You’re Not Crazy To Believe That: The Only Hope For Suffering | Pastor Nate Keeler
One of the deepest and most persistent questions in the human heart is this: Why does pain exist? For those following Jesus, it becomes even more pointed: If God is good, why is there so much suffering? The Christian response to this dilemma is unique. Unlike some secular philosophies that minimize pain or treat it as meaningless, the Bible takes pain and evil seriously. It doesn’t deny their presence, but it does place them within a bigger story.
How Did Pain and Evil Enter the World?
The biblical story tells us that pain and evil were never part of God’s original creation. They are parasitic invasions, unnatural intrusions into a world that was created good. The source? Rebellion.
It began with the fall of angelic beings, referenced poetically in Isaiah 14, and continued with the rebellion of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. Influenced by a satanic being, humanity turned against God’s goodness and broke the shalom—the harmony and peace of God’s creation.
In response, we see the listing of curses in Genesis 3. These aren’t just punishments, but cosmic moral cause-and-effect consequences that follow the fracturing of God’s design. Even though God remains sovereign and gracious, even though His fingerprints still mark every inch of creation, we now live in a world of broken nature and broken nurture.
Why Does God Allow It to Continue?
This leads to the next question: Why does God allow pain and evil to remain?
Sometimes, the cause of pain is clear. We make a foolish decision and suffer the consequences. As a freshman in college, I once put on a shock collar meant for a dog, just to see if it hurt. It did. That’s pain with an obvious cause-and-effect.
But other pain isn’t so explainable. Some suffering comes uninvited and unearned. It’s not the result of our choices. We’re simply born into it, or it happens to us without reason. Why does God allow that?
Scripture doesn’t give us exhaustive answers. There’s mystery involved, and that’s okay. While our post-Enlightenment minds demand clarity, those who lived in biblical times were more comfortable with divine mystery. Christians today are invited into that same humility.
Still, God does reveal part of His purpose. The clearest answer He gives is that pain is allowed for His ultimate good and glorious purposes, which we often cannot comprehend.
As Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This doesn’t mean quoting this verse at someone in fresh grief is helpful. It’s not. But that doesn’t make it untrue.
Often, time reveals what we couldn’t see in the moment. A year, five years, or even a decade later, we may start to recognize what God was doing. Many of us can look back and say, “I see how God used that season to shape me. I see the beauty He brought from the ashes.”
If we can see even a few of these things now, isn’t it likely He’s doing 10,000 more things we cannot see?
Is There Any Hope That Pain Will End?
Yes. Absolutely, yes.
The Bible ends with a resounding promise: pain and evil will not have the final word. The story concludes with the return of the resurrected Jesus, who will undo every wrong, make straight all that is crooked, and even put to death, death itself.
In the final chapters of Scripture (Revelation 21-22), Jesus declares, “Behold, I am making all things new.” No more pain. No more mourning. No more tears. No more death. We will dwell in the presence of God forever. And somehow, in ways beyond our understanding, it will all be worth it.
The apostle Paul puts it boldly: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” And as Saint Teresa of Avila once said, “The first kiss from Jesus will make 100 years of misery feel like one night in a bad hotel.”
But What About Now?
You might still be asking, That’s great for the future—but what about my pain today? Is there comfort now?
Yes. A thousand times, yes.
Christianity doesn’t just offer hope for the future. It offers help in the present. If you’re suffering, there is a rich storehouse of comfort and hope available to you.
- Jesus not only promises a bright future, He promises His presence right now.
- He places us in a spiritual family, the Church, where others can be His hands and feet to care for us in our pain.
- Most profoundly, He offers Himself. A deep, unexplainable union with God in suffering. He draws near to the brokenhearted. He meets us in the darkness.
Even when the answers aren’t clear, He is. And He is good.
Conclusion: Holding On to a Good God
We may not control what God does, but we can trust who He is. In our pain, in our confusion, in our suffering, the Christian response is not a denial or dismissal, but a bold yes to a God who is near, who is at work, and who will make all things new.
If you’re hurting today, know this: You’re not alone. And this is not the end of the story.