The Emotional Problem of Evil – How to comfort those going through intense suffering? Sympathy, not explanation, is the key. It is not necessarily a questioning of God. This page further explores the Emotional Problem of Evil.

Is there a purpose for suffering?

For Followers-of-Jesus, the New Testament teaches the following four-fold reason or purpose for suffering:

There is an internal purpose for suffering. All suffering and trials of any kind strengthen and mature the Christian’s faith. From the Book of James we know that if a Christian responds to the suffering brought on by the various trials and tribulations of this life with an open heart to God that the Lord Jesus will give him a crown-of-life for his perseverance when he stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

There is an eternal purpose for suffering. When a Christian perseveres in suffering through various trials and tribulations, he is a witness to the unsaved. For some unsaved people this witness is positive, and the suffering of Christians will lead them to salvation. For other unsaved people this witness is negative as they are not moved by the suffering of Christians, and as such are left with no excuse on the Day of Judgment.

A third purpose of suffering is identification. When a Christian suffers unjustly for Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit rests upon this person in a special way. We are told that Jesus Christ personally knows who is suffering unjustly for him and blesses this person. By way of example we read in the Book of Acts that when Stephen, the first martyr, was being stoned to death, he could see Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father waiting to take him into Heaven.

The fourth purpose for suffering is fellowship. A person who suffers unjustly for Christ Jesus understands in some way how Christ suffered unjustly on the cross for him. The person who suffers because he is a Christian has a special bond of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Somehow this person literally participates in Christ’s suffering, not for purposes of salvation but for fellowship with Christ. While this may seem strange at first, we can all identify with the concept. When we are suffering a particular loss or trial in life, only a person who has suffered through a similar loss or trial can really understand and sympathize with what we are going through.

No one wants suffering, yet suffering in this life is not optional. The difference between a follower-of-Jesus and an unsaved person is that the follower-of-Jesus suffers for a reason, and the unsaved person suffers for nothing.

Based upon: Phil 3:10-11; 2 Tim 1:8; James 1:2-4, 12; 1 Pet 1:6-7, 2:18-21, 3:1-2, 8-9, 13-17, 4:1-2, 12-19