Daily devotion – When we suffer…
Why God Allows Suffering
First, suffering draws us closer to Christ.
‘Take your only son and offer him as a sacrifice to Me,’ God said to Abraham (Genesis 22).
‘What?!’ Abraham must have thought. ‘Yahweh, You’ve been good to me — unlike the pagan gods who demand child sacrifices. But now You’re asking me to offer my son?’
It must have been troubling and perplexing. Yet Abraham obeyed. He took 33-year-old Isaac up Mount Moriah — the very mountain where Jesus Himself would one day be crucified.
As they climbed, Isaac, carrying the wood, asked, ‘Here’s the wood and the fire, Dad — but where’s the sacrifice?’
And Abraham, in faith, replied, ‘God will provide Himself a Lamb.’
Then Abraham laid his son on the wood, raised the knife, and was ready to plunge it into his own child when God said, ‘Stop. Now I know you love Me.’
Didn’t God already know Abraham’s heart? Yes. But Abraham, called a friend of God, was being brought into a unique fellowship — a taste of God’s own suffering.
It’s as though God was saying, ‘Abraham, one day I will take My Son, who will carry His own wood up this same mountain. He will lay on the altar, and I will hurl upon Him the fire of judgment. You won’t have to go through this — but I will.’
And in that moment, Abraham felt something few in history have known — the pain of giving up a beloved son.
Precious people, God allows suffering in our lives so that we might relate to Him more deeply than ever before.
But if we get thrown by it, we miss the opportunity for “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
You can say, ‘Lord, when I was passed over for that job because I follow You, I felt just a sliver of what You felt when they rejected You, shouting, “Away with Him!”’
Or, ‘Lord, I was betrayed by someone I loved. Now I can relate — even a little — to how You feel when people You love turn their backs on You.’
Suffering, embraced, brings you closer as a friend of God.
Secondly, suffering assures us we belong to Him.
Jesus said, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).
And Paul adds, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
If you’re never suffering for your faith, it could be a warning sign. It could mean you’re not living godly — or even that you’re not truly His.
So when trials come, say, ‘Thank You, Lord! This shows I belong to You. They’re beating up on me just like they beat up on You.’
Thirdly, suffering promises eternal reward.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
When you reach heaven, you won’t say, ‘It wasn’t worth it. I suffered through that difficult illness, I endured loss — and heaven is not that great.’
No. When you get there, you’ll say, ‘My goodness, I made such a big deal about my trials on earth — but they were nothing compared to this glory! Even though I murmured, cried, and maybe even cursed, You loved me enough to allow suffering so that I could share in this reward. Thank You, Lord.’
Fourthly, suffering brings salvation to others.
In Acts 28, after surviving a shipwreck, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake. The islanders said, ‘This man must be a murderer — justice is catching up with him.’ But when Paul didn’t die, they changed their minds, saying, ‘He’s a god!’
Paul used the moment to point them to Christ, saying, ‘I’m not a god — but God in Christ Jesus lives inside me.’
Why does God allow suffering?
Because it gives you the chance to show skeptical people the reality of faith in Jesus.
When the child is taken home unexpectedly… when the doctor says, ‘It’s malignant’… when the boss says, ‘You’re through’ — the world expects you to collapse.
But you have the chance to shake it off and embrace the suffering. And when you do, cynics change their minds about Christians because they see faith in action.
Finally, suffering silences Satan.
Job lost everything — his health, his family, his wealth. Even his wife said, ‘Curse God and die.’ But Job rose up, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and worshipped:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:20-22).
Job refused to curse God — and in doing so, he silenced Satan.
So why does God allow suffering?
To draw you closer.
To assure your heart.
To promise you glory.
To save others through your testimony.
And to shut the mouth of the enemy.
So today, if you are in a trial, know this: you are participating in something eternal. Embrace it, and worship.