Evil & Suffering
Is God sending hard times to make me stronger?
Short answer
Hard times can make us stronger, the way a soldier grows stronger in battle. But the battle isn't his friend, and his commander didn't send the enemy. Suffering by itself doesn't make anyone holier. If it did, the people who have suffered the most would be the most godly, and often they're the most bitter. What makes the difference is how we respond: holding on to God, trusting his word, and letting him heal us. It's faith under pressure that grows (James 1:2-4), not the pain itself.
In simple words: God doesn't send bad things to hurt you. But when hard things happen, if you hold on to him, he can help you grow stronger.
Response
Many Christians have been told that every hardship is God's way of teaching them something. It sounds spiritual, but it can leave people afraid of God, waiting for the next lesson to fall on them. That isn't the Father Jesus showed us. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11).
The Bible does use the picture of a soldier: "Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:3). A soldier really can come out of battle stronger, braver, and wiser. But no soldier thinks the enemy is on his side, and no good commander sends the enemy against his own troops. Scripture tells us who the enemy is: "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith… And the God of all grace… will himself restore you and make you strong" (1 Peter 5:8-10). God is not the one attacking you. He is the one who restores and strengthens you.
Suffering alone doesn't make anyone better. Some people go through terrible things and come out more loving and more trusting. Others go through the same things and come out hard and bitter. The difference isn't the suffering; it's what they did with it. That's why Scripture warns, "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble" (Hebrews 12:15). After Naomi lost her husband and both sons, she said, "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara [bitter]" (Ruth 1:20). Her grief was real, and God didn't scold her. He kept caring for her until her bitterness turned to joy (Ruth 4:14-17).
When someone sins against us, the enemy's goal is to produce sin in us too: anger, unforgiveness, revenge, bitterness. And loss will push you one of two ways. It will either draw you closer to God, or tempt you to rewrite what he has said about himself. Don't let your hurt redefine who God is. Let who God is speak to your hurt.
When James says, "Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (James 1:2-4), notice what grows: it's your faith, tested and holding on, that produces perseverance. The trial is the pressure; trusting God in it is what makes you strong. Paul says the same: suffering produces perseverance and character in those who have peace with God through faith, "because God's love has been poured out into our hearts" (Romans 5:1-5).
In the New Testament, the suffering Christians are told to expect is mostly persecution: opposition and mistreatment for following Jesus (John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12). Even Paul's famous "thorn in the flesh" he calls "a messenger of Satan," and he describes it alongside insults, hardships, and persecutions (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Jesus never told a sick person that their sickness was God's tool for their growth. He healed them (Matthew 4:23-24).
So if you're going through something hard, you don't have to wonder whether God did this to you. Run to him, not away from him. Be honest with him about the pain. Hold on to what he has said. And let him do what he does best: bring good out of what he never wanted for you (Romans 8:28), and make you stronger in the process.
Key evidence
- God gives good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:11; James 1:17).
- Scripture names the enemy who attacks and the God who restores (1 Peter 5:8-10).
- Suffering by itself can make people bitter as easily as better (Hebrews 12:15; Ruth 1:20).
- Loss can draw you closer to God or tempt you to rewrite what he has said about himself.
- It is faith, tested and holding on, that produces perseverance (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:1-5).
- The suffering Christians are told to expect is mainly persecution for following Jesus (John 15:20; 2 Timothy 3:12).
- Jesus healed the sick rather than calling sickness a lesson (Matthew 4:23-24; Acts 10:38).
Bible passages
- 2 Timothy 2:3 Like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 5:8-10 Resist the devil; God will restore you and make you strong.
- James 1:2-4 The testing of your faith produces perseverance.
- Hebrews 12:15 Don't let a bitter root grow up.
- Romans 5:1-5 God's love poured into our hearts.
- Matthew 7:11 Your Father gives good gifts.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think some people come out of hard times more loving and others more bitter?
- How is a soldier growing stronger in battle different from the commander sending the enemy?
- What does it look like to hold on to God in the middle of something hard?