A Biblical Overview and answer to why Yahweh, the Almighty Father in heaven, allows human suffering
Why Does a Good Elohim in Heaven Allow Suffering?
Hello and welcome back to Spiritual Podcast, your home to genuine Bible truths podcasts. I’m Elder Dan, your host. Today, we’re tackling one of the hardest questions I hear many people ask, and honestly, even in my own quiet moments with Almighty Yahweh. Grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s wrestle with this together.
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The Question That Won’t Go Away
You know, just last week I sat across from Sarah during the Bible study. Her eight-year-old daughter had just been diagnosed with leukemia. Through tears, she asked me the same question that echoes through hospital corridors, funeral homes, and countless sleepless nights: “Elder Dan, if Yahweh is good, why is this happening to my baby?”
I wish I could give you a neat, tidy answer that wraps this up in a bow. But here’s what I’ve learned in this ministry—sometimes the most honest answer starts with “I don’t know everything, but here’s what I do know.”
When Life Doesn’t Make Sense
Let me take you back about 4,000 years ago to a man named Job. This guy had everything—massive wealth, a loving family, respect in his community. The Bible tells us he was “blameless and upright; he feared Yahweh and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). Then catastrophe struck him like lightning.
In one day, Job lost his livestock, his servants, and all ten of his children. Soon after, painful sores covered his body from head to toe. His wife told him to “curse Yahweh and die” (Job 2:9). His friends showed up—and honestly, they made things worse by insisting his suffering must be punishment for some hidden sin.
But here’s what grips me about Job’s story: this wasn’t a distant theological debate. This was a real man, with real pain, asking real questions. Sound familiar?
The Mystery We Can’t Solve
Yes, Job demanded answers from Yahweh. He wanted to take his case to court, to cross-examine the Almighty. And you know what? Yahweh never actually explained why the suffering happened. Instead, when Yahweh finally spoke, He asked Job about 70 questions in return—questions about the mysteries of creation, about running the universe, about understanding the depths of existence.
Yahweh essentially said, “Job, if you can’t understand how I hang the stars or direct the eagle’s flight, how can you grasp the full picture of why I allow what I allow?”
That might sound frustrating, but I think it’s actually profound. Yahweh didn’t dismiss Job’s pain—He engaged with it. He showed up in the storm, not with explanations, but with His presence.
What We Do Know
So yes, while we can’t solve the mystery completely, the Holy Scripture gives us some crucial truths to hold onto:
First, suffering isn’t always punishment. Yahshua made this crystal clear when His disciples saw a blind man and asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” Yahshua replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of Yahweh might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). Sometimes suffering becomes the canvas where Yahweh’s power and love become most visible.
Second, we live in a broken world. When sin entered through Adam and Eve’s choice, it affected everything—our relationships, our bodies, even creation itself. Paul writes that “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22). Yes, we’re not experiencing Yahweh’s original design because of Satan the devil’s bad influences and wicked temptations!
Third, Yahweh enters our suffering. This is the game-changer. Our Elohim didn’t remain distant from pain. Isaiah prophesied about Yahshua: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3). The stake at Calvary shows us that Elohim doesn’t just allow suffering—He enters it, experiences it, and transforms it!
The Elohim Who Weeps
Remember when Messiah Yahshua heard that His friend Lazarus had died? Even though He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, John tells us “Yahshua wept” (John 11:35). Think about that. The Son of Yahweh, who held the power of resurrection in His hands, still felt the weight of human grief.
This tells me that Yahweh doesn’t look at our pain with cold indifference. He’s not up there calculating some cosmic equation where our tears are just acceptable casualties. Yes, our pain moves His heart!
Growing Through the Storm
Here’s something I’ve witnessed countless times: some of the most beautiful, compassionate, faith-filled people I know have walked through the deepest valleys. They didn’t become bitter—they became better! They learned to comfort others with the comfort they received from Yahweh (2 Corinthians 1:4).
I think about my friend Tom, who lost his leg in Afghanistan. He told me, “Elder, I wouldn’t choose what happened to me, but I wouldn’t undo who it’s made me become.” He now works with wounded veterans, bringing hope into their darkest moments.
Or consider the Apostle Paul, who begged Yahweh three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” Yahweh’s response? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul learned that his weakness became the very place where Yahweh’s strength shone brightest.
The Promise That Sustains Us
Romans 8:28 doesn’t say everything that happens is good—it says Elohim works in all things for the good of those who love Him. There’s a difference. Yahweh takes even the worst circumstances and weaves them into His greater purposes!
This doesn’t minimize our pain or make suffering less real. It means that nothing—not cancer, not loss, not betrayal, not failure—can ultimately separate us from Yahweh’s love (Romans 8:38-39). Our present suffering, as real and difficult as it is, is “not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
A Hope Beyond This Moment
The Bible ends with a beautiful promise in Revelation 21:4: “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.” Yes, Yahweh, our Elohim and Father in heaven, isn’t just managing suffering—He’s planning to eliminate all the bad things and wicked people completely!
Until then, we walk by faith, not by sight. We trust that the Elohim who loves us enough to die for us also knows what He’s doing when He allows what He allows.
Walking Together
Friends, I can’t answer every “why” question about suffering. But I can tell you this: you don’t have to walk through it alone. When Job’s world fell apart, the thing that sustained him wasn’t understanding Elohim’s plan—it was knowing Yahweh Himself!
In your moments of pain, you can cry out like Job did. You can ask the hard questions. You can even get angry. Yahweh can handle it. He’s big enough for our doubts and strong enough to carry us through our darkest nights.
The same Elohim who brought Job through his ordeal, who raised Yahshua from the dead, who turned Paul’s weakness into strength—yes, that same Elohim walks with you today!
Remember Sarah, whose daughter I mentioned at the beginning? Three days ago, little Emma finished her final round of chemotherapy. The doctors are cautiously optimistic. But you know what Sarah told me? “Elder Dan, I still don’t understand why this happened. But I’ve never experienced Yahweh’s presence more powerfully than in that oncology ward.”
That’s the mystery and the miracle of faith—sometimes we find Yahweh Almighty most clearly in the places we least expected to look.
Friends, if you’d like to continue this conversation or share your thoughts on this topic, leave a comment below. You are also welcome to read or listen to our previous podcast episodes on this website and visit our sister website by clicking here to read and learn more genuine truths from the Bible.
Thanks for wrestling through these tough questions with me today. If you’re walking through suffering right now, know that you’re in my prayers. Until next time, remember—you are loved, you are not alone, and this story isn’t over yet.
Brethren, before I go, let me pray this prayer for you: May Yahweh bless you and keep you; may Yahweh make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. I humbly pray all these things to Yahweh through Yahshua the Messiah, our Master and coming King, amen. Kindly keep praying for the shalom of Israel. Take care. Halleluyah!