Why is suffering a problem for believers?

This Sunday we are looking at the opportunity of suffering. at church Specifically we will be thinking about how we share the Gospel in response to suffering.  It seems strange to talk about suffering as an opportunity.  We tend to talk more about the problem of suffering.  This has been strikingly emphasised by an interview with UK  Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch. 

Badenoch explained that she remains a cultural Christian but no longer believes in God.  A big part of her reasoning was that she grew up praying and asking God for “trivial things” like good hair and successful exam results.  Then the Joseph Fritzel case rocked her young faith.  How could God answer trivial requests whilst allowing really big and bad things to happen.

I don’t want to focus specifically on Badenoch here.  Others including my friend Steve Kneale have already said quite a bit of helpful stuff.  Rather, I want to focus on more on our own response to suffering. 

One thing that has struck commentators is the sense that Badenoch was oblivious to suffering previously until this one case.  Why was she I bothered by all the other examples of suffering and tragedy around the world.

I find that often we can be oblivious too until the suffering hits home. This may be because, like Badenoch, one case hits home for us in a way that others have not and we cannot make sense of it.  Or, it is more often than not that we experience tragedy ourselves and this rocks our faith. At its worst, this leads to some losing faith in God altogether. It is legitimate to ask in such contexts why and how we have remained oblivious to the problem of suffering. Does it only exist when I experience it myself?

Furthermore, people tend to lose faith in church before they lose faith in God.  Either the church fails to offer satisfactory answers to the questions we are asking, or it doesn’t provide the practical, pastoral support we were looking for. 

I agree with Steve that this should challenge our discipleship.  This needs to be not just about how to handle difficult apologetic questions . It’s also about how we face the challenge of suffering in our own lives.