Why God Allows Children to Suffer

by jphilo | Aug 10, 2017 | Different Dream, Encouragement, Spiritual Support

Why God Allows Children to Suffer

A very brave mom asked the question many parents of kids with special needs are scared to ask. She wanted to know why God allows children to suffer. God didn’t answer that question, but what He said brought me and many others to tears.

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things,
and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory,
to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings…. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered,  He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2: 10 & 18

“I don’t believe in God,” she said, “How can I believe in Someone who lets me and my son suffer so much?”

The audience attending a panel discussion about why God allows children to suffer gave a collective gasp. The other panel members tried to answer her question, but her body language said she wasn’t listening.

My friend and I found her afterwards. We hugged her and thanked her for her honestly. We told her we and wrestled with the same question. We gave her our room number and offered to talk to her any time.

We made the offer on Tuesday evening, and for the next four days of family camp in Pelchi, Latvia, she avoided us. She was polite in the cafeteria and friendly when she relayed our appointment times at the mom’s spa she had created. But she didn’t come to our support group meetings for moms. And she never stopped by our room for a chat.

My friend and I prayed for her all week. We asked our prayer partners in the states to pray for her. But by Saturday morning, the last full day of camp which included our last support group meeting, nothing had changed.

This hurting mom was on my mind as I opened to the chapters listed in my read-through-the-Bible plan. As I read Hebrews 1–4, verses 2:10 and 2:18 jumped off the page and into my heart. I copied them into my journal and quickly filled two pages with my thoughts and reflections.

Later that morning, she came to our final support group gathering. I opened my journal and, through our translator, shared the words God had spoken into my heart.
“If it was fitting for Jesus to suffer,” I said, “with my salvation in mind, then perhaps He is using my suffering as part of his salvation plan for others. Furthermore, even Jesus was tempted to sin by His suffering–to become bitter, to nurse anger and resentment and discontent. But, He resisted temptation and leaned into God. He trusted His Father to work good through His suffering and the evil that caused it.

“These verses don’t tell us why God allows children to suffer, or why he allows parents to suffer either. But the verses do tell us how to respond to suffering when it tempts us to sin. Like Jesus, we need to lean into God. We need to trust Him to work good through our pain and the pain of our children.

“The only way I can do that,” I said, blinking back tears, “is to remember that God is both Father and Son. He is a parent who watched His Son suffer so that I could become His child. He is also the Son who suffered on my behalf. He is the Father and Son who have experienced both my child’s suffering and my own. He is a God I can trust.”

She remained composed as I closed my notebook and the rest of us wiped our eyes and noses. But she came to stand beside me for our group picture, and her hugs for my friend and I were warm and long when we said good-bye.

“We will be praying for you and your son,” we said.

“Thank you,” she said and hugged us once more.

Would you pray with us, too?

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Jolene Philo is a published author, speaker, wife, and mother of a son with special needs.

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A Special Needs Happy Ending

Once upon a time, in a tiny country church, a handsome man married a beautiful woman. The handsome man and the beautiful woman had three lovely daughters and a charming son. They were a healthy, loving family and could have lived happily ever after in their own little house, in their own little world.

But they chose to do more.

You see, the woman had a sister. This sister was sturdy and strong and married to a jolly, gregarious man. The sister and husband had two shy daughters and a hearty son. When their children were very young, the jolly man started to stumble when he walked. His vision blurred. His limbs felt numb and tingly. So he went to the doctor and was told he had multiple sclerosis. Very soon, the jolly man couldn’t walk or work. He was in a wheelchair. And his family nearly lost its bearings.

That’s when the other family chose to do more.

The handsome man and the beautiful woman, their three lovely daughters and charming son stepped in, and in innumerable ways, gave back to the strong sister and her jolly husband, their nieces, and nephews much of what multiple sclerosis had snatched away.

The beautiful woman babysat when her sister went back to work.
The handsome man climbed up on a roof with his children, his nieces and nephew so they could see the view.

To read the rest of this post visit Key Ministry’s website for parents of kids with special needs.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

By

Jolene Philo is a published author, speaker, wife, and mother of a son with special needs.