Pastor Steve and Pastor Brian tackle one of the biggest topics anyone can bring to the Christian faith: pain, suffering, and the character of God. Grouping four listener questions together, they wrestle with why God allows suffering, whether all afflictions are ordained by God, whether the Old Testament God is really a violent dictator, and how to reconcile God's character with the conquest passages in Joshua. Their honest, humble answers point back over and over again to the same truth: what you believe about suffering ultimately depends on what you believe about the character of God — and that character is most clearly revealed at the cross.

Episode Timestamps

• [00:00] Introduction
• [02:02] Q1: How Can We Follow a God Who Allows So Much Suffering?
• [06:13] Q2: Are All Afflictions Ordained by God?
• [12:20] Q3: Is the Old Testament God a Dictator?
• [15:57] Q4: How Do We Reconcile the Violence in Joshua?
• [21:00] Summary of All Four Questions
• [22:52] Closing — Coming Next Week: The Pastoral Side of Suffering

People's Questions Answered

Anonymous: "How can we follow a God who allows so much suffering?"

Anonymous: "Are all afflictions ordained by God?"

Anonymous: "Is God in the Old Testament a dictator who punishes people when they refuse to follow Him?"

Anonymous: "How should we understand divine wrath and violence in Joshua?"

Key Scripture References

• John 11 (Jesus weeps)
• Romans 8:19-28 (creation groans; God works for good)
• John 9 (man born blind)
• Job 1-42
• Lamentations 3:33 (God does not afflict from His heart)
• Hebrews 5:8 (Jesus learned obedience)
• Hebrews 4:15 (great high priest)
• Genesis 15:16 (iniquity of the Amorites)
• Deuteronomy 9:4-5
• Leviticus 18
• 2 Peter 3:9 (God is patient)

Coming Next Week

Part 2 will focus on the emotional and pastoral side of suffering — how to be present with people in pain, what NOT to say to someone grieving, and how to walk through suffering when it comes to us personally. As Steve says: "None of what we just talked about should be said to somebody who is in the middle of suffering."

Connect With Us

Submit your questions at cherryhillsfamily.org/podcast, text "podcast" to 217-546-4818, or use the link in the show notes.

Subscribe, share, and leave a 5-star review!