Why Suffering? Quotes

“Presence, relationship, holiness, trust, beauty, goodness, peace—all were present in the relationship between God and humanity at creation. By playing God and redefining good and evil according to our own discretion, we introduced into the human spirit disobedience, absence, severance, distrust, evil, and restlessness.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“The context of the entire book of Job—the book in the Bible that deals most with this subject—is pain. “Why?” Job asked from various vantage points, but not once did he question God’s existence. He struggled with wanting to know God’s purpose and understand His ways. Job wondered about the purpose of his own existence, but he never questioned God’s existence. Deep within he ultimately recognized that outside of God there were no answers, just haunting questions. But in the philosophical and the theological pursuits of the answers to the reality of his experience two realities emerged, one negative and the other positive. First, the negative: the colossal failure of his friends. They were at their best when they took time out of their own lives just to be with him, saying nothing. The moment they began to give their own observations for why Job was suffering and offer their suggestions for remedying his situation, Job’s pain intensified. To be loved and feel cared about is what someone who is hurting needs from friends. The person who is experiencing pain and suffering simply needs to know that he or she is not alone.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“Pain can easily produce the sense of being abandoned. The presence of someone who loves and cares can most persuasively counter that fear. God’s words were important to Job, but most important to him was the assurance that God was with him through it all, revealing Himself to Job at the most critical moment. And Job said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“What is sin? Ultimately, it is redefining God’s intended purpose for your life and charting your own course. When God says the body is sacred according to the definition that He has given, sin is redefining His purpose and desacralizing the body. When He gives us laws by which to live, sin is rebelling against God’s rules and making our own rules. When He defines love, sin is profaning it for use to our own ends, as we define them. When He tells us there are consequences to disobedience, sin is demanding leniency when we flagrantly and unrepentantly break His laws. When God offers grace and forgiveness and love when we have fallen short, sin is spurning Him for ourselves while demanding a higher standard of laws for others. Sin is changing the purpose of God for our lives and becoming self-serving. This pertains to all matters with which we are entrusted. Whether time, money, words, commitments, relationships, or stewardship, we are given the freedom and responsibility to honor those particulars in a manner that is consistent with our God-given purpose. God’s Word given to humanity has been redefined by humanity. His Word was specific, but we have scrambled it up, thinking we know better.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“Note that in normal cases of procreation, parents risk bringing a child into a lot of suffering; even the most fortunate of human lives is accompanied by seasons of serious suffering. Even more than that, parents procreate knowing full well that one day the child will suffer death.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“That purpose is to enjoy the true nature of love and relationship, which are to be found only in Him. All other loves and relationships are meant to be a reflection of that perfect love and relationship.”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense

“If God can do anything, then He surely can even allow evil and call it good. Why does He have to explain it? Surely, if omnipotence means all-powerful without even logical or rational limitation, He can allow evil to exist and not see any incoherence in it. And if God can do anything He pleases why can’t He simply be incoherent as well? That may be irrational to the skeptic, but does not limitless power also mean the power to be irrational without justification?”
― Ravi Zacharias, Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense