Where is God When We Suffer?

by Pastor Tony Cervero

As we witness the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti; as we read about the terrible crimes against children and women; as another loved one suffers from cancer - it is so easy to ask: Where is God when we suffer? If God is so powerful and loving - why is there so much suffering? I don't know if I could ever answer the question: Why? But there are many other questions that can be answered. Because Jesus suffered and rose from the dead - our suffering takes on totally new dimensions.

In his book The Reason for God, Tim Keller describes a horrible nightmare he had in which everyone in his family had died. "When I awoke, my relief was enormous - but there was much more than just relief. My delight in each member of my family was tremendously enriched. I looked at each one and realized how grateful I was for them, how deeply I loved them. Why? Because my joy had been greatly magnified by the nightmare. This same dynamic is at work when you lose some possession you take for granted. When you find it again (having thought it was gone forever) you cherish and appreciate it in a far deeper way."

Jesus said that beyond the cross awaits a day when he would bring to pass one great renewal. In Matthew 19:28, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne." He uses the Greek word palengenesia in this verse. The implication is that all that Jesus lived for on this earth - the love and justice, the goodness and grace, the hope and new life - will be everywhere when the Son of Man reigns completely. Christ insisted that his return will be with such power that the material world and universe will be purged of all decay and brokenness. All will be healed. The things we thought lost forever will be found again.

In the final book of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is a climactic moment when little Sam Gamgee suddenly discovers that his friend - the great wizard Gandalf - is not dead but alive. Sam cries out: "I thought you were dead! I thought I was dead myself!" And then Sam asks an immensely important question: "Is everything sad going to come untrue?" The answer of our faith to that question is - yes. Everything sad is going to come untrue.

This does not mean that sad things will not happen. It does not mean that hurts will not hurt terribly. But the assurance of Easter is that, in the end, the joy "will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost." The apostle Paul once put it this way: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed" (Romans 8:18) on the day when Christ makes all things new.

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