When life feels heavy and unfair, this question is not just philosophical; it’s deeply personal. If God is truly good, why do His children face pain, loss, sickness, and injustice?
The Bible does not shy away from this tension. Scripture shows that trouble is not proof of God’s absence, but a stage for His purposes to be revealed.
God’s Goodness Is Not the Absence of Pain #
Psalm 34:19 (AMP)
Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous, but the Lord rescues him from them all.
When we speak of God’s goodness, we often picture a life free from difficulty — a life where troubles never knock at our door. Yet Scripture shows us something richer, deeper, and more enduring. God’s goodness is not the absence of pain; it is His unchanging nature to work all things, even the painful, for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).
The Hebrew word for “good” here is tov (טוֹב). This word is far more than “pleasant” or “comfortable.” It carries the idea of moral excellence, wholesomeness, and that which is beneficial in the long run. God’s goodness is therefore not measured by whether our present circumstances are easy, but by whether they are shaping us into Christ’s likeness.
Jesus explained this in the language of pruning:
John 15:2 (AMP)
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He repeatedly prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].
The Greek word for “prune” is kathairō (καθαίρω), meaning “to cleanse” or “purify by removing what is useless.” Pruning is never painless — it cuts away something that once grew as part of us. Yet the loving Gardener is not harming the branch; He is ensuring greater fruitfulness.
The same principle is found in discipline:
Hebrews 12:6 (AMP)
For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, and He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].
Here, the Greek word paideuō (παιδεύω) means “to train a child, to educate, to nurture through correction.” God’s discipline is not evidence of His anger but His commitment to mature us into His image. It is good in the truest tov sense — morally perfect and eternally beneficial, even if painful now.
Just as gold is refined in fire, so our faith is tested in trials (1 Peter 1:6-7). The process may hurt, but it strips away impurity, leaving something purer, stronger, and more radiant with Christ’s life.
Trouble is not proof of God’s absence but a stage for His purposes.
Trouble Exists Because of the Fallen World #
Romans 8:20–21 (AMP)
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not willingly, because of the will of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will also be freed from its bondage to decay [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Trouble is not a random accident in life; it has a root. Scripture traces it back to the beginning — to Adam’s disobedience in Eden. When man turned from God’s word, sin entered, and with it came a curse over all creation (Genesis 3:17–19). The Hebrew word for “curse” is ’ārar (אָרַר), meaning “to bind with a spell, hem in with obstacles, or render powerless.” This curse brought with it the unavoidable presence of sickness, decay, injustice, and death.
Romans 5:12 (AMP)
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people, no one being able to stop it or escape its power, because they all sinned.
From that moment, creation began groaning under the weight of corruption. The Greek word for “frustration” in Romans 8:20 is mataiotēs (ματαιότης), meaning “emptiness, futility, purposelessness.” The world as it stands is not working to its original glory. Instead, it is caught in cycles of decay, bodies age, systems break, and relationships fracture.
Yet Paul reminds us this groaning is not without hope. For those in Christ, the curse’s grip is broken. The Greek word for “freed” in Romans 8:21 is eleutheroō (ἐλευθερόω) — “to liberate from domination.” Christ’s death and resurrection have defeated sin and death’s final authority over us (1 Corinthians 15:55–57).
However, while the penalty of sin is broken and the power of sin is being broken daily as we walk in the Spirit, the presence of sin’s effects still touches our mortal bodies and environment. Paul describes this as awaiting “the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). This will be fully realised when Christ returns, and creation itself will be renewed.
Until then, we live in the tension of victory already won and restoration yet to come. Trouble exists because the world is still under the shadow of Adam’s fall — but we endure in hope because the second Adam, Christ, has secured the day when decay will be no more.
Trouble Often Becomes God’s Tool #
James 1:2–4 (AMP)
Consider it nothing but joy… knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
God does not cause all trouble, but He uses it to:
| Purpose | How Trouble Works in It | Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Refining | Burns away pride and dependence on self | 1 Peter 1:6–7 |
| Shaping | Develops patience, humility, compassion | Romans 5:3–5 |
| Revealing | Exposes hidden idols and misplaced trust | Deuteronomy 8:2 |
| Positioning | Moves us into God’s greater plan | Genesis 50:20 |
Spiritual Opposition Is Real #
1 Peter 5:8–9 (AMP)
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world.
Peter warns believers to live watchfully, not in fear but in spiritual alertness. The devil is described as moving “like a roaring lion,” imitating the Lion of Judah, yet without His authority. This roar is intimidation, not true dominion. His strategy is often not open force but the exploitation of what remains of the Adamic nature, our fleshly desires, weaknesses, and the broken systems of a fallen world.
Satan’s tactics go back to the garden. He found a door through Adam’s disobedience (Genesis 3:1–6), and since then, the old nature has been vulnerable to his suggestions. The Greek word for “devil” is diabolos (διάβολος), meaning “slanderer, accuser.” He seeks to accuse and condemn, using both our failures and our pain to pull us away from God’s truth.
God’s goodness may involve pruning before blossoming.
Yet in Christ, everything changes. The cross was not only the place where our sins were forgiven, but where the old man was crucified.
Romans 6:6 (AMP)
We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.
The devil’s power is in the flesh — the Adamic man — but for those who are in Christ, that man is no longer the ruling life. Now, Christ is the pre-eminent One in us (Colossians 1:18). We overcome the enemy not by human resistance alone but by standing in the finished work of the cross.
Even when Satan attacks, he operates within boundaries set by God. In Job’s life, Satan could only act with divine permission and under divine limits:
Job 1:12 (AMP)
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.”
Likewise, when Peter was targeted, Jesus did not promise to remove the trial but prayed for his faith to stand:
Luke 22:31–32 (AMP)
Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain; but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers [in the faith].
This is key: Satan’s attacks are under God’s sovereign control, and even those attacks are repurposed by God to conform us to Christ’s image (Romans 8:28–29). The old Adamic man fears the enemy’s roar, but the new man in Christ stands in unshakable victory, knowing the battle was already won at the cross.
Jesus Himself Faced Trouble #
John 16:33 (AMP)
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]
The life of Jesus was not a path free of contention or pain. He faced misunderstanding from His own family (Mark 3:21), betrayal from a close disciple (Luke 22:47–48), false accusations from religious leaders (Matthew 26:59–60), and the injustice of a Roman trial (John 19:1–16). Yet, He endured the cross, the most shameful and painful death of the time.
Yet none of these troubles were wasted. In God’s eternal plan, every injustice and every wound was woven into His redemptive purpose. The Greek word for “overcome” here is nikaō (νικάω), meaning “to conquer, to carry off the victory, to subdue.” At the cross, Jesus did not simply endure suffering; He conquered through it.
This is where the contrast between the Adamic man and Christ becomes clear. The first Adam fell when tested, turning inward in self-preservation (Genesis 3:6–10). The last Adam, Christ, when tested, laid down His life in obedience (Philippians 2:8).
1 Corinthians 15:45 (AMP)
So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].
Through the cross, Jesus broke the power of the fallen nature and opened the way for us to share in His victory. We are not promised an escape from tribulation, but we are promised union with the One who has already overcome it.
2 Timothy 2:11–12 (AMP)
The statement is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him.
When we face trials, we do not face them as the old man bound by fear, but as new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), sharing in His life and His victory. In Him, trouble becomes a servant — shaping us, refining us, and drawing us deeper into the knowledge of His preeminence.
The cross proves that God can take the worst that the world and the devil can throw, and turn it into the very means of salvation and glory. If He did this through His Son, He can also weave our troubles into His redemptive story.
The Journey #
- Adam’s fall → brought curse (Genesis 3)
- Christ’s cross → broke curse’s hold (Galatians 3:13)
- Present troubles → shaping saints for eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17)
In Christ,
Godwin.
