One of the most honest questions anyone can ask is this: if God is loving and all-powerful, why does He allow suffering? It is a question that shows up in philosophy classrooms, Reddit threads, hospital waiting rooms, and quiet moments of grief. John chapter 11 offers a powerful answer, both for the mind and for the heart.
The Argument Against God That Many People Make
The logic goes something like this: if God were truly loving, He would not allow suffering. If He were truly all-powerful, He would stop the pain. Since pain clearly exists, the Christian God must not exist.
This is probably the most common objection to faith. It comes up after tragedies, after crimes, after personal loss. Sometimes it is a big philosophical question. Other times it is deeply personal and raw.
Both versions of the question deserve a real answer.
What John 11 Teaches Us About Suffering
John 11 tells the story of Lazarus, a man who was not just a little under the weather. He was near death. He was the close friend of Jesus, the brother of Mary and Martha, a family Jesus loved deeply and visited often.
When Lazarus fell gravely ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus. The message was simple: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” They knew Jesus could heal. They had heard the stories. They expected Him to come immediately.
He did not.
Does Jesus Love You If He Lets You Suffer?
Here is the tension the story sets up. Verse 5 says clearly that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. And then verse 6 says He stayed where He was for two more days.
This is one of the most important truths in the entire passage: the love of Jesus does not prevent you from going through pain and suffering.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if God really loved you, your life would be going smoothly. But that is not what Scripture teaches. The love of Christ was proven at the cross, not by the absence of hardship in your life.
You cannot judge the love of Christ toward you by your circumstances.
A Four-Part Grid for Understanding Suffering Biblically
Here is a framework rooted in Scripture that helps anchor the mind and heart when walking through pain.
1. The World God Made Was Good
The first two chapters of the Bible describe a world that was perfect. God created humanity not as robots, but as real people capable of genuine relationship. That required the freedom to choose. Real love cannot be programmed.
2. Suffering Is the Result of the Fall
When humanity chose rebellion, the world was knocked off its axis. All the pain, death, and brokenness in the world traces back to that moment. As Romans 8 puts it, the whole creation is groaning as if in childbirth, waiting for restoration.
3. Jesus Reverses the Curse by Suffering in Our Place
The gospel is the answer to the fall. When you trust Christ, eternal life begins immediately. The Holy Spirit begins the work of sanctification, slowly reversing the effects of sin in your life and making you more like Jesus. God did not eradicate all evil in one moment because, as Peter explains, He is patient and wants everyone to come to repentance. If He removed all the effects of sin instantly, none of us would remain.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18
4. God Uses Suffering Redemptively
Romans 8:28 is often quoted but sometimes misunderstood. It does not mean everything will work out the way you hoped. It does not mean everything happens for a reason you can understand. The subject of that verse is not your circumstances. It is God.
“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28
God is so sovereign and so good that He can take every painful thing, every bad decision, every wound caused by someone else’s sin, and ultimately use it for your good and His glory. That is not a dismissal of pain. It is a declaration of His power.
How Jesus Responds Differently to Different People in Pain
One of the most beautiful things in John 11 is how Jesus ministers to Mary and Martha differently, even though they ask the exact same question.
Martha Needed Answers
Martha came out to meet Jesus with a challenge. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She wanted to understand. Jesus met her there with truth.
“Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26
He gave her something to anchor her mind to. He pointed her to who He is, not just what He can do.
Mary Needed His Presence
Mary came to Jesus weeping. She said the same words as her sister, but Jesus did not respond with a theological answer. He wept with her.
“When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was deeply moved in His Spirit and troubled.” – John 11:33
The word used here is intense. It is not a polite tear. It is the kind of emotion a warrior feels before stepping into battle. Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus. He knew the grief would be over in moments. And He still wept with her.
This is the ministry of presence. Sometimes the most Christlike thing you can do for someone in pain is simply be there. Not with answers. Not with explanations. Just with your presence.
The simple ministry of presence is oftentimes when we are most like Jesus to others.
What Lazarus Coming Out of the Tomb Means for You
When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, He then told the people standing around to unwrap him and let Him go. He did not tell Lazarus to remove his own grave clothes. He told the community to do it together.
This is a picture of salvation and of the church. When you come to faith in Christ, you are brought from death to life. The old grave clothes, the old ways of thinking, the old allegiances, those are not who you are anymore. And the people around you in the church are called to help you walk in that new life.
“When Jesus heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days.” – John 11:6
Even the delay had a purpose. Lazarus was four days dead, past the point where anyone could question whether a miracle had occurred. God’s timing, even when it confuses us, is never careless.
It Is Okay to Ask God Hard Questions
Both Mary and Martha questioned Jesus. Neither was rebuked for it. David wrote in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?”
God can handle your honest questions. He can handle your anger. Bring it to Him. The goal is not to suppress the pain but to bring it to the One who can actually do something about it.
And somewhere along the way, the question may shift from “God, why are you allowing this?” to “God, where are you in this?” That shift can change everything.
Life Application
This week, instead of avoiding the hard questions about your pain or someone else’s, bring them directly to God in prayer. If you are in a season of suffering, resist the temptation to measure God’s love by how your circumstances look right now. Go back to the cross. Preach the gospel to yourself. Remind yourself that He who gave His own Son for you has not abandoned you.
If someone around you is hurting, practice the ministry of presence. You do not need the perfect words. Show up. Sit with them. Weep with those who weep.
Ask yourself these questions this week:
- Am I judging God’s love for me based on my current circumstances rather than on what He did at the cross?
- Is there someone in my life who needs my presence more than my answers right now?
- What old grave clothes am I still wearing that do not belong on someone who has been raised to new life in Christ?
- Have I been honest with God about my pain, my doubts, or my anger, or have I been keeping Him at a distance?
Suffering is real. The questions it raises are real. But so is the God who meets you in the middle of it, weeps with you, and has the power to call the dead back to life.