If God is good, why does he allow evil and suffering in this world? That is a question that many have asked and may be asking today. This is an ancient question that is often referred to as “the problem of evil” or the theological term of “theodicy.” The question sees a problem or inconsistence with the assumed goodness of God when compared to the suffering in this world, such as the current infliction of the covid-19 virus. As you could guess, much has been written in response to “the problem of evil.” The oldest of these writings are found in the books of Bible known as Job, Ecclesiastes, and Psalms. There is a big difference though in how these books of the Bible see and treat suffering compared to how the problem of suffering is understood today. In our day, evil or suffering are arguments used to refute the goodness of God (or the existence any god at all).
In scripture though the goodness of God is not doubted, thus suffering in this world is seen as more of a riddle to be solved than a problem that needs fixing. From a Biblical worldview, the question would be asked more like this; “Since God is good, why is there evil and suffering in this world?” To this question the books of Job and Ecclesiastes spend a lot of time exploring various answers. The friends of Job talk about suffering as evidence of God’s wrath, or the consequences of sin (freewill), or that suffering is just the fate of each and every person living in this world. The Lord speaking in the Book of Job tells us that each of these are the wrong answers, something every preacher should be reminded of today.
The book of Ecclesiastes begins by exploring another fascinating answer to the question of evil. It attempts to describe what life looks like if God is not good. The answer it returns is that suffering and evil still exists. Nullifying the goodness or existence of God does not stop or change the reality of evil or suffering in this world, something every agnostic of atheist should be reminded of today. In fact, the book of Ecclesiastes very powerfully describes what life would be like in a world of evil and suffering without a good God by reminding all of us that all of our life experiences (the good and the bad) have no meaning and are hopeless if all of life ends in the grave.
So, what is the answer to the riddle of suffering? That answer is this, because our God is good, evil and suffering never have the last word, that death is not the end. Those who put their trust in the God who is good can expect something more that reaches beyond this temporal suffering. This answer is seen in Job 19:25-26 as Job proclaims “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.” The answer is also seen in the very last verse of Ecclesiastes where we are told that Go will bring every deed into judgement, which is good news, for it means that every action has consequence and meaning, and thus does not end in the grave. Psalm 49 goes on and says that the only answer to the problem of suffering (death) is a good God, and it is because of a good God that “God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me (Psalm 49:15).” The goodness of God is not the problem of suffering, rather it is its answer.
Grace and Peace
Pastor Trent Eastman (3/27/2020)
Concerning the Word of Life 