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Over the course of any given week, you don’t have to look far to find examples of suffering.  At present, I’m friends with people who are experiencing suffering in areas of physical health, mental health, relationships, and finances.  When I read or watch the news, I encounter stories of natural disasters, wars, acts of terrorism, and other forms of difficulty on a national and global scale.  While there is much that is beautiful on this planet, we’re also surrounded by suffering and we never really know when a particularly difficult season of suffering may emerge in our own lives.

When I was just emerging as an adult, this was a concept I really struggled with.  To be more specific, I guess I should say that I didn’t necessarily struggle with why suffering existed in this world in a general way, but I often struggled with the concept of suffering in my own life.  I wondered why God would allow me to suffer when I was doing my best to trust Him, follow Him, and obey Him.  I now have a better understanding of why that is the case and I’ll elaborate on that shortly.

That being said, many people in this world would probably admit that they wrestle with the presence or concept of suffering.  It can be hard for them to consider God “good” when they’re wrestling with the fact that He’s clearly allowing people to suffer in all kinds of ways.

So what is the answer to this question?  If God is good, why is there so much suffering in this world?

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