The problem of suffering

In the comments for my Did God cause Katrina? post, someone posed this question:

What would you say about an omniscient, omnipotent god in control of everything who allows/causes elderly people, children and "the least of these" in our society to suffer, drown, dehydrate, starve, suffocate to death.

Not an easy question, and certainly not the first time in human history it has been asked.

Rather than digest that entire question all at once in this post, let me touch on a few points, and relate them to the previous post.

First, even the Bible says that not every calamity that happens is a result of someone's wrongdoing. From Luke 13:4,5 (NKJV)...

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

And, John 9:2,3 (NKJV)...

And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him".

Why, then, does God allow such misfortunes to come upon us?

To ask this question in an accusatory tone, one that carries with it the assumption that God should've prevented a disaster like this, is to fall prey to what God knew we are prone to, as He indicated in that verse I included in the last post, Job 40:8 (RSV)...

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?

We want free will. We do not want a God that coerces us into obedience. Yet, we also want God to save us from ourselves, or to save us from the fickle fortunes of Fate. In this we are like adolescents, who want the privileges of adulthood but not the responsibilities. Or, we are like pre-school children, who do not the understand the implications of what they ask for, they only know they want something now.

Can we say there were no human decisions involved in the aftermath of the hurricane? The decision to build and live in an area below sea level, protected only be levees? The decision not to put all those school buses on the road to evacuate people? For those that were able to leave, the decision to remain in the city? The decision not to have the National Guard move in as soon as the storm passed?

Is God to be blamed for all these decisions?

In the previous post, I included the examples of Habakkuk and Job for a reason. They wondered why God allowed misfortunes to happen, but in both cases, God did not tell them why.

It's a hard lesson for us, but it is not an accident. God's primary concern in hard times is not that we fully understand the reasons why bad things happen.

Surely a precious, innocent child is not responsible for decisions that decide their fate. So why would God allow suffering to come upon them?

I'm afraid I'm going to disapoint the person who left that comment, and say we are not always meant to know. Since we cannot know everything, it is not our place to blame God for misfortune.

No, God is most interested in our response during hard times. Are we willing to, yes, say "I don't understand", but simply trust that God will make "all things work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28)? That is faith in action.

Update: Hugh Hewitt has a new blog effort, One True God Blog, and Question #2 there deals with the issue of suffering. Check it out.

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Northern 'burbs blog examines whether good can come from natural evil.