This is one of the deepest questions a human heart can ask. It often comes when someone we love is sick, when a prayer seems unanswered, when a family is grieving, or when we see cruelty and injustice around us. At such moments, easy answers can feel painfully small. We may wonder, “If God is good, why did He allow this?” I believe God welcomes this question, because He sees the tears behind it. He is not offended by our sorrow or our confusion. He meets us there with compassion.
The Christian faith does not tell us that suffering is good in itself, or that every painful event is part of some simple plan that we should quickly understand. Suffering entered the human story through a world wounded by sin, brokenness, selfishness, and death. God created us for life, love, and communion with Him, not for hatred, violence, illness, or loss. Yet He also gave us freedom, and human freedom can be used to love or to harm. Much of the suffering in the world comes from this wounded condition of humanity and creation.
But God did not remain far away from our pain. This is where Jesus Christ changes everything. In the Gospels, we see Him weeping at the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35). We see Him touched by the suffering of the sick, the hungry, the lonely, and the rejected. He did not look at pain from a distance. He entered into it. On the Cross, Jesus carried betrayal, injustice, abandonment, physical suffering, and death itself. The Cross tells us that God is not absent when we suffer. In Christ, He suffers with us.
The Church teaches us that the Cross is not the end of the story. Jesus did not remain in the tomb. His Resurrection shows us that suffering and death do not have the final word. We may not always understand why a particular burden has come into our lives, but we can trust that God can bring grace even from what seems unbearable. Saint Paul reminds us that “all things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). This does not mean that every tragedy is good. It means that God’s love is powerful enough to bring healing, courage, compassion, and even new life from places of deep pain.
Sometimes God heals in ways we can see. Sometimes He changes a situation, restores a relationship, or gives strength to a body that is weak. But sometimes His healing comes quietly. It may be the grace to endure one more day, the comfort of a friend, the courage to forgive, or the peace that enters a heart even while the struggle remains. I have seen people carry heavy crosses and yet become more gentle, more faithful, and more deeply aware of God’s presence. Their pain was not meaningless, because they allowed Christ to walk with them through it.
What this means for us is that we do not have to pretend we are strong when we are hurting. We can bring our questions, anger, fear, and tears honestly to God. Jesus Himself cried out from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Even in that cry, He was praying. When we do not have answers, we can still hold on to Him. Faith is not always understanding; sometimes it is simply refusing to let go of God’s hand in the darkness.
May we remember that God never asks us to suffer alone. He is close to the brokenhearted, present in every tear, and faithful even when the road is hard. One day, as Scripture promises, He will wipe away every tear from our eyes—and love will have the final word.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way.