Peace and Suffering

 

“King David sure had a hard life,” Otto said to me.  “I was just reading in I Samuel and Saul seemed as though he was out to get him.”

“It is kind of odd,” I agreed.  “If Saul had simply let David command his armies, he would have had all kinds of success and Saul’s end would have been different.”

“It makes you wonder why God lets things happen the way He does,” Otto said.  “Surely He could have brought David to the throne faster without all of the suffering on the way.”

“Maybe so,” I said.  “But maybe David was the king he was because of the suffering he had experienced before he reached the throne.”

“It hardly makes sense,” Otto continued. 

“I guess I go on the idea that King Saul had choices – God allowed him to choose well or poorly and unfortunately, the decisions he made affected not only himself, but also his family, David, and lots of other folks – after all, he was king.  God didn’t make David suffer, but He was able to use that suffering to build his character into a man after God’s own heart.”

It seems as though one of the biggest arguments that people make who don’t believe in God is the argument about suffering.  If there is a good God who rules over all and is in control of all, why should people suffer?

The answer, simply, is that this is a broken world.  It is a world in which bacteria cause disease and in which a coronavirus can cause millions of deaths.  It is a world in which dictators can wage genocide, even as they launch attacks on neighboring nations.  It is a world full to the brim with abuse and hunger and disease.

None of that is God’s plan nor does He instigate it.  He has promised His people that He will stand with them in these moments of suffering.  Before His own suffering on the cross, Jesus told His followers, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

It is such a blessing that we can have peace, even in a world that is full of trials and sorrows.  Perhaps the best example of this was the Apostle Paul who told the Philippians that if he was executed he would go to be with Jesus, whereas if he was freed, he could continue his ministry.  “I’m a winner either way!”  He told the church at Philippi – and he believed it.

I don’t have Paul’s faith, at least not all of the time, but I know that I can have peace because the Savior I serve has overcome the world.