Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering? 

By: Sara B. Anderson, M.Div. J.D. 

On May 23, 2024, a young missionary couple were leaving church on their orphanage compound in Lizon, Haiti when suddenly two gangs breached the gates.  

They bound and beat the young husband before ransacking the premises.

Managing to get untied, the man led his wife and another missionary to a nearby house where they barricaded themselves inside. There, the husband called his father who had founded the mission. “Dad, something is going on.” 

The couple didn’t make it out that day.  

Gang members killed them along with the orphanage director.  

Davy and Natalie Lloyd had only been married two years. Despite the growing violence and famine, they had dedicated themselves to the Missions of Haiti orphanage. For all the good they did and the love they shared; however, their lives were senselessly cut short. 

Natalie’s father grieved, “I’ve never felt this kind of pain.” 

There’s no question that boggles the human mind more than why God would allow such evil and suffering, especially to our children.  

The contradiction can be boiled down to either: 

• 1) God is all good, but unable to stop evil; therefore, he is not all-powerful OR
• 2) God is all-powerful, but doesn’t want to stop evil; therefore, He is not all-good.  

Can God be all-powerful and all-good at the same time? 

Can God be good if He allows bad things to happen?

We can be certain that God did not kill these young missionaries.  

Does that statement make it any better? Or does it just beg the question of why evil even exists if it’s not the will of God? 

How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction?  

We can reconcile it because with God, it is no contradiction at all. 

To understand the existence of evil and the seeming tolerance of God toward its existence, we must understand the difference between our essence and God’s essence.  

God is holy.  

Holy is the ultimate divine qualifier and the qualifier that humans inherently lack. When talking about good versus evil, it means God epitomizes perfect goodness.  

As the essence of good, He can create good things, such as free will, but His creation is of a lesser essence. That is, His creation can never be Him, but it can reflect Him.  

Reflections are never as strong as the real thing. 

Therefore, we can reflect God’s essence, His goodness. But we created beings must constantly use our free will to choose good because we are not the essence of good.  

God, on the other hand, never has to choose good, because He’s inherently good—He is the essence of good.  

We humans only know “evil” because we compare it to “good.”  

Without good we could never understand evil as they exist relative to one another in the created world.  

At one point, the created being, Lucifer, chose evil. Now Lucifer tempts God’s image-bearers to choose the same, and it has worked.  

God’s punishment was the fall. Now imperfect humans must live in a corrupted world with a tempting enemy constantly leading us away from good and toward evil. 

Why does God allow evil to exist?

When it comes to the existence of evil, then, I’m often reminded of my human hypocrisy. I want God to deal with others according to their worst deeds but reward me according to my best actions.  

The point is the evil in our fallen world is perpetuated by all of us because none of us can choose good every choice we have.  

We would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we shook our fist at God for not dealing with evil, because ultimately, we would be asking God to deal with us. 

The good news, God didn’t start any of the evil. But, as hard as it is for us to accept, He can (in His perfectly sovereign, holy wisdom) stop any, all, or none of it. And His choices are neither unfair, unjust, or not good. Why?  

Because God, as the essence of good, can only do good. God can allow evil, but He cannot create evil. 

If you’re thinking, well, I don’t want to serve a God like that, take a moment to fathom the gravity of sin on God’s good creation.  

All the “good” God intended for us has been corrupted because of sin. Our created nature cannot grasp what we gave up when we defied God in the Garden of Eden.  

Due to our dimmed understanding, the challenge of suffering and evil has no easy answers.  

We can trust, however, that God will never waste any of our experiences: good or bad. 

So, let’s look to 4 of the reasons the Bible gives for why God allows suffering and evil. 

1. To Refine Our Character.

Do you want to be a better person? Would you allow suffering in your life if it could impart better character?  

Most of us would say no. And probably we would qualify the degree of suffering we would agree to.  

But Paul saw it differently.  

He taught that:

“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4).  

Just as silver can only be purified under a hot fire to burn away the dross (bad stuff), we are best purified of our sin through the fire as well. And eliminating sin is worth rejoicing over because we will be reconciled to God.  

The best “good” is reconciliation with God since the worst “bad” is separation from Him.  

Take heart if you don’t find yourself rejoicing in your sufferings. But in hindsight, you may find yourself mourning the passing of the season when you had only Christ to lean on. 

2. To Display the Glory of God.

In John 9, the disciples asked Jesus why a particular man was born blind. Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (3).  

This man had suffered his whole life. His family likely lamented why God had punished them. We wouldn’t blame the man if he questioned God’s goodness. But Jesus made it clear, God allowed this man’s suffering so God’s glory could be displayed through it.  

And glory it was. 

Through a “chance” meeting with Jesus, God miraculously restored his sight. And generation after generation later, we can read and be encouraged by God’s choice to intervene in this man’s life. 

If we equate suffering with punishment, God turns that misunderstanding on its head. Amid the nuances of individual circumstances, we can cling to the promise that:

“God will work all things to the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). 

Just like the blind man, God will use our adversity to showcase some of His best work. He doesn’t cause our adversity, but God has a plan to use the pain for a good purpose.

3. To Reconcile More Souls to God.

Why doesn’t God eliminate evil before anyone else has to go through the unthinkable?  

Enough is enough, right?  

Make no mistake, God could abolish evil. The Bible reminds us:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22). 

God’s justice will prevail at the proper time. Satan will be dealt with and thrown into the pit once and for all. Until then, God’s grace and mercy are poured out to give each of us a chance at eternal life.  

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 

Even though Adam and Eve opened the door to sin, God’s holy love stopped Him from doling out justice at that moment. God had already planned billions of other people to be born in the future. He would have had to give up those souls if He had stamped out evil right from the beginning.  

Jesus wants no one to perish. He wants all of them to have the opportunity to receive Jesus’s forgiveness.  

For Jesus, temporary suffering on earth is worth eternal life in heaven with God. That should convince us that eternity with God is going to be better than anything we could possibly imagine.  

God will wait until everyone written in the Book of Life is born before dropping the curtain on time.  

Even in a fallen world with sin and pain, Jesus knows His justice is worth the wait, because you are worth the wait. 

4. To Highlight His Victory Over the Ultimate Evil: Death.

“The ultimate answer to the problem of evil, at the personal level, is found in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ” (Paul E. Little, Know Why You Believe (Westmont, IL: IVP Books, 2008),170.

One Bible story stands above the rest, I believe, to illustrate Little’s point about the answer to the problem of evil. This is the story of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus who died. 

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.  And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus wept.” (John 11:32-35). 

The sisters were told what we discussed above, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (11:4). Like the blind man, Lazarus’ death and the family’s suffering had purpose.  

But, you argue, Lazarus still died!  

The family was understandably distraught that Jesus didn’t save Lazarus before he died.  When Jesus saw their sorrow at Lazarus’s death, He too wept. But that’s not all He did. 

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. 

Why not just prevent the death in the first place? More importantly, why Jesus didn’t raise your loved one from the dead? Does He not care equally about you?  

What Jesus told Lazarus’s family puts our suffering into perspective.  

He told Lazarus’s family that He, Jesus, is the resurrection and the life. Although Jesus resurrected Lazarus, the point of raising Lazarus was not solely for the benefit of Lazarus and his family, but for the benefit of all of us.  

That is, Jesus was teaching that the resurrection He performed that day would not be limited to Lazarus.  

Jesus was pointing to the fact that all who believe on Him will be resurrected. 

Jesus was teaching generations to come that His suffering will lead to the best outcome; an outcome not limited to this earth. We will all be able to live again, just like Lazarus. 

The point is, Jesus knows suffering and death.  

Jesus is not unfamiliar with sorrow or adversity. He both suffered and He died, even when He didn’t have to. He willingly put Himself in harm’s way so we could live the life that truly matters: eternal life.  

Even though God allows pain and suffering, He’s not unaffected by it.  

God sees us, feels us, and is there with us in the worst of times.  

“He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).  

Even in times of mourning, loss, sorrow, and suffering, God is right there with us, giving us strength until we get to the other side. Because ultimately, His goal with any experience in this life is to get us to eternal life with Him where there is no evil, suffering or death. 

The Greatest Test of Faith

The problem of evil is not an easy one to discuss.  

If you’re grappling with the dilemma, then you’re probably already suffering. Remember, God promises to never leave you or forsake you. 

Even amid your trauma, Jesus is there to comfort and guide you. He didn’t cause the evil, but He does weep with you.  

The only way we are getting around evil is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He accomplished what we could never. We need Him, and He wants us.  

Perhaps one of the greatest tests of faith for the Christian today is to believe that God is good.  

The wrong seeds of doubt are constantly being planted to try to convince us of God’s impotence in the face of evil. They just do not understand God or His loving plan to try to save everyone. While God gets blamed for the devil’s actions, He will not forego justice.  

God is the one we want in charge.  

He will get us where we need to be, which is an eternity in heaven with Him. Where there will be no suffering, no pain, and no tears. Amen. 

About the Author

Sara B. Anderson is a wife, mother of five, ministry leader, author, speaker, attorney, and Christian apologist with her Masters of Divinity in Christian Apologetics. Sara uses her education and experience to empower parents to raise the next generation of faith on the firm foundation of God’s truth. She is also the author of the fantastic book “The Best is Yet to Come: Facing the Fears of Today with God’s Hope for Tomorrow”, available on Amazon.

You can reach Sara at sarabanderson.com or admin@sarabroyhillanderson.com. You can also follow Sara’s ministry on Facebook at Fruits of Faith or Instagram at Fruits of Faith Ministries.

If you find this encouraging, then please share so it can help someone else!

And be sure to check out these other inspiring reads:

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• How to Have Faith in God . . . Even When Life is Hard