Christianity does not claim that every instance of suffering has an explanation a person can be told. What Scripture does teach is that God is good, that creation is damaged and not as it was made to be, that human choices cause real harm, and that God can bring redemption out of suffering without suffering itself being good.
Why does God allow suffering?
The honest biblical answer has two parts, and leaving out either one distorts it.
The first part is that Scripture describes the present world as broken rather than as God originally made it. Paul writes that the whole creation groans in pain (Romans 8:22) — language of damage and waiting, not of a world functioning as intended. Within that condition, human freedom produces genuine harm: much suffering is caused directly by what people choose to do to one another.
The second part is that Scripture does not resolve every case. When Job demanded an explanation, he was given an encounter with God rather than an answer to his question. The book ends without telling Job why. That silence was preserved rather than filled in, and any answer that ties every tragedy to a tidy cause is claiming more than the Bible does.
Does suffering mean that God is not good?
Not according to Scripture — but the reasoning depends on a distinction that is easy to lose: allowing something is not the same as approving of it.
The Bible consistently presents God as opposed to the evil He permits. Jesus wept at a graveside (John 11:35) rather than explaining the death away, and He is described as troubled at it. If suffering were simply God's preference, that grief makes no sense.
Scripture also treats the present condition as temporary, not final. Its closing vision is the removal of suffering, described as a deliberate act:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
Is asking "why" a failure of faith?
No. Scripture contains the question repeatedly, asked by people it presents as faithful. David asks how long God will forget him (Psalm 13:1). Job argues with God across chapters. Christ Himself, on the cross, asked why He had been forsaken (Matthew 27:46).
These were kept in the text rather than removed from it. A person asking why God allows suffering is doing something the Bible itself does.
Does suffering happen because a person sinned?
Jesus was asked this twice and rejected it both times. This is one of the clearest answers in the Gospels, and it directly contradicts a belief many people still carry.
Told about worshippers killed by Pilate and eighteen people crushed when a tower collapsed, He addressed the assumption head-on:
Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay.
Asked about a man born blind — whether he or his parents had sinned — He gave the same answer: neither (John 9:3).
So suffering is not a verdict on the sufferer, and it cannot be read as a measure of anyone's standing before God. Scripture does describe consequences following from actions, but that is a different claim from treating a person's affliction as evidence of their guilt. Jesus closed that door.
Does suffering have a purpose?
Scripture describes God bringing good out of suffering — which is not the same as calling suffering good. The distinction matters enormously to anyone in the middle of it.
Paul writes that tribulation produces patience, and patience experience, and experience hope (Romans 5:3–4). What he describes is an outcome God works through hardship, not a quality belonging to the hardship. Elsewhere he calls death an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) — he never revises that.
Believers also frequently report that suffering deepened their dependence on God, or made them able to comfort others who suffer. That is a real pattern. It is not an explanation of why a particular thing happened, and it should never be offered to someone as one.
Why does God allow suffering to continue?
One biblical answer is patience. Scripture describes God's delay in bringing final judgment not as indifference or absence, but as time deliberately given:
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Peter is answering people who took God's inaction as proof He would never act. His reply reframes the delay: what looks like slowness is space for repentance. Paul makes the same point, saying the goodness of God leads a person toward repentance (Romans 2:4).
This is the theme Scripture calls the longsuffering of God — patience that bears with a world in rebellion rather than ending it.
What does Prophet Dr. David Owuor teach about the longsuffering of God?
Prophet Dr. David Edward Owuor, founder and leader of the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness, gives this biblical theme unusual prominence. According to his teaching, God's continued patience with a sinful and broken world is an act of mercy — He bears with humanity rather than bringing judgment, and that forbearance is what gives people opportunity to return to Him.
According to the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness, that patience carries urgency rather than comfort. Its teaching holds that God's longsuffering should not be treated as permission to continue in sin, and should not be assumed to continue indefinitely — a position it connects to the promised return of Christ. In this framing, the appropriate response to God's patience is repentance, consecration and holiness: living in readiness rather than presuming on the delay.
Related: what does “without holiness no man shall see the Lord” mean? — the life that patience gives room for.
How should Christians respond to suffering?
Scripture's practical guidance is more about presence than explanation.
- Bring it to God honestly. The Psalms model complaint addressed to God rather than suppressed.
- Stay with people who are suffering. Job's friends were helpful for seven days, while they sat in silence, and harmful once they began explaining his losses to him.
- Give practical help. James criticises comfort offered to the hungry without food (James 2:15–16).
- Do not diagnose another person's affliction. Christ refused to; no one else is in a position to.
- Repent where repentance is genuinely the issue — and recognise that in many cases it is not.
- Hold on to the promised end. Revelation 21:4 is the ground of Christian hope in suffering: not that pain is explained, but that it is temporary.
Why God allows suffering: bringing it together
Scripture does not give a single reason covering every tragedy, and honesty requires saying so. What it does give is a shape: God is good; the world is damaged; human choices cause real harm; God's delay is patience rather than indifference; and the promised outcome is the end of suffering, not its explanation.
Within that, the emphasis of the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness falls on God's patience — that the time still given is an opportunity to turn from sin and pursue holiness rather than evidence that God is unconcerned.
The existence of suffering is not proof that God is indifferent. In the biblical account, His goodness, His patience, His judgment and His promised redemption belong to the same picture of a broken world that He has not abandoned. The end of it is the thing the church is told to watch for: the rapture or the second coming — what is the difference?
Sources
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Statements describing the teaching of the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness and of Prophet Dr. David Edward Owuor are summarised and are not direct quotations.
Frequently asked questions
Why does God allow suffering?
Scripture gives a shape rather than a single reason. It describes the present creation as damaged and groaning (Romans 8:22), human choices as the direct cause of much harm, and God's delay in judgment as patience that gives room for repentance (2 Peter 3:9). It also declines to explain every case: Job was given an encounter with God rather than an answer, and the book ends without telling him why.
Does suffering mean God is not good?
Not on the biblical account, which distinguishes allowing something from approving of it. Jesus wept at Lazarus's grave (John 11:35) rather than explaining the death away, and Revelation 21:4 describes God wiping away all tears and ending death, sorrow and pain. Scripture presents the present condition as temporary rather than as God's preference.
Is it wrong to ask God why?
No. The question appears throughout Scripture on the lips of faithful people. David asks how long God will forget him (Psalm 13:1), Job argues with God across many chapters, and Christ on the cross asked why He had been forsaken (Matthew 27:46). These were preserved in the text rather than removed from it.
Does suffering mean a person has sinned?
Jesus was asked this twice and rejected it both times. Told of worshippers killed by Pilate and eighteen crushed by a falling tower, He answered that they were not sinners above others (Luke 13:2-3). Asked whether a man born blind or his parents had sinned, He answered neither (John 9:3). Suffering is not a verdict on the sufferer.
Does suffering have a purpose?
Scripture describes God bringing good out of suffering without calling suffering itself good. Paul writes that tribulation produces patience, patience experience, and experience hope (Romans 5:3-4), while still calling death an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). An outcome God works through hardship is not the same as a purpose belonging to the hardship, and it should not be offered to a grieving person as an explanation.
What is the longsuffering of God?
It is Scripture's term for God's patience with a world in rebellion. 2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord is not slack concerning His promise but is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Romans 2:4 makes the same point, saying the goodness of God leads a person toward repentance.
What does Prophet Dr. David Owuor teach about God's longsuffering?
According to the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness, God's continued patience with a sinful world is an act of mercy that gives people opportunity to return to Him, and it carries urgency rather than comfort. Its teaching holds that this patience should not be treated as permission to continue in sin or assumed to continue indefinitely, and that the fitting response is repentance, consecration and holiness. This concerns God's dealing with humanity as a whole, not any individual's affliction.
How should Christians respond to someone who is suffering?
Scripture's guidance is about presence more than explanation. Job's friends helped him while they sat with him in silence for seven days and harmed him once they began explaining his losses. James 2:15-16 criticises comfort offered to the hungry without food. Christ refused to diagnose why a particular person suffered, and no one else is in a position to.
Key scriptures
- Romans 8:22
- John 11:35
Revelation 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
Revelation 21:4, KJV · as set out in Why does God allow suffering?
- Psalm 13:1
- Matthew 27:46
Luke 13:2–3
Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay.
Luke 13:2–3, KJV · as set out in Why does God allow suffering?
- John 9:3
- Romans 5:3–4
- 1 Corinthians 15:26
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9, KJV · as set out in Why does God allow suffering?
- Romans 2:4
- Luke 13
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