Where Is God When People Suffer?

Many people question the God of the Bible when they see or experience suffering. How could God allow injustice? Does he not care? Can he not stop it?

Those questions can be answered in different ways, but I have seen them answered well in the lifestyle of my wife. Just in the last few days, Janet has taken food from the food drive at my workplace to the Contact Church's food bank. Those who would go hungry have a little more to eat because of her efforts. She has taken children's clothes and toys to another congregation that is planning a medical mission trip to Mexico in a few days. Poor children in Mexico will have a few more articles of clothing and a few toys to enjoy because of her efforts. She has made phone calls, sent e-mails, and had lunch with a friend whose husband recently left her. Now another woman who has been mistreated knows that she will not face the difficult days ahead alone.

Where is God when people are in the midst of suffering, pain, and injustice? He may be working in many ways, but one way is through the compassion of his people. He is the God who "defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing" (Deuteronomy 10:18). He works through believers who "look after orphans and widows in their distress and...keep (themselves) from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).

When Christians embrace a lifestyle of concern for others, it's much more difficult to object to the Christian faith. People can see the compassion and mercy of God in the lives of believers who care and act. They will know where God is: in the hearts of compassionate Christians who are trying to make a positive difference in this world.