful during these times – even with rejoicing! This is the bottom line that Peter is trying to get across to his readers. His overall purpose is to call Christians to spiritual growth so that they can combat apostasy as they look forward to the Lord’s return. During this time suffering is at the forefront of all Christian existence. These epistles address suffering apart from any specific sin in the life of the believer. They do not assume that sin does not exist in the believer and cause personal suffering, rather, because of sin they address the fact that Christians will suffer. This was the case with Job – he suffered as a result of sin in and of itself; he did not suffer for any specific sin in his life at that time as far as the reader knows.

It is simply no secret that human beings suffer. It can be seen in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, but more practically speaking, it can be seen in each and every life we come in contact with – including our own. The newspapers are replete with it, the daily world and local news programs wouldn’t exist without it, and Christians gather together regularly to pray it all away. What does the fact that suffering exist say about God? What does it say about man? What does it say about the relationship between God and man?

God, being all knowing, both of the past and the future, and all powerful and sovereign over His creation, could, if He so chooses, do away with all human suffering. Of course this view of God is not held by all. Rabbi Kushner, for instance, insists that God is not able to prevent human suffering. He says, "God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but He cannot always arrange it." This views God as impotent, man-centered, and "fair" in the same sense that man defines the term. Human suffering says more about God than it does humans, and how one concludes this matter will be tell-tale as to how they handle their own suffering.

If God created all and knows all that has happened and will happen, is it reasonable to assume that He is responsible for all that occurs? Can the sovereign God of the universe know the events of the future and all their implications without being responsible for their occurance? These questions go beyond the bounds of scripture, and unfortunately there are no answers for them. However, they are healthy questions to ask simply because they propel us to look further into the character of the Almighty God.

Most biblical literates would say that since God is all good He cannot be responsible for evil. It's worth noting however, that the Bible continually shows how God is glorified through evil, sin, and human suffering. This doesn't make God the author of evil, but it does say that God is sovereign over it, using it for His purposes. It's as if He's cleaning up the mess we made with sin and rebellion with that same sin and rebellion.

Isaiah 6:3 describes God as holy, holy, holy. This holiness in threefold harmony encompasses all that can be said about Him. He is love, but He is wrath. He is merciful, but He is vengeful. All that God is is wrapped up in His holiness. The only way God can be all holy is to have all the traits he already has. He wouldn’t be holy if He were only love. He wouldn’t be holy if He were only full of wrath. His love encompasses His wrath, and His wrath encompasses His love. God would not be full of wrath if there were not sin to judge. He would not be full of love if there were not a Savior, namely Jesus Christ, to save humankind from sin. Sin is God’s instrument through which He is able to show his mercy and grace by showing forgiveness. Human suffering is a channel through which humans can be like God, who suffered for the sins of mankind that He might save mankind. Suffering makes man stronger and brings him closer to his Maker. God is sovereign over His creation causing all things to work together for His glory (Romans 8:29). He could not show mercy the way He has to a corrupt and sinful people by saving them without sin and suffering. Likewise, God would be unable to reveal His grace without man’s need to be saved without works.

God is the Maker of all things, and He reserves the right to do as He pleases when He pleases. Human suffering is confusing, but God demonstrates for the world His grace through it all and shows how a man can endure unmerited hardship without ever having known the reason for it all. God doesn’t always give reasons, nor does He apologize for what He puts us through. In the case of Job, "God affirmed His justice without defending or explaining it. God said, in essence, that He is and always will be just and fair to His creatures." Why would God apologize for bringing glory and worship to Himself? If that is His goal in the end, then He reserves the right to use His own creation to bring about that end – even if man has to suffer for a brief time.

In every instance in the Bible and in the present day where suffering is present God always has a reason for the suffering He allows and a lesson to be learned from it all. In God’s eyes, human suffering is worthwhile because of what it produces – firm faith in Him for the true believer. It allows Him to show mercy, grace, and love – three attributes His holiness cannot be deprived of. One may argue that without sin and suffering, God would not be able to reveal this side of Himself.

A great example of how God uses suffering and hardship is through the writings of C.S. Lewis. In the Screwtape Letters there is a conversation going on between an upper-class demon named Screwtape and his protege, Wormwood. Screwtape is teaching his young disciple to torment a new Christian, and he is giving him advice about his newfound life along with some of the character traits of God whom he calls "the Enemy." The new Christian is in a state of unknown anguish, and Screwtape’s advice is noteworthy because it captures the essence of suffering through the eyes of God – only in this book it is from a demon’s perspective. Screwtape says that the nearest approach to constancy for a Christian is undulation, the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks. Screwtape tells Wormwood that as long as Christians live on the earth "there will be a period of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness that will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty." The brilliance of this imaginary conversation is the insight into the suffering of the saint when Screwtape gives Wormwood to following advice:

What Lewis is saying in his own unique way concerning human suffering is that God causes those He loves to suffer more and more often and longer and longer because He loves them. This is His way of bringing the sufferer to Himself and testing his professed beliefs, thus, having greater fellowship with Him. After all, testing the validity of one’s faith may be the fundamental reason God allows suffering at all.

The three friends of Job, though they meant well and loved Job, held the false and satanic doctrine of retribution/recompense that is held by many even today. They simply could not get past the belief that the righteous never suffer and the wicked always do. Today this is what is behind the "good works" salvation found in most religions. Their advice to Job reflects their bad theology, and ultimately their advice and their counsel was rejected by God. Retribution theology is not all bad, however. In fact, this is and remains a strong tenet of God’s justice and righteousness without violating His mercy, love, and grace toward his people (37:13). Job proves that human troubles, however, are not always the result of sin in one’s life. Even the blind man in John 9:2-3 was not born blind as a result of sin…

Retribution/recompense theology is not a universal law in the plan of God however. Loader says, "The Book of Job has not objection to a connection of deed and consequence, but indeed objects to a doctrine of retribution into which reality is forced."

What the Book of Job sets out to do is to dispel the theory that bad things always happen when people mess up. Certainly this is what Job’s friends believed, and it’s what man generally believes today. But Job was never convinced of this fact even though he was continually pounded by these men that this was so. They seemed to ignore his long discourses so they could tell him how wrong he was about his own behavior. No matter what Job said in defense of his supposed "righteous" life, his friends refused to listen. They were convinced that Job was guilty of something; his guilt was the only thing in their minds that could have brought on such suffering. If Job’s suffering were unjustly allowed by God, or if God’s work could be reduced to a quid pro quo system, then God is no different from the false gods of the ancient Near East. This was not the answer, and Job knew it.

What the existence of suffering says about man is that he is a fallen creature as a result of sin. Sin has depleted man and given him a realized need for a loving and forgiving God. Without sin man would have no need for a Savior. Without suffering, man would not look to God for salvation. Man has needs that God has given him: deliverance and forgiveness. God provides both, and in this unfathomable relationship between sinner and Sovereign, the two are united, and man is justified through the blood of Jesus.

Now if God allows human suffering, there is no reason for humans to pray for it not to enter their lives. If God is glorified through human suffering, there is no way He should put an end to it before He glorifies His children in the last day. It is man’s conclusion that suffering is wrong and evil, but apparently God, though He could destroy evil and put an end to suffering, has no intention of doing so until all is fulfilled. Putting an end to all sin and suffering would most likely cause God to destroy all people who are inherently evil. When people get on their high horse about how they can't worship a God who allows evil, they should be ready for God to start by taking them out. If God were to destroy evil he would have to start somewhere, and since man is evil we should be ready for Him to start with us.

What is admirable about Job here is that even though he was weak, depressed, and bereaved he still was not beaten down so much that he gave into the pressure of his friends. This is another great example, not of the human will, but of the power of God. It was God who was allowing it all happen, from Satan and the power given him, to the faithful behavior of Job. To have any other opinion of Job’s circumstances reduces the Almighty God to simply "a god." This "exaggerates suffering beyond its importance and promotes it to the prime factor of life, with all things revolving around its existence or absence. Man and God have a relationship through suffering, even if that relationship is man cursing God. Suffering allows man to grow and mature spiritually because it is a channel through which God works in the lives of men.

Now the question must be answered… So what? So what does any of this mean for the one going through difficult times. People lose ones they love every day. They find out they have a terminal disease. They are financially devastated. This writer is no stranger to suffering, but writing about it is no easy task. But there is a great deal of blessing in suffering for man as it brings glory to God. Though God is not to be viewed as anthropocentric (man-centered) in that the salvation of man is His only purpose, He does have a good and perfect plan for man to bring about man’s satisfaction and happiness while on the earth. Through suffering, not always health and wealth, man can and should gain many things to bring about his own growth. There are at least five lessons to be learned from human suffering and how they can help us through our inevitably difficult times.

First, suffering produces fresh joy. Once a person comes through a time of suffering, or as C.S. Lewis calls it, a "trough," he/she experiences a newfound joy in his life. If the suffering one experienced was failed health then he appreciates health if he is able to gain it back through the grace of God. Health is always taken for granted until it is taken away. Once it is restored, there is joy unceasing. Of course if the person viewed his suffering as an affliction from God and trusted it to God’s sovereignty then he has nothing to be ashamed of. On the flip side of this, if a person rants and raves, blames and curses God during their time of trial, there might be joy following restoration, but there is shame when one reflects on their behavior. The apostle Peter associates suffering with the assurance of salvation in 1 Peter 1:3-7:

Joy and assurance can be the most powerful in times of suffering if believers do not forget that

genuine joy awaits them from the confidence that their lives are hid with Christ in God.

The second lesson learned from suffering is that suffering enhances future glory.

As long as we are in this world, we are called to bear suffering patiently and see it through to God’s ultimate purpose. That’s when we begin to see that suffering is beneficial – it is part of our final perfection and glorification. In this sense, believers have to understand that their time on the earth is a time in which they are being molded into the person God wants them to be. Being molded into a person of godly character always involves suffering. Suffering is the key to being made in the likeness of God. Jesus even told His disciples that in this world you will have trouble. He even calls people "blessed" who are persecuted and mocked [bringing about suffering] when they are persecuted for righteousness. One can see the happiness of the apostles when they left the Sanhedrin after being mocked and flogged because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace on account of Jesus (Acts 5:41). They had joy, but they also were being enhanced for the future glory that awaited them.

Third, suffering produces true comfort. The Apostle Paul was once a callused man. He hated Christians, and he sought to persecute and kill them all. He was a learned man, zealous for what he deemed as the Truth. Paul suffered a great deal in his life. His letters in the New Testament along with the Book of Acts confirm this. God sent him down a path of difficulty resulting in much suffering. At the end of Paul’s life he had a gentle and tender heart as a result of his suffering. God allowed Paul to suffer so that he might experience comfort and then in turn comfort others. Human suffering lets us know that God is working in our lives. To know and have at least a small understanding of this is to be comforted. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Mourning is an indicator of suffering, but Jesus teaches that mourning is not all bad. He calls them "blessed," and he teaches that they shall be comforted. Suffering produces comfort because it shows that the believer is in the will of God.

Fourth, suffering yields greater wisdom. Anytime a believer endures suffering of any kind he should emerge from his sorrow more wise than when he went in. This is just another example of the joy hidden in human suffering. When a loved one dies people learn, even in deep sorrowful grief. When a person loses everything, whether it be financially, materially, or concerning his family, he learns from the process. Now many are too shallow and angry to process any lessons to be learned from their sufferings, but this is precisely why believers must come to a proper understanding of why God allows humans to suffer. There is no greater attribute believers can ask for than wisdom, and that is exactly what suffering produces.

Finally, suffering yields true humility. Suffering has a way of bringing people to a level of humility. One only has to look at the life of Job once again to see how it was produced in him. He was a righteous man, even by God’s own admission, but he lost everything. He sat, after having lost his family and worldly possessions, and picked at his sores during his darkest hour. When he was restored he did not forget, and he was a changed man. It’s not recorded in the Bible, but it would be a safe bet to say that Job was far more humble after his trial than he was when he went into it.

God allows human suffering to bring about His own glory. When Job’s wife told him to "curse God and die" Job responded, "Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:9-10). In saying this Job assumes that suffering is as much a gift from God as prosperity. The fellowship of God is enriching, and ... that fellowship may be found in adversity no less than in prosperity. Satan doesn’t play fair, but he is God’s instrument at times, and he is under God’s dominion. God is ultimately in control, and a personal relationship with Him gives man meaning and purpose in the fallen world where injustices prevail. One may question the fact that Jesus died for sins and ask why there is still suffering in the world today as a result of the sin He died for, but the death of Christ was for the forgiveness of sins. It did not obliterate sin as an entity. Satan still reigns as the prince of darkness on the earth, and his powerful influence is the cause of much of the sin that leads to human suffering, though not all.

Christians have suffered and will continue to suffer. Some suffering is what is common to man while other suffering will be specifically due to one’s faith in Christ as the Epistles of Peter point out. Whatever the circumstance for the Christian’s suffering Peter’s words ring as true today as they did in the first century. Christians must endure their trials with rejoicing, understanding that the sufferings they face today will work to bring about spiritual maturity with the strengthening of their faith – all to the glory of God.

With regard to the strengthening of faith through suffering, there are a number of things to keep in mind from Job’s account. First, accepting false tenets about suffering can cause one to blame and challenge God. Second, people do not always know all the facts, nor is such knowledge necessary for living a life of faith. Third, suffering can be faced with faith and trust in a loving, gracious God even when there is no immediate, satisfying, logical, or rational reason to do so. Fourth, God does allow suffering, pain and even death, if they best serve His purposes. Finally, because God’s people are intimately related to Him, God works through physical ailments, among other situations, to bring about his glory. This is the underlying theme found in the Book of Job.

When one considers who God is and comes to grips with His form of justice, which is mercy, then there is no "bad" thing that can happen in the lives of His people. The Book of James says, "Consider it all joy, brethren, when you face trials of many kinds..." (James 1:2), and Paul says in Philippians 2:29 that he has graciously granted us the privilege of suffering for Christ [emphasis mine]. The trials humans face really boil down to a matter of perspective at the root. Of course human suffering is sad and many times, heart-wrenching from the death of a loved one, but in the end they are a matter of perspective. This view can only come from the lessons learned through God’s revealed Word and our own Christian maturity. Once man understands that God is behind all suffering in that He at least allows for it, using it for His own glory, we can grow in our relationship with Him and endure the most difficult of human sufferings.