Questions & Answers

#REAL1 What is suffering? Suffering is the experience of pain, loss, and sorrow that entered the world through sin.
#REAL2 Why does suffering exist? Suffering exists because humanity fell from fellowship with God, and the whole creation was subjected to futility.
#REAL3 Is all suffering the same? No. Some suffering comes from our own sin, some from the sins of others, and some from living in a broken world.
#REAL4 Does God cause suffering? God is not the author of evil, but He sovereignly ordains all things, including suffering, for His wise and holy purposes.
#REAL5 Has anyone ever suffered apart from sin? Only the Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered though He was sinless, to redeem sinners and bring them to God.
#REAL6 Why does God allow His people to suffer? He allows suffering to display His glory, test and deepen our faith, and conform us to the image of His Son.
#REAL7 Does suffering mean God has forsaken us? No. For those in Christ, suffering is never a sign of abandonment but of Fatherly love and refinement.
#REAL8 Can a believer question or lament in suffering? Yes. Honest lament is the language of faith, bringing grief before God in trust, not rebellion.
#REAL9 What makes suffering meaningful? Suffering finds meaning only in relationship to the sovereign and suffering Savior, Jesus Christ.
#REAL10 What hope sustains the believer in suffering? The hope that Christ has overcome the world, and that present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory to come.
#REIGN11 Who reigns over suffering? The Lord God Almighty reigns over every moment of suffering; nothing happens apart from His sovereign will.
#REIGN12 Is God good even when we suffer? Yes. God is always good and does good, even when His purposes are hidden from our sight.
#REIGN13 Does God control all suffering? Yes. God ordains the limits, duration, and purpose of every trial, and He turns even evil for the good of His people.
#REIGN14 Can anything happen to the believer by chance? Nothing comes by chance; all things are directed by the hand of our loving Father.
#REIGN15 Does God owe us explanations for our suffering? No. God is not obligated to explain His ways, but He invites us to trust His character when we cannot trace His hand.
#REIGN16 Is God distant in our suffering? Never. He is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
#REIGN17 How does God relate to human pain? He enters into our pain through the incarnation of His Son, who knows our weakness and carries our sorrows.
#REIGN18 Does God delight in our suffering? No. God does not delight in the suffering itself but in the holy fruit it produces—trust, humility, endurance and hope.
#REIGN19 How should we view the providence of God in suffering? With reverence and rest, knowing that His providence is neither blind fate nor cold determinism, but the wise care of a loving Father.
#REIGN20 What truth anchors the believer's heart in affliction? That God reigns, God is good, God is near, and God will not waste one tear of His redeemed children.
#NEAR21 How does God draw near to the suffering? God draws near through His Son, Jesus Christ, who entered our world of sorrow to redeem and comfort His people.
#NEAR22 Did Jesus experience suffering? Yes. Jesus suffered in body and soul, bearing grief, rejection, and pain, and was even deeply troubled by it, that He might become our merciful High Priest.
#NEAR23 Why did the Son of God suffer? He suffered to take the punishment of our sin, to destroy death, and to bring us to God.
#NEAR24 Does Jesus understand my pain? Yes. He is able to sympathize with every weakness, for He has been tested in every way yet without sin.
#NEAR25 How does Christ's suffering help us? His suffering shows the depth of His love, secures our redemption, and teaches us to trust our Father in trials.
#NEAR26 Where is Christ when I suffer? Christ is present by His Spirit, interceding for you and sustaining you with grace that cannot fail.
#NEAR27 What does the Holy Spirit do for the suffering believer? He comforts the heart, strengthens faith, and assures us we are God's children even in affliction.
#NEAR28 What comfort does the gospel bring to the sufferer? That the One who bore our griefs now reigns over them, and nothing can separate us from His love.
#NEAR29 What example did Christ leave for us in suffering? He entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly, overcame evil with steadfast obedience, and set the pattern for us to follow in obedience to God, by not returning evil for evil, but doing good.
#NEAR30 What promise assures us of God's nearness? "I will never leave you nor forsake you," says the Lord, whose presence is our peace.

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