Why Is There Suffering in the World?
Month 11: Standing Firm in a Tough World · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Genesis 3:17-19 & Romans 8:20-22
17 And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground— because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” — Genesis 3:17-19
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. — Romans 8:20-22
Memory Verse
“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”— Romans 8:28 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Acts 13–14
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 317 of 365 — Paul and Barnabas take the gospel to new cities, often through hardship.)The Heart of It
The biggest question people ask about God is this one. If God is good and powerful, why is there so much hurting in the world? The Bible gives a clear, honest answer. And it starts at the beginning. God made a world that was "very good" (). There was no death. There were no thorns. There were no tears. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed, sin came into the world. And with it came the curse: thorns, hard work, sorrow, and death (). Suffering isn't proof that God failed. It's proof that something broke. The world we live in is not the world as God first made it. It is a good world now groaning under sin.
This is so important for your children to grasp. The world will tell them one of two things. It will say God doesn't exist, or it will say God doesn't care. says something better. The whole creation "groans and labors with birth pangs" (). And birth pangs lead to new life. The groaning isn't pointless. It's pointing forward. God didn't abandon His broken world. He entered it. Jesus came and suffered the worst of it. He was betrayed, beaten, and crucified. He did it so that one day He will wipe away every tear and make all things new (). So when we ask "why is there suffering?", the deepest Christian answer isn't a tidy formula. It's a Person. It's a God who took our suffering onto Himself and promises to undo it forever.
Around the Table
The world wasn't made with boo-boos and sad things. Those came when people disobeyed. But Jesus is going to make everything happy and new!
Let's do it: Point to a "boo-boo," like a scratch or a wilted flower, and say, "Jesus will fix it all someday!"
Suffering came into the world through sin. It didn't come from God's good design. God is the one fixing it. He's not the one who broke it.
Let's talk: If a friend said "if God were good there'd be no sad stuff," what could you kindly tell them?
The Christian answer to suffering isn't just an idea. It's the cross. God didn't stay distant from our pain. He entered it in Jesus.
Let's go deeper: Why does a God who suffered with us answer the problem of pain better than a god who just stays far away?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you could un-break one broken thing in the whole world right now, what would it be? Jesus is going to un-break it all one day.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says: "If God is real and good, why is there so much suffering?" Kindly answer: "Suffering is real. The Bible says so too. But God didn't create a broken world. Sin broke it (). And here's the difference. Our God didn't stay away from the pain. He came as Jesus and suffered the worst of it Himself. Then He rose and promised to wipe away every tear. A God who entered our suffering and is fixing it makes far more sense of pain than saying there's no God at all. After all, if there's no God, where does our sense that things ought to be better even come from?" Always answer with gentleness and respect ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
The problem of evil is the objection your children will meet most often. It usually comes wrapped in real grief. So handle it with both intellect and tenderness. Logically, the atheist faces a sharper version of the problem. To call something genuinely evil, you need a fixed standard of good. A purposeless universe can't supply one. The very outrage at suffering quietly assumes a moral lawgiver. But never win the argument and lose the child. The Christian doesn't ultimately explain evil away. We point to the cross. There God took on the worst suffering imaginable and turned it into the salvation of the world. That's written in blood. When your kids hurt, give them the suffering Savior before you give them syllogisms.
Draws on: Natasha Crain, Talking with Your Kids about God.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You see our hurting and You haven't left us alone in it. Thank You that Jesus suffered for us and is making all things new. Help us trust Your goodness even in a broken world. In Jesus' name, amen."
Sin broke the world. But God came into it Himself, and He is making all things new.