Has God caused the suffering in the world? What issue was raised in the garden of Eden? How will God undo the effects of human suffering? After a terrible battle in one war-torn land, the thousands of civilian women and children who had been killied were buried in a mass grave surrounded by markers. Each marker bore this inscription: "Why?" Sometimes that is the most painful question of all. People ask it sadly when war, disaster, disease, or crime takes their innocent loved ones, destroys their home, or brings them untold suffering in other ways. They want to know why such tragedies befall them. Why does God allow suffering? If God is all-powerful, loving, wise, and just, why is the world so full of hatred and injustice? Have you ever wondered about these things yourself? Is it wrong to ask why God allows suffering? Some worry that asking such a question means that they do not have enough faith or that they are showing disrespect for God. When reading the Bible, however, you will find that faithful, God-fearing people had similiar questions. For example, the prophet Habakkuk asked about why is it that God made him see what was hurtful, and God kept him looking upon mere trouble? And why that despoiling and violence were in front of him, quarreling occur, and why is strife carried? Read Habakkuk 1:3. Did God scold the faithful prophet Habakkuk for asking such questions? No. Instead, God included Habbakkuk's sincere words in the inspired Bible record. God also helped him to get a clearer understanding of matters and to gain greater faith. God wants to do the same for you. Remember, the Bible teaches that God cares for you. Read I Peter 5:7. God hates wickedness and the suffering it causes far more than any human does. Read Isaiah 55:8,9. Why, then, is there so much suffering in the world? People of various religions have gone to their religious leaders and teachers to ask why there is so much suffering. Often, the response is that suffering is God's will and that he long ago determined everything that would ever happen, including tragic events. Many are told that God's ways are mysterious or that he brings death upon people-even children-so that he can have them in Heaven with him. As you have learned, though, God never causes what is bad. The Bible says it is far from the true God to act wickedly and the Almighty to act unjustly. Read Job 34:10. Do you know why people make the mistake of blaming God for all the suffering in the world? In many cases, they blame God the Almighty because they think that he is the real ruler of this world. They do not know a simple but important truth that the Bible teaches. The real ruler of this world is Satan, the Devil. Because we live in a sinful world. The Bible clearly states that the whole world is lying in the power of this wicked one. Read I John 5:19. When you think about it, does that not make sense? This world reflects the personality of the invisible spirit creature who is misleading the entire inhabited earth. Read Revelation 12:9. Satan is hateful, deceptive, and cruel. So the world, under his influence, is full of hatred, deceit, and cruelty. That is one reason why there is so much suffering. A second reason why there is so much suffering is mankind has been imperfect and sinful ever since the rebellion in the garden of Eden. Sinful humans tend to struggle for dominance, and this results in wars, oppression, and suffering. Read Ecclesiastes 4:1;8:9. A third reason for suffering is time and unforeseen occurence. Read Ecclesiastes 9:11. In a world without God as a protective Ruler, people may suffer because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is comforting for us to know that God does not cause suffering. He is not responsible for the wars, the crimes, the oppression, or even the natural disasters that cause people to suffer. Still, we need to know, Why does God allow all this suffering? If he is the Almighty, he has the power to stop it. Why then, does he hold back? The loving God that we have come to know must have a good reason. Read I John 4:8. A vital issue is raised for us. To find out why God allows suffering, we need to think back to the time when suffering began. When Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying God, an important question was raised. Satan did not call into question God's power. Even Satan knows that there is no limit to God's power. Rather, Satan questioned God's right to rule. By calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects, Satan charged that God is a bad ruler. Read Genesis 3:2-5. Satan implied that mankind would be better off without God's rulership. This was an attack on God's sovereignty, his right to rule. Adam and Eve rebelled against God. In effect, they said they do not need God as their ruler. They thought they could decide for themselves what was wrong and what was right. How could God settle that issue? How could he teach all intelligent creatures that the rebels were wrong and that his way truly is best? Someone might say that God should simply have destroyed the rebels and made a fresh start. But God had stated his purpose to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam and Eve, and he wanted them to live in an earthly paradise. Read Genesis 1:28. God always fulfills his purposes. Read Isaiah 55:10, 11. Besides that, getting rid of the rebels in Eden would not have answered the question that had been raised regarding God's right to rule. Let us consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher's way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem. The teacher knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, God knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like those of old, they will learn this vital truth, that God leads our steps if we follow Him and His will. Read Jeremiah 10:23. Why so long? Why though, has God allowed suffering to go on for so long? And why does he not prevent bad things from happening? Well, consider two things that teacher would not do. First, he would not stop the rebel student from presenting his case. Second, the teacher would not help the rebel to make his case. Similiarly, consider two things that God has determined not to do. First, he has not stopped Satan and those who side with him from trying to prove that they are right. Allowing time to pass has thus been necessary. In the thousands of years of human history, mankind has been able to try every form of self-rule, or human government. Mankind has made some advances in science and other fields, but injustice, poverty, crime, and war have grown ever worse. Human rule has now been shown to be a failure. Second, God has not helped Satan to rule this world. If God were to prevent horrible crimes, for instance, would he not, in effect, be supporting the case of the rebels? Would God not be making people think that perhaps humans can govern themselves without disasterous results? If God were to act in that way, he would become party to a lie. However, it is impossible for God to lie. Read Hebrews 6:18. What, though about all the harm that has been done during the long rebellion against God? We do well to remember that God is almighty. Therefore, he can and will undo the effects of mankind's suffering. As we have already learned through His Son, Jesus. The effects of sin will be removed through faith in Jesus' ransom sacrifice, and the effects of death will be reversed by means of the resurrection. God will thus use Jesus to break up the works of the Devil. Read I John 3:8. God will bring all of this about at just the right time. We can be glad that he has not acted sooner, for his patience has given us the opportunity to learn the truth and to serve him. Read II Peter 3:9, 10. Meanwhile, God has been actively seeking sincere worshippers and helping them to endure any suffering that may come upon them in this troubled world. Read John 4:23, I Corinthians 10: 13. Some might wonder, Could all this suffering have been prevented if God had created Adam and Eve in such a way that they could not rebel? To answer that question, you need to remember a precious gift that God has given you. How will you use the gift from God? Humans were created with freewill. Do you realize what a precious gift that is? God has made countless animals, and these are driven largely by instinct. Read Proverbs 30:24. Man has made some robots that can be programmed to follow every command. Would we be happy if God had made us like that? No, we are glad to have the freedom to make choices about what kind of person to become, what course of life to pursue, what friendships to form, and so on. We love to have a measure of freedom, and that is what God wants us to enjoy. God is not interested in service performed under compulsion. Read II Corinthians 9:7. To illustrate: What would please a parent more-a child's saying "I love you" because he is told to say it or he is saying it freely from the heart? So the question is, How will you use the freewill that God has given you? Satan, Adam. and Eve made the worst possible use of freewill. They rejected God. What will you do? You have the opportunity to put the marvelous gift of freewill to the best possible use. You can join the millions who have taken a stand on God's side. They make God rejoice because they take an active part in proving Satan a liar and a miserable failure as a ruler. Read Proverbs 27:11. You too can do that by choosing the right course of life. Believe in God's plan of Salvation. Read John 3:16. Accept His only Begotten Son, Jesus as your Savior, die out to the world and allow the Holy Spirit of Jesus to come alive within you . Your life will experience a real born again feeling. Troubles, problems, sickness and aggravation will not be able to take on the heartache road that Satan wants to give you. For you will have the assurance that an all powerful God is in communications with you about your needs and He will not and He cannot fail. He only asks that you believe and trust in Him.