The mystery of suffering and evil
The Bible is not shy or afraid of facing the big questions humanity ever asked. And the problem of evil and suffering in the world is the biggest problem we are faced with. We can understand that criminals deserve to be punished or that they may undergo suffering as a form of punishment; but why suffering comes upon the innocent? If there is a God and if he is a good, caring and loving God, why does he remain silent? If he is all powerful, why does he remain aloof, as if our suffering has nothing to do with him?
All of us ask such questions time and time again, and the answer always eludes us. May be there is no answer, or we are so small and so short of understanding that we are not able to come to grasps with this issue.
The book of Job on the problem of evil and suffering
The book of Job is centred on this same question. And Job was not afraid of asking and complaining to God.
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; my eye will not see happiness again.” “My own utterance I will not restrain; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (Job 7:6-7,11).
God is Yahweh, the God with us
We go on asking the same question and always remain short of answers. We are surrounded by the mystery of evil, which may lead us to complete annihilation. However, reading the Bible and encountering Jesus Christ will lead us to understand that God is not part of the problem, but part of the solution. God has revealed himself as Yahweh, or the One who is always at our side and who accompanies us in our journey of life. He is on the side of the poor and suffering to bring relief, rescue and salvation to them. Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, experienced pain and suffering in his own flesh, sharing our human condition. He obtained victory not by avoiding or running away from suffering, but by embracing the cross and giving up his life.
God’s ways are not our ways. We are always in a hurry, seeing only the suffering and pain we go through now, without any comprehension of the future. God has his own time, and he sees far and wide. When we think that he has abandoned us and forgotten about us, he is carrying us by the hand, taking us through darkness into the light. The Bemba proverb says: Where God is cooking, there is no smoke (Apatebeta Lesa, tapafuka cushi). As the time passes, we will understand that God was there with us and that he was preparing for us a time of joy and peace.
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