One of the tough questions I get asked often is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I must admit, I do not fully know the answer.  One thing I know is that God is with us during the pain.  I am sure you all know someone who is going through a difficult time. Maybe you are going through challenges right now. Maybe it’s your loved ones dealing with pain. The multi-million dollar question is: “Why does the all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?” I may not have all the answers, you may not have the answers, but I know that God’s Word provides comfort, hope, and guidance through difficulties. Below are a few verses for you:

1. God will see you through
Psalm 18:2 – “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

2. In the midst of your pain, God is there.
Psalm 34:18 – “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

3. Jesus knows and understands. He suffered pain, too!
Hebrews 2:18 – “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

4. There is a reason. Pain leads to repentance
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

5. There is a reason. Pain leads to hope in the Future
Revelation 22:4-5 “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”

6. The cross we bear precedes the crown we shall wear!
Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

7. God knows the reason. Praise Him despite the pain.
Job 1:21 – And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Job 6:10 – This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

8. God provides the Strength to Overcome Pain
1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

9. God provides the Grace to Handle the Pain
I Corinthians 4:9-10 – “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

10. You are not alone.
1 Peter 5:9-10 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.