‘Why Does a Loving God Allow Suffering?

He leads me …

Many of us wonder why God who is Perfect Love allows people to have physical and mental disabilities.

 Any disability is a symptom of the original sin that came into the world when Eve and then Adam disobeyed God. As a result the Lord changed several things in the lives of Adam and Eve and this included the introduction of sickness, imperfection, and disease (Psalm 38:3, Psalm 107:17, Micah 6:13).

 These changes did not change how God felt about each human that He created. We read in the Old Testament of how He tried continuously to work with mankind to develop a mutual relationship. However, due to mankind having a free will, they generally chose the wrong things because they suited them more that following what the Lord wanted them to do.

 God did not give up, and in Isaiah 53 He spells out how He would come amongst His people and suffer extreme pain and death, so that anyone would be able to have a relationship with Him by faith. In this way He identified very clearly with suffering. 

 We see in Jesus ministry that He reached out to those who had sickness and disorders. In fact, for his time, he was incredibly radical. He ministered to - infectious people (Mark 1:40-42); disabled people (there are many accounts of Jesus reaching out to these people in the Gospels); adulterers (John 8:1-11); social outcasts (Mark 2:14); foreigners (Matthew 8:5-13); and women (Luke 10:39). His ministry carried over into His teaching too. In the Sermon on the Mount He opposed the world's values by saying that people were actually blessed when the general public said that they were cursed.[1]

 The Bible story has four stages - creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. God created us, and whether disabled or able-bodied, we all possess the image of God. We are all alike in God’s eyes.

 God lovingly made each of us in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-16), to be born and then contribute to the lives of those around us. This is a message that everyone needs to hear, regardless of whether we are healthy or not. Although good health provides us with many options in life, it is critical that we all understand that the existence of all mankind is incredibly important to the Lord. Especially in a world that generally tries to eliminate disability by locking it away from the community, abortion, treating it as an object of charity, discrimination, bullying and generally being treated as less than human.

 God wants us to love everyone including those with disabilities, because He created us all. The Biblical view states that disability is a normal part of life in an abnormal world. So we are encouraged to associate with people who have disabilities by regarding them as equally-loved by Christ, while also upholding their place in His Kingdom.[2]

Many of us believe that including those with disabilities into each part of society matters. In many countries it is even written into law. However, Christianity goes further by saying that a better word for the outcome of those with disabilities in everyday life is belonging. Belonging is the idea that if someone with a disability was missing, it would be noticed, and they would be missed.

If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that everyone is disabled emotionally or physically to some extent. And wherever we look in life there is a mixture of both the goodness of the creation and the brokenness of the fall.[3]

In the Bible we read of the interaction between God and Moses at the burning bush. The Lord had called Moses to go to Pharaoh in Egypt and request that the Hebrews who were in slavery be set free. Moses made excuses saying that he was not eloquent enough. The Lord responded -

 The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, or the seeing or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and will teach you what you shall say.” Exodus 4:11-12 (AMP)

 An important reason why God allows disabilities or handicaps is so that we learn to trust in Him rather than in ourselves. We see above that Moses tried to use his disability to excuse himself from obeying God. From this example, we see that all human ability—and disability—is part of God’s plan and that God will help His those who obey Him. He doesn’t call the equipped so much as He equips the called[4]

 People who work with the intellectually disabled have reported that they are frequently quicker to hear from God than the rest of us. They show us that in life the simple things matter – a smile, a gentle touch, a hug.[5]

 Maybe we can learn from this. It is so important to tune into God, and then let Him work through us to touch other people’s lives in simple ways that really matter.

[1] A Biblical View of Disability by Ros Bayes; https://www.bethinking.org/human-life/a-biblical-view-of-disability

[2] 3 Ways The Church Can Love The Disabled. By Hillary Chua, Singapore; https://ymi.today/2019/06/3-ways-the-church-can-love-the-disabled/

[3] God’s Heart Towards Individuals With Disabilities by Mimi Cole; http://augustinecollective.org/gods-heart-towards-individuals/

[4] Why does God allow people to be disabled / handicapped? Got Questions Ministries; https://www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-disabled-handicapped.html

[5] A Biblical View of Disability by Ros Bayes; https://www.bethinking.org/human-life/a-biblical-view-of-disability