In the book of Job we find these words, “Yet man is born into trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:7) Job said from great experience, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1)
The wise man, Solomon, said of a man, “For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 2:23)
In the New Testament, a very different approach to human suffering is given. This is especially true of the believer. The Apostle Paul. who suffered much for his Lord and Savior, wrote, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29 If we think this is asking too much of a child of God, listen to the promise in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” John 16:33b, “In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.“
In the study of the problems of human suffering, we need to allow the Scriptures to be our guide and final authority, not the opinion of a man.
First, the words that are used for suffering in the New Testament:
- The Greek word, “pas-kho” means to experience a sensation (usually painful), to feel, passion, suffer and vex.
- The Greek word, “path-ay-mah” means something undergone, hardship, pain, suffering.
- In Phillipians 1:29 and II Timothy 1:12, the first word is used. In Romans 8:18 and Hebrews 2:9, the second word is used.
FROM WHAT SOURCES MAY SUFFERING ORIGINATE?
1. Basically, all suffering is hereditary. We (mankind) have inherited suffering as a result of Adam’s sin. This is clearly seen in Genesis 3:16-19.
- Upon Eve, sorrow was to be connected with child-bearing.
- Upon Adam, sorrow was to be connected with the production of food. (Genesis 3:17,18) The shocking news was that one day man would return to dust from which the Creator had formed him.
- It is well within the scriptural meaning of the word that the suffering which the race experiences is traceable to Adam’s sin; and likewise the awful consequences that increase as the human race ages. to illustrate: a river at its source is purer, but not as it progresses; it gathers more and more impurities until at the point of emptying into the ocean, it’s water is not drinkable, so also the human race. Suffering is then hereditary.
2. Explicitly, there is suffering as a result of a life of sin. The life lived, prior to the day of salvation when the “wild oats” were sown, must have a harvest. This is found in Galatians 6:7,8, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” The dreaded fruit of suffering often follow. God in His redemptive work sometimes will spare of this suffering and it’s all of grace.
The Bible clearly shows another type of suffering. It is caused by the devil in his determination to cause the child of God to turn against the heavenly Father. Job’s life illustrates how far Satan will go to try to get man to curse God. So, it was not because Job sinned, or even that mankind is punished for Adam’s sin, but the persecution of Satan to trouble a godly example of righteousness.