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Whether we work as healthcare professionals (which is quite a few of us) or just access medical help (which is all of us), medical and personal suffering are deeply linked. So as we come to the challenging subject of personal suffering we must come to it with sensitivity and humility. So before we attempt to scratch the surface of it in the next twenty minutes or so, let’s pray and ask for God’s help and wisdom.

Given what we have talked about in the interview. How do we make sense of these things? How do we respond? What can we say? Perhaps we’re just accepting that these things happen. As has been said “since everything is chemically determined, then whatever is, is right.” In other words this is just the way life is, there is no ‘why’, and we just have to get on with it. Perhaps we’re understandably angry, bitter, or vengeful about what has happened. It is unfair. I have met people who were angry on my behalf. Perhaps we’re, as I have been at times, overwhelmed, disorientated, powerless, or just plain broken. Feeling like ‘we are in a tunnel with no light at the end’. Perhaps you feel that way now. Perhaps we feel at times a deep sense that it just shouldn’t be this way. It just isn’t right. A deep sense of sadness.

Where does God fit in? In 2015 the writer broadcaster and comedian Stephen Fry responded to a question about God saying:

Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain?[The Guardian, 7 May 2017]

In other words if there is a God he is certainly not a God who is worth respecting. He is a God who is mean and unpredictable in his mood and actions. He is deeply unfair. He is clearly asleep on the job, and out of touch with the world. Though we may not put it in those stark terms we may at some level have feelings like this. But what does the Bible say on the subject of suffering? Quite a lot as it happens. In fact apart from the first two chapters of the first book of the Bible in Genesis (before evil arrives in the world) and the last two chapters of the last book in the Bible in Revelation (which presents a future picture of heaven after evil has been defeated), some of the strongest Biblical themes are those of evil and suffering. It is between these books where we are currently living. Which bring us to our first heading:

1. The reality of suffering

From what I have shared already and what you have experienced (or are experiencing now) in your own life you will not need reminded of the reality of suffering. Every day at work for me is a reminder of this. You’ll know that words don’t really adequately cover the depth of unsettledness, upset and pain that comes with these situations. The darkness can feel overwhelming. Trite answers in these situations are never going to cut it. Certainly not for me or certainly not for my patients.

Some people have suggested to me that faith may in some way anaesthetise Christians from the reality of suffering. That in some way we can rise above it or have it not affect us. In fact as people of faith we sometimes perpetuate this view and feel that we have to present ourselves as coping, or sorted, or strong. I have certainly fallen into this trap and it is certainly not a biblical view. The Bible pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to presenting the reality of suffering in the world. Whether we are talking about Cain’s brutal murder of his brother Abel in Genesis 4, the Israelites in slavery, or in exile, the brutality of Assyrian, Babylonian and Roman empires, the excruciating and barbaric death of Jesus on a cross - in the Gospels, the suffering, persecution, and killing of Jesus followers in the New Testament. From reading Biblical history we are left in no doubt of the reality and impact of suffering on individuals, people and nations. As Paul Mallard wrote in his book Invest your suffering:

The Bible is an honest book. It knows all about frustration and bereavement, about childlessness and depression. It tells us that we suffer because we are human, and because we are Christians. Sometimes, we suffer because we are stupid and do sinful things. Sometimes, it’s because we are faithful and do righteous things. Sometimes, there seems to be no cause at all, and suffering appears out of a cloudless sky.

Looking at the Bible as a whole we can see that the causes of suffering are complex. There are no trite answers but there is an underlying story that we need to appreciate. As we have observed the fact that pain and suffering came into the world after man’s rebellion against God in Genesis 3 is not a coincidence. The Bible explains that we were created to live in relationship with God the Creator. That connection with the Creator is where we are defined and thrive (loving God and loving others). There was no suffering or pain or sadness in Genesis 1-2. In fact God declared as he looked at creation that it was good. But the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 cut them off from God and we, who are all rebelling against God at some level, are cut off too. The Bible’s diagnosis is that we have lost our bearings, our direction, and our true identity. And in short, the fruits of this separation from God are seen (not always directly) in the suffering we experience and witness. The Bible is very clear. This is not the way the world was meant to be. And I think the ‘why’ question regarding suffering is evidence that we know, at some level, that the world was not meant to be this way. They may be ‘fingerprints of Eden’ and a yearning for the eternal. The Bible goes further and emphasizes the point that we are made by and belong to God.

2. God is with us in suffering

If anyone knows that the world is not the way it is meant to be it is God himself. He created everything and holds everything together. To watch his creation and those he love suffer is heartbreaking for Him. In the passage that was read to us from John 11 we see Jesus arriving to a distressing scene. There is no hiding the reality of the suffering. Lazarus had died four days ago and there were many Jews who had come to comfort and mourn with them. Martha is understandably distressed (John 11.21):

Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Mary again repeats this in John 11.32:

Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Again, it should not have been like this. The Bible then tells us something remarkable in John 11.33:

When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

Jesus the Son of God was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. These are strong and deeply felt emotions motivated by compassion, sorrow, and even indignation at the fact that the world was damaged by sin. Then in John 11.35 we see that Jesus wept. Here we see the Bible revealing a God who is present, who feels pain, and who grieves with us. Even though Jesus knows there will be a resurrection of Lazarus now (John 11.23) and a resurrection at the end of time (John 11.24) he intensely feels the pain of Martha and Mary. The word compassion is an interesting word and a fully appropriate description of what is happening. It literally means to ‘suffer with’. But even in the midst of ‘suffering with’ Jesus urges Mary and Martha to trust (John 11.25-26) whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? That alone is a key question.

From my professional and personal experience there is something deeply profound about someone being present in suffering. I think that in healthcare the power of human presence is often under appreciated and pressures on time with patients do not help this situation. The fact that Jesus (Emmanuel –God with us) left the glory of heaven to come down to earth to experience first hand the difficulties of life is an incredible truth. He demonstrated his compassion to us in the most amazing way. And it is important to say that his life on earth was not easy. The Bible tells us that in his life he suffered loneliness, grief, sadness, rejection, and ridicule. In his death he suffered physical torment, emotional trauma and spiritually agony as He died unjustly on a cross. A death and resurrection which, the Bible says, brings forgiveness and opens a ‘new and living way’ back in to relationship with God (thereby treating the very root of suffering). So as it says in Hebrews 4.15:

we do not have a high priest [that is Jesus] who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses.

Certainly the Bible is clear that in some way God is very present with his people in their disorientation, darkness, hopelessness. Old Testament - He was with Israel while they were in slavery, exodus, and in exile. New Testament – with Paul and the apostles through their dark times. The question that God is asking of these biblical characters in life and in their suffering and the one he asks us too is – do you trust me?

3. The mystery of suffering

We can see that the Bible provides some answers but they are incomplete answers. The Old Testament book of Job is a challenging book to read but it does shine light onto the issue of suffering through one man’s story. The Bible describes Job as a very wealthy man who was described three times as blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil (Job 1.1, Job 1.8 and Job 2.3). Unbeknown to Job Satan has challenged God about Job and suggested that Job is only a good man because of what God has blessed him with. In other words Satan is saying that Job is only serving God because of the blessings and protection he receives from God. God then allows Satan to bring disasters on Job in which he loses all his wealth, his home, and his family. The results are devastating to Job. In this book we (as readers) are told that the suffering that Job was undergoing were not a result of his sin (as his friends repeatedly suggested to him) but rather to demonstrate that Job’s faith was true and not simply born out of self interest. And what is Job’s response? 1. He continues to speak and ask questions of God. 2. He refuses to abandon his faith. He decides to hold on. His faith is decisional and brutal. In the end Job is never told why this was allowed to happen to him. At the end of the book we are let into a conversation between Job and God. In it God reveals in a storm more of who He is to Job. He reveals how much his wisdom, purposes, and thoughts are higher than Job’s ways. Job himself reflects on the situation (Job 42.3):

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

Essentially Job knows that there are still mysteries within this but he realises that the answers are safe in the person God. He has answers which are incomplete but at the same time robust. And that is my experience - I still have questions about what we have been through as a family. For example, why wont he take away my vulnerability for depression now (or even ten ago)? Why did he decide to teach me the lessons in this way and not some other less traumatic way? Why did Matthew have to die? But what I can’t deny is that through the things God has allowed in my life he has revealed in deeper ways how faithful, good, sovereign, trustworthy, and loving he is. Does that make suffering easy at the time? No. Does that make suffering painless at the time? No. We may not get the answers we want but we do know that we can trust Him.

So you may say “I understand that God is good and present and all the rest of it but why if he is all powerful does he allow suffering at all?” Sadly there is neither a full nor quick answer to that question. In Deuteronomy it says (Deuteronomy 29.29):

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children, that we may follow all the words of this law.

So there are things we can know and things we can’t yet know. Now I am aware that this verse may sound like a cop out but I would not see it as an excuse to not wrestle with this subject or not to bring our questions to God. He wants to know what is on our hearts. I have wrestled and still do. However there are things which we can and do know: Suffering is not a pre-fall thing and therefore is not the way things were meant to be. Suffering is something that is painful at the time but something that God in his mercy can use for good. He will be with us and strengthen us by his Spirit. Suffering does not change or thwart God’s plans or promises. There will be accountability and justice for evil. Suffering will one day end for those who belong to Christ.The only real and sure hope as a Christian is the hope of heaven. Listen to the apostle John’s vision of heaven after Satan is defeated (Revelation 21.4-5):

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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. He who was seated on the throne said ‘I am making everything new’.

4. A response to suffering

Given the reality of suffering, the nature of the God of the Bible, and the mystery or unanswered questions raised by suffering - how should we respond? For those listening who are not Christians, firstly thanks for coming tonight. I would say hold onto your questions about suffering. Don’t brush them aside or gloss over them. They may be pointing you somewhere. It was C.S Lewis who wrote:

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.[The Problem of Pain, C.S. lewis, 1940]

Maybe God is rousing something in you tonight. If so, I would challenge you to find out more about the God of the Bible and why Jesus came? We have booklets to read and courses where you can ask questions. For those here going through personal suffering the Bible acknowledges that pain and suffering are a reality and as Christians we are not shielded from these realities. Indeed we are, as Augustine said, a ‘community of the broken’. However, in dark times I have found that faith sometimes has to be purely decisional and brutal, and prayer can even be fleeting and impossible. It is then more than ever that we need trusted friends and community to help orientate us towards God.

Can I encourage you not to minimize your suffering but bring it to God? He understands, he knows (not conceptually but actually), he feels it like you do – perhaps more than you do. Jesus is in the midst and calls us to trust him (which is really hard). Can I also encourage you not to be too proud to ask for help in the form of someone who will listen? Remember as a ‘community of the broken’ under Christ there are brothers and sisters who are likely to have been through the same thing as you are going through. As I have told my story a number of people have felt able to share their story.

For those who want to help others, the Bible does not give a simple answer to the problem of suffering and therefore neither should we. Sadly however, rather like Job’s friends, we can often be judgmental about the situations that others find themselves or think we know the answers. As it did in Job’s case that kind of approach is likely to make things worse. Let us listen, be wise, loving, sensitive, humble, and prayerful. Someone wisely once said ‘suffering does not demand a solution, but demands a presence’. Interestingly when Job’s friends initially arrived with him they sat with him for 7 days and 7 nights (Job 2.13):

No-one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

A great start, it was when they opened their mouths that it started to go downhill. So in suffering (whether it is in our lives or in the lives of others); let us be more present, more silent, and more prayerful. Let us hear the fundamental question God is asking - Do you trust me?