Why do we experience pain?
Will Harold
I have 4 young children, so naturally I am asked an average of 15,000 questions per day. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but some days it really does feel like that. These questions can range from, “Will you play with me?” to “How many counties are in Oklahoma?” to “Why did God create spiders?” Lately, as we've walked through seasons of illness, death, and grief, we've had to answer harder questions like “How long will I feel sad like this?” and “When will things get better?”
There’s a philosophical problem here; a problem that’s not just intellectual, it’s deeply personal. Why would a good God allow evil and suffering in the world? It’s a valid question that any hurting person has probably asked at some point in their life. You might be asking that question right now. If there’s one universal experience that humans share, it is the reality of suffering and brokenness in this life. I’m reminded of 1 Peter 1:6-9, which says this: “You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Peter is explaining that the pain and suffering in your life doesn’t have to weaken your faith. In fact, pain can actually strengthen it. How is that possible? Let’s find out together.
What was the fire that Peter was referring to? He is using this idea of fire as an illustration of a furnace that you put precious metals into. This is a powerful illustration of the suffering and evil that we experience in this world, because there was a time in the Bible when this actually happened. In the book of Daniel, we see King Nebuchadnezzar build a statue of himself and demand that everyone worship him under penalty of death. When three Jewish men refused the King’s order, his anger burned and he ordered that the men were to be thrown into a fiery furnace as a punishment for their defiance. In fact, this furnace was so hot that the flames consumed the people that were actually throwing them into the furnace. After a while, the King looks into the furnace from a safe distance and is totally amazed. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, ‘Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?’ ‘Yes, of course, Your Majesty,’ they replied to the king. He exclaimed, ‘Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’ ’’ (Daniel 3:24-25)
I believe that this event is in the Bible to remind us of a very important promise, a promise that we can find in the book of Isaiah: “Do not fear, I have redeemed you. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:2)
I love how Tim Keller emphasizes this section. Keller notes that the promise is not that you won't go through deep water or fiery trials. Do you notice what God’s promise is here? The promise is not that you won’t go through deep waters or fiery trials. The promise is not if you go through deep waters or fiery trials. The promise is when. And the promise is that when you are walking through the fiery trials of this life, when evil and suffering come your way, God is walking through it with you. The promise is that these trials will prove the character of your faith, that the trials won’t break you, but rather refine you. So when we ever wonder why a good God allows evil and suffering, we need to remember God’s promises.
My kids really don’t like getting shots. Especially my daughter. During her last round of shots, she sat on my wife’s lap, her big blue eyes looking at her mom. And as the needle went in, there was no screaming, no flailing. Just soft sniffles, wide teary eyes, and one word: “Ouchie.” My heart breaks all over again just thinking about it. I don’t think there is a single kid who enjoys getting shots. In their mind, shots are evil; it causes them pain! Mommy and Daddy are making me do this! Why? Is it because Daddy’s evil? No, it’s because I know that the short-term evil, in their perspective, is going to result in a long-term good. And that is the perspective that we must take when we choose to trust in the promises of God rather than the appearance of our surroundings.
How can we know that these promises are true? The answer to this question is found in the New Testament. Because only on the cross do we see how far God was willing to go to make good on His promise to walk through the fiery trials with us. In the New Testament, we can see God’s promises fulfilled. And this promise is unique to the God of the Bible, because He’s the only one who actually endured the same evil and suffering that we experience on Earth. God became vulnerable to the same evil and suffering that we experience. If you’re experiencing physical pain, know that Jesus was lynched, whipped, beaten so much so that Isaiah writes, “his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being.” (Isaiah 52:14) For those of us who have lost loved ones, we can sit in our grief, and rest in the arms of a Father who lost his only son. When your situation is bringing you to tears of anger or frustration, and the only question on your mind is, “Why, God, why?” you can look to the cross and see Jesus calling out "Why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) It’s incredible to know that God has suffered everything that we have suffered and so much more.
So, with the cross in full view, we have more of an understanding of what God went through in order to fulfill His promise to walk through the trials with us. In the shadow of the cross we can then ask God, “Why do you allow evil and suffering in this world?” Even though the cross cannot answer this question directly, it can tell you what the answer is not. The answer to the question cannot be that God doesn’t love us. We don’t know why He allows evil and suffering, but the answer to that question cannot be because God doesn’t care. In fact, the cross tells us the opposite. The cross illustrates the fact that God cares so deeply, so immensely, so personally about the evil and suffering that we all experience. He cares so much that He was willing to go through it Himself. God sees the evil in this world and it breaks His heart. He knows that it ought not to be this way.
In the beginning of his letter, Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1: 3-4)
Recently a close friend of mine died after heroically battling pancreatic cancer. Whenever I would call him to pray for him and encourage him, he would end up encouraging me instead! He was so full of joy, so full of hope for what was to come, that I couldn’t help but listen in awe. Friend, I don’t know what trials you are going through, but know that you can experience joy in the presence of your suffering when your hope is found in the promises to come.
When Peter talks about this living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, he’s not talking about a hypothetical concept. He wants us to look at every day, every situation, and every trial that comes our way through the lens of eternity. Because what do we see? We see that this living hope is an inheritance. This is a promise for everyone who is in the family of God. Peter writes that it is “imperishable, undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you.” And what is this inheritance? What is this living hope? What is this finish line that is supposed to sustain us and keep us going forward?
It’s another promise, from our good and all-powerful God. It’s a promise that one day our joy will be complete. It’s a promise that God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. A promise that everything that is good about life here will be reflected there with one major change: it will be perfect. Restored. Complete. Undefiled. All of the brokenness of this world will fade, and we can look to our future with God in a world where there is no more death, no more evil, and no more suffering. And one day evil and suffering will ultimately be defeated.
And that is a beautiful promise indeed.
There’s a philosophical problem here; a problem that’s not just intellectual, it’s deeply personal. Why would a good God allow evil and suffering in the world? It’s a valid question that any hurting person has probably asked at some point in their life. You might be asking that question right now. If there’s one universal experience that humans share, it is the reality of suffering and brokenness in this life. I’m reminded of 1 Peter 1:6-9, which says this: “You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Peter is explaining that the pain and suffering in your life doesn’t have to weaken your faith. In fact, pain can actually strengthen it. How is that possible? Let’s find out together.
What was the fire that Peter was referring to? He is using this idea of fire as an illustration of a furnace that you put precious metals into. This is a powerful illustration of the suffering and evil that we experience in this world, because there was a time in the Bible when this actually happened. In the book of Daniel, we see King Nebuchadnezzar build a statue of himself and demand that everyone worship him under penalty of death. When three Jewish men refused the King’s order, his anger burned and he ordered that the men were to be thrown into a fiery furnace as a punishment for their defiance. In fact, this furnace was so hot that the flames consumed the people that were actually throwing them into the furnace. After a while, the King looks into the furnace from a safe distance and is totally amazed. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, ‘Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?’ ‘Yes, of course, Your Majesty,’ they replied to the king. He exclaimed, ‘Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’ ’’ (Daniel 3:24-25)
I believe that this event is in the Bible to remind us of a very important promise, a promise that we can find in the book of Isaiah: “Do not fear, I have redeemed you. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:2)
I love how Tim Keller emphasizes this section. Keller notes that the promise is not that you won't go through deep water or fiery trials. Do you notice what God’s promise is here? The promise is not that you won’t go through deep waters or fiery trials. The promise is not if you go through deep waters or fiery trials. The promise is when. And the promise is that when you are walking through the fiery trials of this life, when evil and suffering come your way, God is walking through it with you. The promise is that these trials will prove the character of your faith, that the trials won’t break you, but rather refine you. So when we ever wonder why a good God allows evil and suffering, we need to remember God’s promises.
My kids really don’t like getting shots. Especially my daughter. During her last round of shots, she sat on my wife’s lap, her big blue eyes looking at her mom. And as the needle went in, there was no screaming, no flailing. Just soft sniffles, wide teary eyes, and one word: “Ouchie.” My heart breaks all over again just thinking about it. I don’t think there is a single kid who enjoys getting shots. In their mind, shots are evil; it causes them pain! Mommy and Daddy are making me do this! Why? Is it because Daddy’s evil? No, it’s because I know that the short-term evil, in their perspective, is going to result in a long-term good. And that is the perspective that we must take when we choose to trust in the promises of God rather than the appearance of our surroundings.
How can we know that these promises are true? The answer to this question is found in the New Testament. Because only on the cross do we see how far God was willing to go to make good on His promise to walk through the fiery trials with us. In the New Testament, we can see God’s promises fulfilled. And this promise is unique to the God of the Bible, because He’s the only one who actually endured the same evil and suffering that we experience on Earth. God became vulnerable to the same evil and suffering that we experience. If you’re experiencing physical pain, know that Jesus was lynched, whipped, beaten so much so that Isaiah writes, “his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being.” (Isaiah 52:14) For those of us who have lost loved ones, we can sit in our grief, and rest in the arms of a Father who lost his only son. When your situation is bringing you to tears of anger or frustration, and the only question on your mind is, “Why, God, why?” you can look to the cross and see Jesus calling out "Why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) It’s incredible to know that God has suffered everything that we have suffered and so much more.
So, with the cross in full view, we have more of an understanding of what God went through in order to fulfill His promise to walk through the trials with us. In the shadow of the cross we can then ask God, “Why do you allow evil and suffering in this world?” Even though the cross cannot answer this question directly, it can tell you what the answer is not. The answer to the question cannot be that God doesn’t love us. We don’t know why He allows evil and suffering, but the answer to that question cannot be because God doesn’t care. In fact, the cross tells us the opposite. The cross illustrates the fact that God cares so deeply, so immensely, so personally about the evil and suffering that we all experience. He cares so much that He was willing to go through it Himself. God sees the evil in this world and it breaks His heart. He knows that it ought not to be this way.
In the beginning of his letter, Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1: 3-4)
Recently a close friend of mine died after heroically battling pancreatic cancer. Whenever I would call him to pray for him and encourage him, he would end up encouraging me instead! He was so full of joy, so full of hope for what was to come, that I couldn’t help but listen in awe. Friend, I don’t know what trials you are going through, but know that you can experience joy in the presence of your suffering when your hope is found in the promises to come.
When Peter talks about this living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, he’s not talking about a hypothetical concept. He wants us to look at every day, every situation, and every trial that comes our way through the lens of eternity. Because what do we see? We see that this living hope is an inheritance. This is a promise for everyone who is in the family of God. Peter writes that it is “imperishable, undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you.” And what is this inheritance? What is this living hope? What is this finish line that is supposed to sustain us and keep us going forward?
It’s another promise, from our good and all-powerful God. It’s a promise that one day our joy will be complete. It’s a promise that God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. A promise that everything that is good about life here will be reflected there with one major change: it will be perfect. Restored. Complete. Undefiled. All of the brokenness of this world will fade, and we can look to our future with God in a world where there is no more death, no more evil, and no more suffering. And one day evil and suffering will ultimately be defeated.
And that is a beautiful promise indeed.