For years, sinners and Christians alike have been troubled by the question, "Why does God allow suffering?" Those who do not know the Lord often cannot understand how a loving God could allow such terrible things to happen in the world, and those who do know the Lord are sometimes perplexed as to why God would allow His children to suffer. However, the Lord knew that we would have such questions, and the Scriptures give us many explanations for why God allows these things.

In Genesis 3, we read the story of man as he fell into sin, and as we see in Romans 6:23, "...the wages of sin is death..." Therefore, we know that when sin entered the world, likewise did suffering.

The Bible also promises suffering to those who do not serve the Lord in Job 15:20 when it says, "The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days..." and also in Proverbs 13:15 when it says, "...the way of transgressors is hard." This is because they are seeking lasting pleasure in the things of this world, but the Word of God lets us know that the pleasures of sin are only for a season (Hebrews 11:25). The only lasting joy comes from serving the Lord: "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:11)

However, we must remember that suffering comes even unto those who are godly. In II Timothy 3:12 Paul says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Other such verses such as James 5:10, I Peter 4:13, and II Thessalonians 1:6 also speak of the suffering that God's people must endure.

And while all of these verses help us to better understand the suffering of God's people, perhaps the greatest verse of all on the matter is II Corinthians 1:4 where Paul tells the Corinthians, "Who [God] comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." In other words, if we are a child of God, we have the promise that the Lord will comfort us in our tribulations and sufferings, in order that we may be able to comfort others.