If God Exists, Why Is There Suffering?
God created a perfect planet. Was pain and suffering part of His plan? Let's find out.
3 min read
God created a perfect planet. It was filled with creatures and vegetation all designed to work in harmony with each other. It was designed as a habitat for advanced beings we refer to as humankind. Before us, there existed yet a more advanced kind of beings. We refer to them as angels. They too were perfect. But for these perfect beings to enjoy perfect happiness it was necessary that this happiness be the result of choice rather than an integral inherent and native design default. God knew where this power of choice would lead. Ultimately, it led to a universal rebellion that caused one third of all the heavenly inhabitants to head toward a downward spiral against God’s original design.
God could have created a perfect universe with absolutely no chance or choice for evil or rebellion. He, being All-knowing and All-powerful knew that the best way was to create a universe that would be eternally joyful and sinless. Was sin and the suffering that comes with it, part of His plan? Think about it. God knows the future as clearly as He knows the present and the past. God did not create a plan of redemption as a “backup plan” in case His creation rebelled. God created a plan of redemption because He knew His creation would rebel. So, was sin part of His plan for a perfect sinless universe? Sin was never part of God’s design for an eternally happy universe because sin and holiness cannot blend. However, God did factor in the existence of sin when He created all things because that would be the result when He created “Choice”. God factored in sin as part of His plan because He was being proactive to sin not reactive. In other words, God came up with the solution before the problem became evident.
How can sin and suffering be part of God’s plan for a perfect happy universe? If experience is the best teacher, (Read More) it stands to reason that this little blip in the eternal archives of history was necessary for God’s ultimate plan. God did not create sin, but He did factor it into His grand design.
It is not God’s desire for us to suffer. He made every way possible for us to make the right choices. But it was imperative that the options would be made available. Choice was a gift from God. And it was because of this gift that genuine joy and happiness would be possible. But that gift was also a curse to those that abused it.
God could have destroyed Satan the very day he entertained sin in his heart. He could have started over. But the ultimate design for a perfect happy intelligent being was to have the gift of choice. Had God started over, another Satan-type being would have risen and given way to rebellion. Knowing this, God chose to address the sin problem the way it is now being played out. When it is all said and done, in all the endless days of eternity, sin will never ever occur again. “A tested and proved creation will never again be turned from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully manifested before them. “(The Great Controversy, 503, 504)
For those of us who are suffering loss or some form of devastating experience, disease, pain, or any other unwelcome event, know this; it will be short-lived. In the days of eternity, these experiences will be the guarantee that sin will never ever raise its ugly face again. Knowing how bad it is, this portion of our ugly history will never be repeated.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:8)