God allows suffering because it serves purposes that fulfill His perfect will: to test and refine faith, to display His glory, to produce spiritual maturity, to bring about repentance, and to remind mankind of the fallen nature of this world. Suffering is not pointless; it is under God’s control and used for eternal purposes.
Job, a righteous man, suffered immensely, not because of sin, but as a test of faith:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
(Job 1:21)
“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”
(Job 2:10)
Through suffering, Job learned deeper trust in God:
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.”
(Job 42:5)
The New Testament teaches that suffering produces endurance and spiritual growth:
“Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
(Romans 5:3–4)
God also uses suffering to correct and discipline His children:
“For whom the Lord loves He chastens… Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present… but afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.”
(Hebrews 12:6,11)
The apostle Paul, who suffered greatly, taught that suffering prepares believers for eternal glory:
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
(2 Corinthians 4:17)
Even Jesus, though sinless, suffered:
“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
(Hebrews 5:8)
Suffering reminds us that this world is not our home. It draws us closer to God, exposes our dependence on Him, and prepares us for the joy that is to come.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying… for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:4)
