Explore God
Session 3
Why Does God Allow Pain and Suffering?
Note: This lesson is written to help believers to answer this question so that they can then share from their experience with those “exploring God.” Pain and suffering, especially in the life of an innocent child, are extremely difficult to deal with, even for a mature believer. The best way to help someone struggling with pain and suffering is to relate to them with personal experiences of enduring and overcoming circumstances that caused pain and suffering. In this lesson, we will employ the story of Joseph from the Bible. You can enhance the lesson with your own personal testimony or the stories of others that you know.
Intro Because God is omnipotent, it would seem correct that nothing happens without His consent. His consent can be construed as his permission, allowing everything that happens to happen. If He allows everything, then it would seem that He can also prevent …show more content…
The fact that sin is the cause of pain and suffering is of little consolation when you are watching a loved one’s body being ravaged by cancer. The question that is most important is not “Why?” or even “What is the source of suffering,” because there is not answer to the question “Why.” Why do innocent children have to suffer because of the stupidity of adults? There is no answer. The consequences of sin are universally pervasive and everyone suffers. We may never know why the seemingly innocent suffer and the guilty appear to go free. It is a painful mystery of
Session 3
Why Does God Allow Pain and Suffering?
Note: This lesson is written to help believers to answer this question so that they can then share from their experience with those “exploring God.” Pain and suffering, especially in the life of an innocent child, are extremely difficult to deal with, even for a mature believer. The best way to help someone struggling with pain and suffering is to relate to them with personal experiences of enduring and overcoming circumstances that caused pain and suffering. In this lesson, we will employ the story of Joseph from the Bible. You can enhance the lesson with your own personal testimony or the stories of others that you know.
Intro Because God is omnipotent, it would seem correct that nothing happens without His consent. His consent can be construed as his permission, allowing everything that happens to happen. If He allows everything, then it would seem that He can also prevent …show more content…
The fact that sin is the cause of pain and suffering is of little consolation when you are watching a loved one’s body being ravaged by cancer. The question that is most important is not “Why?” or even “What is the source of suffering,” because there is not answer to the question “Why.” Why do innocent children have to suffer because of the stupidity of adults? There is no answer. The consequences of sin are universally pervasive and everyone suffers. We may never know why the seemingly innocent suffer and the guilty appear to go free. It is a painful mystery of