“Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”” (Genesis 42:21)
One of the most frequent questions fielded in my office is this: “Why does God allow suffering?” If God is great and God is good, then why must misery rankle even the best of men? The only people who haven’t wrestled with this question are those who haven’t lived long enough. This tension fills the pages of Scripture, inundates the psalms, and multiplies publications abroad. Our passage does not provide a complete answer, but it does provide a wholesome answer.
Let’s ponder over a cup of coffee the question of evil. St. Augustine rightly distinguishes between evil being done and evil being suffered. God is good; therefore, God does no evil. However, God is just; therefore, He suffers no evil. Rather, our just God punishes evil, and punishment tends to feel like suffering for those on the receiving end. A God of perfect justice never inflicts such things unjustly. Now, why do we start here, with the character of God and the categories of evil? Because Lamentations 3:22 states: “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed.” Mercy is good will given when we deserve the very opposite. Isn’t it true? Each of us were born with a sinful nature, and we have nurtured it for many years of our life. There is no hardship that we have not merited with our sin.
However, the goodness and justice of God kiss at the sound of His covenant promises. God promised great things to Abraham’s line, and He would not allow evil to eliminate His covenant. Rather, God uses their temporary suffering to lead them to that heavenly gift of repentance. His heavy hand comes not to inflict strict justice, but to tender holiness in their lives. He does not stand above them as a Judge, but beside them as a Father. Their punishment was really their discipline, producing in them much good. What we find is that a sea full of comforts could not satisfy like one drop of holiness. That drop of holiness may have come after much pressure, but it would prove to be most pleasant.
Believer, when you suffer, do you ever stop to ask why? Could this time of suffering be to draw you to repentance? Instead of quickly rushing for a way out, search your heart, improve on your sufferings, and draw nigh unto God.
